University of Tennessee Athletics
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October 23, 1999 | Softball
- Beitia vs. All Opponents
HEAD COACH
JIM BEITIA
After developing the Tennessee softball program from scratch with his own blueprint for success, Jim Beitia begins his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Volunteers. Under his guidance, the Big Orange hopes to defend its Southeastern Conference Eastern Division Championship and reach the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive campaign.
With eight seniors on the 1999 edition of the Lady Vols, expectations entering the regular season were very high. However, the team began SEC play at 1-7 following a pair of losses at Alabama. Instead of giving up on the season, Beitia directed the squad to a 16-4 record over its final 20 league contests to finish 17-11. Included in this total were doubleheader sweeps of Arkansas, Mississippi and Mississippi State. More importantly, the Lady Vols took three games out of four from East rivals Florida, Kentucky and #9 South Carolina, while earning a split with eventual conference winner #7 Louisiana State.
Tennessee reached the final day of action in Columbus, Ga., at the SEC Tourney for the first time and was later rewarded for its efforts by receiving an at-large bid to NCAA Regional No. 3 in Seattle, Wash. The club also earned its highest ranking of 24th in the final USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll of the regular season.
The Lady Vols received their fair share of post-season accolades as well, with a school-record five players being selected All-SEC. Kelli Fitzgerald, Kenyail Norris, Carrie Swinford, Amanda Venable and Lisa Warren were named to the second team, while Norris, Swinford and Adrianna Wilson also made second team All-South Region.
An engineering science major with a grade point average of 3.29, Norris was also tabbed as a second team Academic All-American, while Sarah Ayres, Jenny Steele and Maria Torres joined her on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. The trio of Ayres, Jodi Ramirez and Steele each earned scholarships from Tennessee's College of Education for their outstanding efforts in the classroom.
Although several of his original recruits have graduated after contributing so much to the school's success, with a stellar four-year mark of 180-94, Beitia is aiming to reload for another run at the post-season and a permanent residence in the Top 25.
In 1998, despite an assortment of untimely injuries, Beitia directed UT to a 37-31 record, a third-place finish in the Eastern Division and a berth in the SEC Tournament. The squad also made its initial appearance in the USA Today/NFCA preseason poll. Upset victories over third-ranked Women's College World Series participant Washington and #22 Kansas were among the squad's highlights, as well as the team's first-ever post-season conquest, a 2-1 edging of Arkansas at SECs. Both Fitzgerald and Norris earned All-SEC honors, while Fitzgerald was also tabbed second-team All-South. Ramirez became the first UT softball player to be selected as a first-team Academic All-American, and she also joined Ayres, Jackie Beavers, Norris and Steele on the SEC Academic Honor Roll.
In 1997, Beitia and his troops continued to make a name for themselves nationally, compiling a 45-22 overall record and a 20-7 ledger in the inaugural year of the SEC's Eastern Division. Tennessee upended several Top 25 squads and NCAA participants, including #4 South Carolina, #10 Long Beach State, #14 South Florida, Cal State Northridge and UNC Greensboro. The 6-1 victory on April 6 in Columbia, S.C., snapped the Lady Gamecocks' NCAA-record 38-game winning streak and proved to be USC's only loss to a conference foe. In addition, the Lady Vols were ranked regionally for most of the season and earned the third seed for the first-ever SEC Softball Tournament.
Under Beitia's tutelage, the Lady Vols earned an assortment of post-season accolades. For the first time in school history, the duo of Buffy Walker and Lisa Wyatt were selected first-team All-South Region and Swinford received a berth on the second team. Led by Bridget Jackson, Tracy Reidhead and Walker, UT placed more members on the All-SEC first team than any school but South Carolina, which landed four athletes on the 12-member squad.
Away from the softball diamond, Tennessee performed exceptionally well in the classroom, as Jackson, Norris, Reidhead and Steele were named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll. Both Jackson and Reidhead were also All-District choices. In addition, Reidhead was tabbed a third-team Academic All-American by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) and received a $1,000 post-graduate scholarship from Successful Farming magazine.
