Softball Keeps Moving Forward
The 2008 season proved to be one of the finest for the program in only Becky Bruns fourth season. Coach Bruns has improved her teams each year and the 2008 season was a season where the hard labor started to pay off. The Judson Eagles finished third at the NCCAA National Tournament, broke the school record for wins in a season, and won a CCAC Tournament game.
It was also a season of many records and awards for Judson. Seven individual single season records, four team records, and the career record for home runs were all broken in 2008.
Judson started off the season 6-4 out in Arizona at the Tucson Invitational. Judson knocked off nationally ranked McKendree University along the way in the 10 games.
From there, Judson kept trucking through the first half of the season as they swept St. Xavier in CCAC play. This was the first time that Judson had defeated St. Xavier in the history of the program and the Cougars were also ranked #2 in the NAIA Region VII poll. Because of their start, Judson moved up to #3 in the NAIA Region VII poll.
From that point on, Judson bounced back in forth in the win column finished the season at 24-24. Judson did receive an at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament in Florida for the second year in a row and ended up claiming third place, their best finish, ever.
In the CCAC Tournament, Judson was the #6 seed and fell to #3 St. Xavier in eight innings, 6-2. Judson fought back and won their first CCAC Tournament game under Bruns by defeating Cardinal Stritch, 5-4, but then fell to #2 St. Francis, 3-2, in eight innings.
The post season was very generous to Judson as they picked up several NCCAA and CCAC awards. Judson also had their first-ever award at the NAIA level when Nicole Dimiceli was awarded to the NAIA All-Region team.
3rd at NCCAA Nationals
For the second straight season, Judson received an at-large bid to the NCCAA National Tournament. This was only the second time that any softball team had gone to a national tournament. In West Palm Beach, Florida, Judson started off the tournament with a 2-0 record. Judson, with a #7 seed, shut out #6 Palm Beach Atlantic, 2-0, and then knocked off #1 Mt. Vernon Nazarene, 3-2. On the following day, Judson faced one of their biggest challenges in #3 Olivet Nazarene as they faced the Tigers for the fourth time in the season and fell, 10-2. On the following day, in a rematch with Palm Beach Atlantic and a chance to play for the national championship, Judson lost, 7-5, to finish 2-2 and claim third place.
NAIA All-Region
For the first-time in the history of the program, Judson had a player named to the NAIA Region VII All-Region team. Nicole Dimiceli picked up the award for her strong batting performance. She hit over .400 on the season and had eight home runs and 47 RBI.
NCCAA National Awards
Judson picked up several NCCAA national awards due to their play in the 2008 season.
All-Americans: Judson had two NCCAA All-American 1st Team selections in Debra Leganski and Nicole Dimiceli. This was the second year in row that Leganski was named a NCCAA All-American.
All-Tournament: Three players were given NCCAA All-Tournament awards for their play at the national tournament in Nicole Dimiceli, Tricia Lakotish, and Aimee Ewert.
Player of the Week: Nicole Dimiceli garnered the NCCAA National Player of the Week award for April 19th for helping Judson go 4-4. After four scoreless innings vs. Purdue-NC, Nicole hit a three-run home run, en route to a 5-3 win. In her first at-bat vs. St. Francis, Nicole hit a 2-run home run home run and then batted again in the inning with a 2-run double for 4 RBI in first inning. In the final CCAC game of the season vs. TIU, she had two doubles and scored three times.
NCCAA All-Region
Three players earned NCCAA All-Region in Nicole Dimiceli, Debra Leganski, and Lizzy Jacobson. This was the second year in a row that Leganski was named to the first-team.
NCCAA/NAIA Academic All-Americans
Two players were named both to the NAIA and NCCAA Academic All-American teams for their grade point average. Amy Meier and Tricia Lakotish both had high GPAs to earn the awards. It was the second year in a row that Meier was named a NCCAA Academic All-American.
CCAC Awards
Having one of their finer seasons in the CCAC with a 10-8 record, Judson had four players named All-CCAC. Three of the four players were given All-CCAC First-Team status. The four players matched the most by any Judson team as four players were also named in the 2002 season. Debra Leganski, Nicole Dimiceli, and Lizzy Jacobson were all first-team selections while Kristin Krueger was a honorable mention selection.
All-Tournament: Both Nicole Dimiceli and Aimee Ewert were named to the All-Tournament team. It was the first selections for the All-Tournament team since the 2003 season.
Player of the Week: Nicole Dimiceli was the only player to receive the CCAC Player of the Week award on March 17th.
CCAC Freshman of the Year
For the first-time in the history of the program, Judson had a CCAC Freshman of the Year. Nicole Dimiceli was given the award for her player. She was first in total bases and slugging percentage, second in batting average, and third in hits and home runs.
