2013 Lady Tiger Softball Team
2013 Lady Tiger Softball Team
Access up-to-date stats at: www.acccsports.org
MARION, AL- Saturday, September 6, 2008, proved to be one for the history books at Marion Military Institute. For the first time in the history of the school, a collegiate softball game was played at MMI. The Lady Tiger softball team, (featuring 18 freshman), split their first ever doubleheader with East Mississippi Community College.
In the first game, EMCC prevailed 2-0. Caitlin Houk gave a strong pitching performance lasting 6 innings, scattering 7 hits, 2 runs, l walk and striking out 7. Carrie Bigos also pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Offensively, MMI catcher Nicole Bailey went 3 for 3 at the plate. Lauren Lewis and Gabby Arcuri also added singles.
In game 2, the Tiger bats came alive in an 11-3 five inning romp. Lauren Lewis, Allie Roach, Shannon Halverson and Natalie Gonzalez each had two hits. Espie Rothwell scored three runs, Ashley Clontz added two RBI’s and Raina Stiffler a pinch-hit single. Nicole O’Grady got the win, scattering three hits over four innings of work. Carrie Bigos again pitched a scoreless fifth.
The Lady Tigers will be back in action on Friday, September 12th at home against Judson College. The first pitch is scheduled for 1PM.
From The Tuscaloosa News (11/15/07)
UA’s Patrick Murphy visits MMI softball
University of Alabama softball coach Patrick Murphy recently visited MMI, which is starting up its collegiate softball program. MMI head coach Joe Guthrie, a former UA baseball player, knows Murphy from the Crimson Tide coach’s earliest days at UA.
Murphy toured MMI’s facilities on his visit and met with Ivey and Col. James Benson, the school’s president.
“I have always had a lot of respect for him,” Guthrie said. “It was an exciting day in Marion. We had a great time showing him where our program and school are headed at MMI.
“Each day at MMI we are working tirelessly to build a championship program. Learning from the best is part of that process.”
Reach Tommy Deas at tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-454-0117.
Published in NFCA’s Fastpitch Delivery November 2007 edition:
Coming Full Circle: How Learning to Lead Brought Me to MMI Softball
By: Joe Guthrie
F. Scott Fitzgerald once wrote, “Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist, but the ability to start over.” As I sit in my new office at Marion Military Institute, I feel very fortunate to be able to simply say, “I am starting the initial Fastpitch Softball program at MMI as the school’s first Head Coach.” Getting to Marion has been a fascinating journey for me. From a shy, naïve college baseball player to selfless combat veteran, I learned how valuable the gift of leading others can be. I decided the softball field at Marion provided the perfect place for me to pass this valuable lesson onto others.
Ten years ago this Fall, I left home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a baseball scholarship at the University of Kentucky. I was 18 years old and sincerely believed by my junior year, I would turn professional and embark on a long, successful major league career. However, despite years of physical preparation for the rigors of SEC baseball, mentally I was not ready.
After one semester, at UK, I was on the road back to junior college in Alabama. After three semesters in junior college (largely plagued with injuries), I managed to return to SEC baseball at the University of Alabama. Though I did mentally mature somewhat at Alabama, my body was finished with baseball. The aftermath for me was devastating. For years afterward, I only wanted to know why did I fail? Why did something I put years of my life into fall short of its goals? It would take many years for me to find answers to these questions.
I slowly began to realize that I did not “fail” as I had previously thought. My values during this period of my life were simply misplaced. Baseball was not about batting averages. Baseball statistics set the individual up for failure. It was supposed to be about being a good teammate. I realized I had never been the guy who supported his teammates, even when his own performance suffered. In my quest for professional stardom, I had been selfish.
After baseball ended, I found myself directionless for the first time in my life. I began to feel that I wanted to right some of the mistakes I made in my baseball days. The Army offered the challenge I needed. Thus, nine months after my playing career, I joined the National Guard.
The military experience awoke skills for me that I never knew I had. As a senior at Alabama, I began to realize that a vast academic universe existed much greater than baseball. Subjects like U.S. history and English literature began to fascinate me. World events took on a much greater meaning to me now that my profession had world implications. Suddenly, the goal of becoming an Army officer with a graduate degree became my new quest.
Eventually, I was able to earn a master’s degree and an Army commission as an Infantry officer at Jacksonville State University. The next two years I would spend learning my trade at Fort Benning, Georgia and Fort Lewis, Washington respectively. I enjoyed learning to lead men and saw myself making strides as a selfless person. However, I had never quite seen a scenario like my next challenge.
On October 14, 2004, three months after being married, I left Washington for Mosul, Iraq. Two months before, I was informed that I would become my battalion’s liaison officer to the fledgling Iraqi National Guard. For the next year, I saw events that would forever change my outlook on the world and shake my own faith to its core. In such an environment, one learned to simplify what was important: serving those men I commanded.
I spent one year in Iraq. During this period, I experienced numerous mortar attacks, suicide bombers, car bombers, small arms ambushes and much carnage. Many nights I sat up at night wondering why I ever got so discouraged and self-absorbed during something so trivial as baseball. However, just as a good baseball player would do, an environment like Iraq forced individuals to focus on what they could control and nothing else.
I am extremely proud to say that I never lost a man serving under me in Iraq. Unlike my baseball experience, I shielded personal stress of combat by giving myself to others. Through the ashes of my Iraq experience, I came to realize that giving through leadership was the only thing that really mattered. I knew that if I survived Iraq, this gift needed to be passed to others once I came home.
Upon returning from Mosul, I quickly realized that coaching baseball was a way for me to give back to those following me. For next two years, I was able to enjoy this opportunity at the high school level in both Washington and Florida. I found a certain peace with sports I had never known as a player.
After six years and a war, professional baseball also came calling to me after Iraq. I had finally turned pro: as a scout. I learned much from my year with the Florida Marlins scouting department. Traveling to various ballparks on many Florida nights proved therapeutic at times. Yet, burning up the roadways nearly every night of week quickly seemed a lifestyle not suited for me.
Though I enjoyed my brief time as a pro scout, seeing the game from the professional side left aspects to be desired. Baseball was a business. It had become a bigger, more refined business in my absence. During this same period, I began providing private hitting instruction to softball players in Florida. I could see a purer quality within that sport. Draft status and money issues seemed not to cloud softball. By the same token, with war still raging in Iraq, I felt my experience could aid others who may follow me overseas.
Marion Military Institute seemed to be meant for me. The challenge: building a fastpitch softball program from scratch. So, here I am the Head Softball Coach at MMI. I also teach U.S. history as well. My experience brought me to where I am today. My experience allows me to know that we will be successful in this endeavor at MMI. I am totally committed to producing a winning product on the field at MMI. Yet, more importantly, I help produce tomorrow’s leaders and that’s worth more than all the softballs our kids will ever hit.