In 1996, Beitia guided Tennessee to an amazing 54-14 mark in its inaugural campaign, including more regular-season victories than any other Division I school. The Lady Vols also sat atop the nation in per-game averages in batting (.366), home runs (0.76), slugging percentage (.547) and doubles (2.088) while finishing second in scoring (7.65) and 10th in won-loss percentage (.794). Also, Tennessee's numbers for hits (676), runs (520), home runs (52), total bases (1,012) and doubles (142) placed it as the overall NCAA team leader and secured a spot on the all-time season records in several of those categories. UT set the NCAA Division I record for doubles while moving into third in runs in a season, hits, doubles per game and home runs; fourth in batting average; fifth in slugging percentage; and tying for sixth in home runs per game.
Beitia arrived in Knoxville after having spent the previous five years in various coaching capacities at the University of Oklahoma. With the Sooners, Beitia served stints as an assistant coach and interim head coach. He received his first head coaching assignment during the 1991-92 campaign when Oklahoma head coach Michelle Thomas took a sabbatical for medical reasons. When Thomas stepped down again before the 1993-94 season, Beitia took over and was appointed as the permanent head coach.
Beitia helped build the Oklahoma program into a Division I powerhouse. During the 1992 season, his team became the first-ever Sooner squad to break the 40-win barrier. In 1994, OU broke 18 school records, including nine team marks, and participated in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in the program's history. That year, Oklahoma exploded for 58 wins, which surpassed the previous season's win total by 36 and was the sixth-highest mark in NCAA history. The team also ranked fourth in the NCAA annals in hits (629), sixth in runs (401) and tied for eighth in home runs (38).
In six full seasons as a head coach, Beitia has fashioned a 278-135 record, winning at a .673 rate. In UT's first season, he notched both his 100th career win, a 2-1 decision over Texas-San Antonio in the Louisiana Classics, and his 150th overall victory, a 10-6 defeat of Middle Tennessee State in the Lady Vol Classic. At the Mardi Gras Classic in '98, a 3-2 decision over Centenary College was Beitia's 200th triumph. Ironically, his 250th win also came against MTSU on March 23, 1999.
During his 13 years as a collegiate assistant and head coach, his teams have compiled a 524-294 overall mark, claiming a .641 winning percentage. High on his list of accomplishments are victories over numerous nationally-ranked opponents, including Washington, Kansas, UCLA, South Carolina, Long Beach State, Florida State, UL-Lafayette, Texas A&M, Louisiana State, South Florida, Michigan, Hawaii, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Missouri.
Prior to guiding the Oklahoma program, Beitia began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Cal State Sacramento. Serving as an assistant coach from 1985-89, he was part of one of the top programs in the country. The Hornets completed the 1987 season ranked fifth in Division II, while the 1988 squad collected a one-time NCAA record 57 wins along with a No. 2 national ranking. Noted as a top-notch recruiter, he was instrumental in bringing several highly-regarded players to Sacramento and taking the Hornets to the Division I level.
Additionally, Coach Beitia has helped develop numerous All-Americans, including Becky Burroughs, Rachel Johnson, Brea Moore and Jill Most while at Oklahoma. Three of those former pupils who benefited from his tutelage have played professionally. Burroughs toured with the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) league all-star team in 1995 and was drafted by the league in the 13th round as the 75th overall player selected. Meanwhile, Cal State Sacramento graduate Toni Heisler was the starting shortstop for the Colorado Silver Bullets women's professional baseball team during the club's first two years of existence. In addition, one-time OU pitcher Most was the second pick in the 1997 WPF draft but instead chose to play with the ASA National Championship team, the Redding Rebels. Beitia's impact upon the futures of former players extends beyond those who have pursued careers as athletes, as he has helped inspire 23 one-time pupils to take up employment as high school and college softball coaches.
Beitia's talents do not solely lie on the diamond. Other ventures include being published, as he has written articles for Softball Digest as well as two books tailored to softball coaches. An accomplished speaker, he has worked at several camps and clinics as a lecturer and teacher on both the national and international levels. Included on his list of appearances are the baseball camps run by 1996 U.S. Olympic assistant coach Jerry Weinstein, the Texas A&M Higher Ground softball camp and the Converse Pennsylvania Baseball/Softball Coaches Clinic. Beitia also conducts sessions of the Lady Vol softball camp at Tyson Park during the summer months.
