Softball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- lrwood2@bsu.edu
- Phone:
- 765-285-5137
Lacy Schurr enters her third season as head coach of the Ball State softball program in 2023, looking to build momentum after a strong first two seasons at the helm.
The Cardinals own a 59-49 record over her first two seasons, including a 46-22 mark in Mid-American Conference play. In fact, Schurr led the Cardinals to a program record 31 MAC wins (31-8) in her first year as a collegiate head coach, including the longest single-season MAC winning streak in program history at 16 games.
Ball State also tied the program record with an 11-game overall winning streak during the 2021 season. The team, which finished the year with a 37-18 overall record, broke the program’s single-season doubles record with 101 and finished the campaign with single-season program records for batting average (.329) and on base percentage (.415).
The 2021 season also saw Rothwell become the greatest closer in NCAA Division I history with her 33rd career save in the 6-3 win over Buffalo on May 14. Ball State’s pitchers finished 2021 ranked in the top 10 nationally with 10 total saves.
While the Cardinals finished the 2022 campaign with a 22-31 (15-14 MAC) record, it did see one of the most memorable moments in program history when then-freshman threw the first recorded perfect game in program history in the team’s 5-0 win in the second game of an April 20 doubleheader versus Western Michigan.
Ball State’s defense also provided several bright spots, as the team ended the season ranked sixth nationally with an average of 0.55 double plays per game. The Cardinals turned 29 double plays on the season, the third-most in a single season in program history.
Over her first two seasons, Schurr has seen her players earn NFCA All-Great Lakes Region honors four times, including two first-team honors and a pair of second-team accolades. On the conference awards list, she mentored the 2022 MAC Player of the Year and the 2022 MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year. Overall, her players have earned eight All-MAC honors, including five first-team and three second-team. She has also coached a pair of MAC All-Freshman Team selections and a MAC All-Defensive Team honoree.
In the classroom, the Cardinals have earned a total of 23 Academic All-MAC honors. In addition, Faith Hensley and Haley Dominique earned recognition on the CoSIDA Academic All-District Softball Team. Hensley would go on to become just the eighth player in program history to be named an Academic All-American when she was named to the 2022 Softball Academic All-America Second Team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
The 10th head coach in Ball State softball history, Schurr served the previous five seasons (2016-2020) on the coaching staff at Harvard, including the last two seasons as the associate head coach. The Crimson amassed a 101-81 record during that time, including a 59-23 mark in Ivy League play.
In her first year at Harvard in 2016, the program finished at the top of the Ivy League standings with a 16-4 conference record to earn its first of four straight appearances in the Ivy League Championship Series. The Crimson would go on to capture the Ivy League crown in both 2018 and 2019 to earn back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances.
Schurr was responsible for the development of the Harvard hitters who regularly ranked near the top of the Ivy League in batting average and runs scored, including leading the league with a .311 average in 2016. She also served as the Crimson recruiting coordinator for the past three years. Overall, she helped Harvard athletes earn 20 All-Ivy League selections, five National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors, three Ivy League Pitcher of the Year accolades, and one Ivy League Rookie of the Year award.
Before arriving at Harvard, Schurr spent three seasons (2013-15) as an assistant coach at Eastern Kentucky University, where she mentored the pitching staff and defense. Under her guidance, the team drastically lowered its ERA from 3.40 prior to her arrival to a 2.40 mark during the 2014 campaign. In addition, her tutelage shaped EKU’s fielders into the nation’s 43th-ranked defense with a .968 fielding percentage the same year.
Nine Eastern Kentucky players earned All-Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) honors over her three-year stint with the Colonels, with two players also garnering NFCA All-Region accolades.
Schurr’s first coaching stop came at her alma mater, the University of Louisville, as a volunteer for the Cardinals during the 2012 season. UofL finished the season with a program-record 55 wins, captured the Big East regular season and tournament titles, advanced to the NCAA Louisville Regional finals, and ranked 18th nationally at the end of the year.
Schurr (whose maiden name was Wood) was just as impressive as a player for the Cardinals, becoming the first softball All-American in Louisville history when she was named to the 2006 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Third Team. A 2019 inductee into the Louisville Athletics Hall of Fame, Schurr led the Cardinals to three NCAA Regional appearances, including the first in program history in 2004. The program also reached the NCAA Regional finals for the first time in program history in 2006.
A catcher and two-time team captain for the Cardinals, Schurr led the team with a .382 batting average, nine home runs, and 51 RBIs as a senior in 2006. She still owns the program’s career record for grand slams and continues to rank among Louisville’s top 10 in several career offensive categories including batting average, hits, slugging percentage, doubles, home runs, and RBIs.
Schurr’s play also sparked the Cardinals to the 2005 Conference USA and 2006 Big East regular season championships. After graduating from Louisville in 2006 with a degree in sociology, Schurr played professionally for two seasons in Australia and Italy.
Schurr, and her husband Jim, currently reside in Muncie.