10 CCAC Wins Ties Program Record
By winning 10 games in the 2008 season in the CCAC, Judson tied the school record for CCAC wins in a season. The 10 wins matches the 2005 season when Judson went 10-8 and finished tied for third. In the 2008 season, Judson finished in a tie for fourth.
Milestone Wins
Judson had a couple of milestone wins for the program in the 2008 season. One of the biggest came in the first CCAC series of the season as Judson defeated St. Xavier for the first time in the history of the program. Judson swept SXU, 4-1 and 9-5, to start off 2-0 in the CCAC. They also defeated their first-ever nationally ranked opponent in #20 McKendree University, 3-2. Judson also won two games at the national tournament which is one more than they won in 2007.
Dimiceli Rewrites Single Season Hitting Records
Setting four different hitting records in her first season, Nicole Dimiceli has put her name in the record books. She broke the single season records for hits, RBI, runs scored, and doubles. She is also second in home runs with eight and at bats (163).
Dimiceli smashed the hits record by 11 with 71 hits to surpass Laura Olson who set the record in 2003. Dimiceli then batted in 47 runs to break Amy Brendlinger's record of 42 set in 2003. With 44 runs scored, Dimiceli broke Tiffany Maddox's record of 38 that was also set in 2003. Dimiceli then tied the record for doubles in season with 20 as she tied Olson from the 2003 season.
In her career statistics, she now stands fourth in home runs, sixth in doubles, eighth in RBI and stolen bases, 10th in runs scored, and 13th in hits.
Leganski Destroys Record For Single Season Home Runs
Debra Leganski left her mark on the Judson softball program in the 2008 season with 14 home runs. Those 14 home runs broke the single season record of five that was set by Laura Olson in 2003. The 14 home runs also led the CCAC as she finished three ahead of St. Xavier's Aly Kelley. Leganski had two multi-home run games when she hit two home runs against Purdue-North Central and then went 3-of-3 with three home runs vs. Calumet College.
Nicole Dimiceli and Lizzy Jacobson also broke the record with eight home runs but could not match Leganski's 14.
In the NAIA
Judson had two players finish in the top 20 in the NAIA in different categories. With 14 home runs, Debra Leganski was sixth in the NAIA for home runs as averaged 0.29 per game. Nicole Dimiceli was 14th in doubles as she had 20 doubles and averaged 0.42 per game, 20th in total bases (117) at 2.44 per game, 25th in hits (71) at 1.48 per game, 33rd in slugging percentage at .718, and 39th in batting percentage (.436). Carrie Sensor was 39th in at bats (165) at 3.44 per game.
Dimiceli, Leganski Lead CCAC
Both Nicole Dimiceli and Debra Leganski led the CCAC in three different categories. Dimiceli led the CCAC in total bases (117) and slugging percentage (.718). She also had a CCAC best seven RBI in a game vs. Carthage College. Leganski led the CCAC in home runs with 14 and had a CCAC best three home runs in a game vs. Calumet College.
Jacobson, Sensor Set Single Season Records
Both Lizzy Jacobson and Carrie Sensor set new single season records for two different categories. Jacobson set a new record in walks in a season as she was placed on base 21 times to break the record of 20 by Jennifer Sopha in 1995. Sensor made 165 at bats in 2008 to break Jodie Baker's record of 149 set in 2002.
Kristen Krueger (150) and Nicole Dimiceli (163) also broke the record.
Judson Breaks Record For Wins In a Season
One of the biggest records broken in the 2008 season was the win total. Judson won 24 games as it came down to the final game the double header game vs. Carthage College. Judson pulled out a 11-3 win in six innings to break the record by one win. The 2002 team, coach by Rick Eddy, won 23 games.
Five Team Records Set in 2008
The 2008 season marked a new era in records for Judson as they broke five different team records. The first was wins in a season as they won 24 to break the old record of 23 set in 2002. They also broke the record for most hits, most runs, most RBI, and home runs. Judson had 398 hits in 2008 to surpass the old record by 41 hits (357) set in 2003. Judson then scored 248 runs to break the 2002 record of 221. They then broke the 2003 record of 195 RBI with 211 RBI. The final record broken was home runs in a season as they shattered the record of 14 with 40 home runs.
Nicely, Meier, Ewert Put Mark on Record Book
Brittany Nicley, Amy Meier, and Aimee Ewert all finished their careers at Judson in the record books. Nicley finished fourth in at bats (381), seventh in hits (91), 12th in walks (21), and 13th in RBI (37) and runs scored (35). Meier is fourth in walks (29) and 10th in home runs (3). In pitching, Ewert finished second in strikeouts (159), third in innings pitched (225.2), and third in wins (16).
Leganski Breaks Career Home Run Record
With 18 career home runs, Debra Leganski surpassed Laura Olson's nine that was set in a four-year mark. Leganski has hit 18 home runs in two season with 14 in 2008. Lizzy Jacobson also passed by Olson with 13 career home runs.
