University of Tennessee Athletics
20 for 20: 16 Days Til Softball Season
January 21, 2015 | Softball
Only 16 days left until the start of the 2015 Tennessee softball season! Today we look back at the 2000 Lady Vols.
Tennessee celebrates its 20th year of softball in 2015. In honor of the program's 20-year anniversary, we will count down the 20 days leading up to 2015 season opener on Feb. 6 against Ohio by reflecting on each Tennessee softball team, starting with the first-ever squad in 1996. We will also count down the days by jersey number, reflecting on the past players who wore that day's countdown number.
The Y2K team had high expectations entering the season as the '99 team made the program's first NCAA Regional appearance. Unfortunately a rough stretch through its SEC schedule plagued the 2000 Lady Vols, who finished at 29-34.
The 2000 team featured Jackie Beavers, Janette Koshell, Stephanie Humphrey, Annie Fletcher, Maura Mollet, Holly Ellison, Katie Williams, Melissa Radley, Leslie Poole, Nadia Cameron, Nicole Murray, Adrianna Wilson, Maria Torres, Jennifer Springs, Amanda Venable and April Phillips.
Koshell led the team offensively, hitting a team-high .339 with five homers, 18 doubles, 39 RBIs and 37 runs. Ellison hit .333 and Venable hit .326 with a team-best seven homers. Beavers was the ace in the circle, going 15-18 with a 2.50 ERA and 111 strikeouts.
The 2000 season saw the conclusion of some outstanding Tennessee careers. Venable finished an impressive two-year career with a .353 career batting average and 16 homers and 91 RBIs. Phillips concluded her UT career with 36 career stolen bases, which was second-most in program history at the time.
Beavers ended her Tennessee career as the program's leader in ERA (1.84), appearances (151), game started (121), wins (76), complete games (92) shutouts (25), innings pitched (768.1) and strikeouts (335). She has since been passed by Monica Abbott and a few other Tennessee pitching greats, but Beavers remains in the top 10 of every major pitching category. She is still second in UT history in complete games.
JERSEY COUNTDOWN - #16
| No. 16 | |||||||||||
| No. | Player | Years | Pos. | GP-GS | Avg. | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB |
| 16 | Jenny Steele | 1996-99 | OF | 252-216 | .307 | 628 | 137 | 193 | 0 | 41 | 28 |
| 16 | Marissa Monroe | 2004 | OF | 16-0 | .000 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Jen Lapicki | 2008-09 | C/1B | 123-122 | .284 | 334 | 48 | 95 | 11 | 71 | 2 |
Looking Back...#16 Jenny Steele
1996-99 | OF | 5-8 | S/R | Soddy Daisy, Tenn.
Steele was a founding member of the Tennessee softball program, signing the first-ever Tennessee softball scholarship, and helped lay the foundation for the Lady Vols who would follow. Her 1996 freshman season stands as one of the best showings by a rookie in UT softball history. Before a broken finger sidelined her for the final 19 games, she hit .391 with 63 hits, one double, 15 RBIs, 44 runs and three stolen bases. Steele would finish her UT career with a .307 batting average over 252 games played. She also excelled in the classroom, earning NFCA Scholar-Athlete Team honors in 1998 and 1999.
THROWBACK NOTES FROM HER BIO!
- Nicknamed "Daisy" by her teammates because of her hometown
- Came to UT because of the opportunities to start a new tradition and play for the-head coach Jim Beitia
