WEATHERFORD, Texas -- Weatherford College has hired Dottie Cupp as the school's first softball coach, athletic director Steven Garippa said Thursday.

The school's board of trustees voted in June to add softball to the athletic program. Cupp will spend

the 2010-11 academic year teaching and recruiting, with the first group of players on campus in the fall of 2011.

After a semesterof fall scrimmages, the Lady Coyote softball team will play its first official games in the spring of 2012.

"She hasexperience as a recruiting coordinator, softball skills camp director, pitching coach, and still holds several impressive records from her playing days at the University of Central Florida," Garippa said.

Cupp spent the past two years as an assistant softball coach at Towson University in the Baltimore area.

The native of Milton, Fla., was head softball coach at Polk Community College in Winter Haven, Fla., for three years before her stint at Towson.

Under Cupp, Polk CC advanced to the Region 8 Tournament in 2008.

She also served as an assistant coach at the University of North Florida.

Cupp playedtwo years at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla., where she was co-pitcher of the year as a sophomore and a two-time first team Louisville Slugger All-American.

She moved on to Central Florida, where she holds the school record for career shutouts (20). She earned all-conference honors in all four years of college softball, along with all-region honors as a freshman, sophomore and junior.

"While theapplicant pool was very strong, I feel that Coach Cupp will bring a focused intensity and compassion to building our new softball program," Garippa said.

Cupp said she is "very excited" about the opportunity at Weatherford College.

"I'm especially excited to start a new program. I was one of the first seniors at Central Florida, so I've been in the situation as a player and now I'll have the opportunity to do it as a coach. Texas has a lot of softball talent, so I'm ready get started recruiting and building the program."

She will also teach in WC's kinesiology department. She holds a bachelor's degree in business from UCF and a master's degree in kinesiology from Texas Woman's University.

The Odessa College softball team is packing its bags and getting ready to head to St. George, Utah.

The Lady Wranglers won the Region V West Softball Championship on Sunday with a 5-3 victory over Midland College.

Odessa College will host the 2010 Region 5 West softball tournament May 8-9.  Below is tournament information. 

Please click here to view the bracket.

Game 1 and game 2

Odessa and Midland will be home team due to higher seed.

Odessa and Midland will be in the third base dugout.

Game 1 Odessa Vs Clarendon 9:30

7:40-8:20 Cages Odessa/Field Clarendon

8:20-9:00 Cages Clarendon/Field Odessa

9:15 line up to scorer

9:20 line up exchange with Umpires

9:25 Announce team and national anthem

9:30 game time

Game 2 Midland Vs Howard

9:40-10:20 Midland Cages/Howard field (middle of the track) also an area in the grass.

10:20-11:00 Howard Cages/Midland field (middle of the track)

Line-up to scorer at end of previous game.

10 minutes before game time line-up exchange with umpire

5 minutes off game time we will announce teams

Sunday 11am game

9:10 high seed in cage/lower seed field

9:50 switch

10:45 line-up to score table

10:50 line-up exchange with umpires

10:55 team announce and national anthem

11:00 game time

GAME TIMES

We are going to have the game time set at 25 minutes after the final out of the previous game.

PRE-GAME TIME LINE (after game 1 and 2)

Flip for home should be done at the completion of the previous game if a team is playing back to back.

If neither team is playing back to back, (game 4) then the flip can occur prior to completion of previous game.

Championship game will be flipped for, the if game will have the teams switch home and visitors

Line-ups to scores table 10 minutes before game time.

Line-up exchange with umpires 5 minutes before game time.

PRE-GAME WARM-UP

Ground balls can be taking in foul territory while the field is being prepped.

Outfield will be available upon completion of the previous game.

Due to lighting we will, as in conference play, start the International Tie-breaker in the top of the 8^th inning. (ITB)

The 8-run rule will be in effect for every game throughout the tournament.

Announcement will be in numerical order, lining up on your respective foul lines. The announcer will then announce the defensive starters during the 5 pitch warm-up.

The first softball poll is out and two Region 5 softball teams enter the season with high expectations. 

Coach Tommy Ramos' Lady Chaps of Midland College enter the season ranked ninth in the National Junior College Athletic Conference while rival Odessa College enters the season 19th nationally. 

Odessa begins their season today with a tournament in Tucson, Ariz. while Midland begins with a February 5th date with Our Lady of the Lakes.

Most Valuable Player
Amanda Tinkley	Odessa College

 

Coach Of The Year
Tommy Ramos	Midland College