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Home > Blogs > Wright State University sports > Archives > 2009 > June > 25 > Entry
WSU softball coach takes job at Arkansas
This just in from Wright State’s Sports Information Department:
LARABEE NAMED HEAD SOFTBALL COACH AT ARKANSAS
Mike Larabee, the head coach of the Wright State softball program the past five seasons, has been selected as the new head coach at the University of Arkansas, it was announced Thursday.
“I want to thank Wright State University and the athletic administration for the opportunity to coach softball here the last five years,” said Larabee. “It has been a challenging and exciting five years. I’m proud of the accomplishments that our program has achieved and want to thank all the players for their hard work and dedication to the program. All players are returning and the program is in excellent shape.”
“My family and I have established many great relationships in the community and really loved the Miami Valley,” added Larabee. “I want to wish Wright State University the best of luck in the future and will always have a special place in my heart for the university and people I worked with.”
During his tenure with the Raiders, Larabee led the program to two NCAA appearances and 30-plus wins in each of the last two seasons.
“This is a bittersweet day for Wright State,” said WSU Director of Athletics Bob Grant. “We are losing one of the best softball coaches in the nation, but I’m also extremely happy for Coach Larabee. This is a tremendous opportunity for him and his family. Mike has built our program into a top program in the Horizon League, and I look forward to watching him achieve the same level of success in the SEC.””
Wright State posted 30-plus wins for the second consecutive year in 2009, with the 34 victories trailing just the 36 in 2000 for the most wins ever in a season. Wright State finished third in the Horizon League standings by going 16-8, the most conference wins ever for a Raider team.
The Raiders recorded their first winning campaign since 2001 by finishing 33-26 in 2008 and also placed third in the regular season Horizon League standings, which marked the highest finish for WSU in seven years. Wright State then defended its League Tournament title at the Loyola Softball Park in Chicago by winning four straight games, two in dramatic comeback fashion.
The Raiders, making their second straight NCAA appearance and third overall in program history, advanced to the regionals in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and had the lead in the late stages of both games before falling to Michigan and Kent State.
Outfielder Jherica Williams became the first Raider ever to be selected as the Horizon League Player of the Year and the first to be named First Team All-Great Lakes Region since 1999 as she led all of Division I in runs batted in per game (1.24), was second in slugging percentage (.909), third in batting average (.469) and fifth in on-base percentage (.566).
Wright State posted 11 new team season records in 2008, including 67 home runs, which shattered the previous mark of 25 set in 1999. As a team, WSU ranked fifth nationally in triples per game (0.36), 10th in batting average (.315) and slugging percentage (.510) and 12th in runs per game (5.85) and home runs per game (1.14). The Raiders also set 10 single-season and six career individual records.
In 2007, the Raiders won four straight games to claim the Horizon League Tournament title despite entering the tournament as the seventh seed. Wright State then advanced to the NCAA Regionals in Evanston, Illinois, falling to eventual College World Series participant Northwestern 4-1 on the Wildcats home field and 3-0 to Notre Dame.
Along with his coaching duties at Wright State, Larabee has also been a part of the USA Women’s National Team Coaching Pool for the both the 2005-08 and 2009-12 Olympic Quadrenniums. As a result, Larabee will be an assistant coach with the USA Softball Pan American Qualifier Team that will compete in Maracay, Venezuela, July 31-August 9.
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Comments
By Will
June 25, 2009 11:21 PM | Link to this
Good luck Coach, wont be the same not seeing you take prospective players about campus on your tours. good luck as a Razorback, luckly the fight song wont be to strange :-)
By jack
August 18, 2009 7:23 PM | Link to this
who is the front runner for the wright state softball job ?