This past summer, Beitia worked with the coaching staffs of the Colombian National Team and the country's Pan-American squad in Cartagena, Colombia. At the Solidarite Olympique, he was able to offer his insights and impart his softball knowledge to numerous players.
In 1996, Beitia was selected as one of the coaches for the tryout camp that determined the 1997 Junior World Championship team which represented the United States in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. In November of 1998, he also journeyed to Colombia, South America, to participate in a clinic.
In January 1995, Major League Baseball International chose Beitia as the softball delegate for a tour of the Netherlands in the Koninklijke Nederlandse Baseball en Softball Bond clinic held in Noordwijk, Holland. Among those participating with Beitia on the goodwill trip were current St. Louis Cardinals' pitching coach Dave Duncan and Joe Madden of the California Angels.
In 1989, Beitia served as the softball venue director for the U.S. Olympic Festival in Oklahoma City, Okla. That year he also was co-head coach of the American Softball Association's (ASA) Sportstime Express, which concluded the national tournament with a fifth-place finish. In the 1990 championships, he followed by piloting the California Breeze into seventh place.
A 1981 graduate of Cal State Sacramento, he earned a bachelor of arts degree in business administration. He also received an associate of arts degree in business administration in 1978 from San Joaquin Delta College, where he competed on the track and wrestling teams. Born in Pocatello, Idaho, Beitia hails from Stockton, Calif., where he earned numerous honors while playing shortstop on the ASA Men's Major Fastpitch circuit from 1976-85 before his coaching ventures took him to the Midwest.
BEITIA'S HEAD COACHING RECORD 1991-92 Interim Head Coach Oklahoma 40-26 1993-94 Head Coach Oklahoma 58-15 1995-96 Head Coach Tennessee 54-14 1996-97 Head Coach Tennessee 45-22 1997-98 Head Coach Tennessee 37-31 1998-99 Head Coach Tennessee 44-27 Head Coach 6 years 278-135 Oklahoma 2 years 98-41 Tennessee 4 years 180-94BEITIA'S FORMER PLAYERS
WITH CAREERS IN SOFTBALL
Lonni Alameda (Oklahoma '92)
Assistant Coach - Stanford
Darci Brownell (Cal State Sacramento '88)
Head Coach - Sierra College (Calif.)
Becky Burroughs (Oklahoma '94)
Player - Women's Professional Fastpitch
Lori Dawid-Ross (Cal State Sacramento '90)
Head Coach - Natomas HS (Calif.)
Casey Dickson (Oklahoma '98)
Assistant Coach - Tulsa
Kelli Fitzgerald (Tennessee '99)
Assistant Coach - Maryville HS (Tenn.)
Kelly Ford (Oklahoma '92)
Assistant Coach - Cal State Fullerton
Dayna (Garcia) Carter (Oklahoma '93)
Assistant Coach - Tennessee
Analisa Jackson (Oklahoma '95)
Hitting Instructor - Norman, Oklahoma
Mindy Johnson (Oklahoma '97)
Assistant Coach - Missouri
Rachel Johnson (Oklahoma '98)
Player - Women's Professional Fastpitch
Jill Most (Oklahoma '97)
Pitching Coach - Wichita State
Debbie Nelson (Cal State Sacramento '88)
Owns Pitching & Hitting School - Tracy, Calif.
Kenyail Norris (Tennessee '99)
Player - Women's Professional Fastpitch
Missy Panzer (Oklahoma '96)
Assistant Coach - Oklahoma
Chelle Putzer (Oklahoma '93)
Head Coach - St. Mary's (Calif.)
Tracy Reidhead (Tennessee '97)
Assistant Coach - Eastern Arizona
Stacey Segal (Texas A&M '94)
Head Coach - Navarro JC
Jennifer Sherman (Oklahoma '94)
Head Coach - Del Oro HS (Calif.)
Shawna Smith (Cal State Sacramento '87)
Head Coach - Elk Grove HS (Calif.)
Laura Stapley (Oklahoma '92)
Assistant Coach - American River JC
Shelly Suwa (Oklahoma '91)
Assistant Coach - Nicholls State
Lisa Wyatt (Tennessee '97)
Player - Women's Professional Fastpitch
