April 30, 2010
By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
| Ashleigh Cole in the Record Books |
| Where Cole ranks all-time in UCF history | |||||||||
| Category | Rank | Stats | |||||||
| ERA | 4 | 1.97 | |||||||
| B/Avg. | 4 | .219 | |||||||
| BB/7inn. | 3 | 1.86 | |||||||
| K/7inn. | 6 | 4.36 | |||||||
| W | 2 | 56 | |||||||
| SV | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| APP | 2 | 116 | |||||||
| GS | 2 | 85 | |||||||
| CG | 2 | 65 | |||||||
| SHO | 4 | 11 | |||||||
| IP | 2 | 644.1 | |||||||
| SO | 3 | 401 | |||||||
| SO/L | 3 | 108 | |||||||
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Fate sometimes has a funny way of working out and ultimately it can even alter the course of a person's life.
Such is the case with UCF standout senior Ashleigh Cole, who might not have ever toed a pitching rubber had it not been for a strange sequence of events back when she was a nine-year-old growing up in tiny Pace, Fla.
When Cole first started playing softball as kid, her coach often "stuck" her in right field because of her smallish frame at the time. Naturally, she despised the position, found it boring and it even caused her love for softball to waver at times.
But, after one set of tryouts, Cole took things - more specifically the softball - into her own hands.
When her mother, Karen, was late picking her up after tryouts one day, Cole started pitching on a side field with a friend. A coach from a different team saw how Cole zipped one strike after another into the catcher's mit, and he was in disbelief that Cole had never pitched in a game before. The coach saw to it that Cole was moved to his team, and he ultimately made her his ace pitcher.
Now, fast forward 13 years and Cole is the ace of the pitching staff at UCF. She's 18-12 on the season with a dazzling 1.42 ERA for the 29-20 Knights. Cole, now a 5-foot-11 power pitcher, has completed 26 of the 29 games she's pitched in and her four shutouts (against Ohio State, Houston, Southern Miss and Marshall) have come in some of the Knights' biggest games.
Cole can't help but wonder at times how her life would be different had fate not intervened that day at softball tryouts when she was nine years old. And what would have happened had her mother not been late that day to pick her up?
"My mom and I have joked about what might have happened," Cole said. "But we also said I would have eventually become a pitcher, because I wanted to do it so bad. We're just glad she was late that day."
That story is significant because of the pitcher that Cole has become for the Knights. By the time she's finished pitching - and she hopes that that comes later this spring in Oklahoma City at the College Softball World Series - Cole will unquestionably go down as one of the best pitchers in school history.
Her imprint at UCF will be left all over the record books. She ranks second in school history in wins (56), appearances (116), starts (85), complete games (65) and innings pitched (644.1). She's fourth in ERA (1.97), shutouts (11), opponent batting average (.219) and third in fewest walks per seven innings (1.86).
Renee Luers-Gillispie, who is in her ninth season as UCF's head coach, said Cole has made tremendous progress throughout her four years at UCF. She is especially proud of how Cole has worked to improve her stamina, something that came into play last week in a series against Tulsa. She worked a nine-inning game on Saturday and came back on Sunday to toss a five-hit, complete-game gem for the series win on Senior Day.
"She's worked so hard to get to this point. She knew all summer long she'd be our No. 1 pitcher and she put the time and effort into being our No. 1 pitcher," Luers-Gillispie said. "It didn't just happen. She's worked at it."
Though she didn't start out as a pitcher, the pressure of the position came naturally to Cole. She likes having teammates depend on her and she thrives on the one-on-one challenge of going after hitters. She felt the pressure to win last Sunday on Senior Day, but said she was comforted by knowing that her teammates had her back.
"We just knew we had to keep going and pushing. We all played that amount of innings and we came back and won the series, and that made it all worth it," Cole said. "Last year I wouldn't have been able to (pitch 16 innings in two days). And it helps who I have playing behind me. This year we have so much talent on the field and that helps me so much."
Now, she wants to help the Knights reach their stated goals of winning the Conference USA tournament and ultimately reach the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. Whereas many of the UCF players have the block letters "OKC" scribbled into their gloves, Cole said no such motivation is needed for her.
"Our whole plan is getting to Oklahoma City. We're excited about it and feel like we're capable of getting there. We really could go all the way," she said. "I don't have (OKC) written in there, but it's always been a goal of mine forever since I was a little kid watching it on TV. Even though it's not written in my glove it doesn't need to be because it's always on my mind."
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFathletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.