I've been looking forward to this episode for a long time because I get to interview one of my oldest friends, Jennies head softball coach Susan Anderson. Susan and I were classmates in college, and I got to cover her a lot as UCM's starting third baseman when I was a student assistant in the sports information office. Joining her this week is starting shortstop Abbey Fischer.
Coach Anderson is in her 17th season as head coach at UCM. She boasts a record of 478-360, and was the fastest coach in Jennies history to reach 100 wins as she accomplished the feat in her third year. She is second in school history in wins and winning percentage (among coaches with at least 20 games coached). As a player, Anderson was a two-time All-American, an Academic All-American as a senior, and an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient. She was inducted into the UCM Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009.
Abbey Fischer has had a much welcomed return to the Jennies line up. After batting .345 with six home runs, 11 doubles and 21 stolen bases and being named second-team All-MIAA as a sophomore, she suffered a stress fracture in 2022 that robbed her of much of her season (and the Jennies of a defensive master up the middle). She has returned with a vengeance in 2023 and is batting .405 with a .458 on-base percentage, two home runs, 10 RBI, and a pair of stolen bases in the Jennies' first 13 games.
We also share a HUGE week in UCM Athletics history, introduce a family replete with Mules and Jennies in our "Where Are They Now" segment, and preview the week ahead.
Listen live Thursday and Saturday at 6 p.m. or listen at your leisure at ucmbeat.com or by subscribing to our podcast.
And the answer to last week's trivia question: UCM's baseball team is the winningest program in NCAA Division II since 2000 with a record of 1,030-283. Which NCAA school is the winningest baseball program of all time?
That would be Fordham University. Back in 1859, Fordham played in the first ever nine-man college baseball game under current rules. The Rams won that game 33-11. In 161 seasons, Fordham has won 4,551 games. That's almost 1,000 more wins than the next-winningest college baseball program, the Texas Longhorns.
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