Softball | 7/13/2015 4:12:00 PM

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University head softball coach Lani Shaffer has announced the hiring of Amanda Pridmore as the assistant softball coach for the Bulldogs. Pridmore  was a standout pitcher at NCAA Division I San Jose State, where she holds six school records.

"I am very excited about Amanda joining the Wingate softball program," Shaffer says. "She will bring a lot of knowledge, energy and passion for the game to our pitching staff which I am excited about."

Pridmore earned her degree from San Jose State in 2012. She would go on to earn a Master of Arts degree in 2014. Pridmore ended her illustrious career as the school's all-time leader in wins, saves, strikeouts, strikeouts per seven innings and games finished. She finished second all-time in games started, innings pitched and opponents' batting average, fourth in complete games and fifth in shutouts.

Pridmore was the team captain on the 2013 WAC championship San Jose State team. She was named the Pitcher of the Year and WAC Tournament MVP in 2013, while also earning All-Region honors from the NFCA. She earned All-WAC accolades in each of her final two seasons, while taking home WAC Pitcher of the Week honors six times.

Pridmore finished her career ranked third among all active NCAA Division I pitchers in saves, ninth in appearances, 13th in innings pitched, 20th in games started, 24th in complete games, 26th in wins and 30th in strikeouts.

Pridmore joins the Wingate coaching staff after spending a year as the pitching coach at Cutting Edge Softball in San Jose, Calif. She provided private and group lessons for fast-pitch softball players of all age. Pridmore performed individual pitching lessons that focused on proper mechanics and basic pitching techniques. Pridmore was also an assistant coach for the Westbay Nuggets from 2010-12, a 16U travel team in San Jose.

Pridmore comes in to join a Wingate program that has made two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last three years. The Bulldog pitching staff is anchored by rising senior right-hander Stacey Houser. The three-time All-SAC selection has 69 career wins, tied for the most in school history.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Wingate University, ranked as the 10th "best value" in the South by U.S. News & World Report, serves more than 3,000 students on three campuses in Wingate, Charlotte and Hendersonville, N.C. Founded in 1896, the University offers 35 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration, and doctorates in pharmacy, physical therapy and education.
 
With a 14 to 1 student/teacher ratio, Wingate students gain the tools and support needed to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. To view current news, video and story ideas, visitwww.youtube.com/wingateuniversity. 
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past nine years. For more information, go to www.wingate.edu.
 
Wingate is first among NCAA Division II Academic All-America®-producing colleges in the 2000's with 77 selections. Among North Carolina's colleges and universities, Wingate's 77 Academic All-America® honorees are number one during this millennium. Wingate's 86 lifetime Academic All-America® picks are tops among all SAC schools. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com.