Sarah Dawson (softball)

Sarah Dawson
Biographical details
Born (1975-01-22) January 22, 1975 (age 49)[1]
San Diego, California
Playing career
1994–1997Northeast Louisiana
1997Orlando Wahoos
1999–2000Akron Racers
Position(s)Pitcher
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1999Marshall (assistant)
2000–2002Louisiana–Monroe (assistant)
2003–2012Louisiana Tech
Head coaching record
Overall221–338
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
  • Southland Conference Freshman of the Year (1994)
  • 2× Southland Conference Player of the Year (1994, 1997)
  • 2× Southland Conference Pitcher of the Year (1996, 1997)

Sarah N. Dawson (born January 22, 1975) is an American, former collegiate All-American, softball pitcher and head coach.[2] She played college softball for Louisiana–Monroe and is the Southland Conference career leader in wins, strikeouts, shutouts, WHIP and innings pitched. She ranks top-10 all-time in NCAA Division I for career shutouts (9th) and innings (5th).[3]

After graduating from college, Dawson played three years of professional softball for the Orlando Wahoos/Akron Racers.[4][5][6] Dawson served as an assistant softball coach at Marshall and Louisiana–Monroe,[7] before serving as the head softball coach at Louisiana Tech from 2003 to 2012.[8][9]

Early life

Dawson attended Christian High School San Diego in El Cajon, California, where she played softball for her mother, legendary California high school softball coach Roma Dawson.[10][11][12][13]

Playing career

She played college softball for Louisiana–Monroe team from 1994 to 1997. She is the Southland Conference career leader in wins, strikeouts, shutouts, WHIP and innings pitched and was named Southland Conference Freshman, Player and Pitcher of the Year during her career.[14][10][5][15] She ranks top-10 all-time in NCAA Division I for career shutouts (9th) and innings (5th).[16] After graduating from college, Dawson played three years of professional softball for the Orlando Wahoos/Akron Racers franchise of WPSL.[4][5][6]

Coaching career

While head coach at Louisiana Tech, Dawson compiled a record of 221–338, and led the Lady Techsters to a WAC conference championship and a berth in the 2008 NCAA Division I softball tournament.

Statistics

[17][18][19][20]

ULM Warhawks

YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
1994 27 19 51 45 36 15 1 332.2 210 70 40 41 290 0.84 0.75
1995 27 16 45 42 34 12 0 284.2 173 68 44 49 306 1.08 0.78
1996 21 11 33 32 31 16 0 224.1 144 38 25 28 238 0.78 0.76
1997 45 10 58 54 50 31 0 400.2 190 44 30 46 446 0.52 0.59
TOTALS 120 56 187 173 151 74 1 1242.1 717 220 139 164 1280 0.78 0.71

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (Western Athletic Conference) (2003–2012)
2003 Louisiana Tech 16–42 6–14 5th
2004 Louisiana Tech 27–33 10–11 4th
2005 Louisiana Tech 18–49 2–16 7th
2006 Louisiana Tech 18–31 6–11 6th
2007 Louisiana Tech 22–38 3–15 7th
2008 Louisiana Tech 37–29 7–10 4th NCAA Regional
2009 Louisiana Tech 15–23* 9–8* 4th
2010 Louisiana Tech 26–21 11–10 4th
2011 Louisiana Tech 17–39 6–15 6th
2012 Louisiana Tech 25–33 8–12 6th
Louisiana Tech: 221–338 (.395) 68–122 (.358)
Total: 221–338 (.395)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

* Louisiana Tech vacated 19 wins (including 3 WAC games) in 2009 by NCAA action.

References

  1. ^ "Sarah N Dawson". California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  2. ^ "1997 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  3. ^ "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Macur, Juliet (July 2, 1997). "Calm belies Dawson's fiery spirit". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Young, Al (July 13, 1997). "Call it number crunching". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 37. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  6. ^ a b Butler, Jason (May 11, 1999). "Racers new pitcher ready to reign again". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. p. 17. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  7. ^ "Louisiana–Monroe names assistant softball coach". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. October 27, 1999. p. 26. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  8. ^ "One on One with Sarah Dawson". The News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. April 18, 2004. p. 28. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  9. ^ McElwee, Natalie (March 28, 2012). "Dawson Finds Joy from a Different Type of Diamond". Louisiana Tech University. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  10. ^ a b Babcock, Patricia (March 21, 1997). "Dawson women draw expertise from mother". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 25. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  11. ^ Zieralski, Ed (April 20, 2010). "She's been mom, motivator, matriarch". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  12. ^ "Dawson retires from Christian". East County Sports. June 4, 2007. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  13. ^ "It's orange-blossom time". Highland Park News-Herald & Journal. July 21, 1968. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  14. ^ "2014 ULM Softball Guide". Issuu.com. February 18, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  15. ^ "ULM to honor next set of greats". The News-Star. Monroe, Louisiana. September 27, 2005. p. 18. Retrieved March 15, 2019 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  16. ^ "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "Final 1994 Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Final 1995 Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Final 1996 Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
  20. ^ "Final 1997 Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 16, 2020.