Coe Softball

Maddy Ryan will join Coe softball

Linn-Mar senior Maddy Ryan has accepted an offer to join the Coe softball team, Linn-Mar Coach John Begley confirmed Monday.

Ryan was a star pitcher and outfielder for the Lions last season when they finished with a 27-14 record.

She compiled a 21-13 record and 1.84 ERA, with 81 strikeouts in 182.2 innings. She also hit .386 with 13 doubles, nine triples, three home runs and 37 RBI.

Ryan was named to the all-Metro and all-Mississippi Valley Conference honor squads last season as a first-team selection.

Alyssa Olson will pitch for Kohawks

Cedar Rapids Jefferson pitcher Alyssa Olson has accepted an offer to join the Coe softball team next year.

Olson has compiled a 39-10 record the past two seasons, helping the J-Hawks make consecutive trips to the Class 5A state tournament.

Olson went 18-6 with a 0.74 ERA this past year as a junior when Jefferson finished seventh at the state tournament. She struck out 188 batters in 160 innings and was named second team all-state.

Olson fashioned a 21-4 record and 1.03 ERA as a sophomore in 2013 when Jefferson finished fifth at the state tournament. She struck out 237 batters in 163.1 innings that season.

Timmons retires as Coe softball coach

Bob Timmons has retired as the softball coach at Coe College, the school announced Wednesday.

Diane Meyer, a long-time assistant coach with the Kohawks and a former player at Coe, will succeed Timmons as head coach.

Timmons retires as one of the most successful coaches in the history of NCAA Division III softball. With a career record of 927-366, he leaves with the second-most wins in NCAA Division III history and is one of just three coaches in the division with more than 900 career wins.

His 552 wins in 17 seasons at Coe are the most in school history.

“It wasn't an easy decision to make, but I felt it was the right time," said Timmons. "I look forward to spending a lot of time with my friends and family and doing a little bit more hunting, fishing, golfing and anything else that just sounds like fun."

Coe advanced to the NCAA Regional Championships in 11 of his 17 seasons, including trips to the NCAA Division III National Championship Series in 2006 and 2009.

The 2009 squad finished second in the country, the highest finish of any team in Coe College athletics history. A four-time Iowa Conference Coach of the Year, Timmons led the Kohawks to four Iowa Conference titles. During his tenure, Coe had nine Iowa Conference MVPs and nine NFCA All-Americans.

“We appreciate the 17 years that Coach Timmons invested into Coe College and the Kohawk softball program,” said Coe athletic director John Chandler. “Bob took the program to new heights, including two trips to the NCAA D-III Championship as part of the eight best teams in the nation.

"Thanks to Coach Timmons, the Kohawk softball program is respected across the country. As we move forward I am confident Coach Meyer will continue to build on the success we have enjoyed over the past 17 years.”

A 1985 Coe graduate, Meyer has spent the last 12 years as an assistant coach for the Kohawks. A four-time All-Midwest Conference selection, Meyer was a team captain her final two years as a Kohawk. She was inducted into the Coe Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.

Happy birthday! Coe wins NCAA opener

Maddison Woodruff has pitched all season with a torn rotator cuff in her right shoulder, but the two-time Iowa Conference Pitcher of the Year was all smiles Friday afternoon.

Woodruff tossed a two-hit shutout as No. 11 Coe blanked St. Scholastica, 3-0, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III regional softball tournament at Clark Field.

Coe (36-8) will face No. 22 Augustana, Ill. (34-11) in the winners bracket final Saturday at 11 a.m. in the double-elimination tournament.

Woodruff shared top billing Friday with Marcie Crawford, who celebrated her 21st birthday with a clutch pinch-hit single to help the Kohawks snap a scoreless ballgame and grab a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.

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