New coaches to give softball a makeover

New head and assistant coaches are aiming to hit a grand slam with EMU softball--and they’ll do it on a renovated field.

One of the key players in all of these advancements is the new head coach, JD McCurdy. McCurdy comes to EMU from Turner Ashby High School in Harrisonburg, Va. He has had much success in his time at TA including eight consecutive trips to the district playoffs.

In addition to his high school experience he has led his summer team to five consecutive state championships.

McCurdy is joined by Britt Newman who also comes to us from TA's coaching staff. She is a recent graduate of JMU. Fall season begins this month and the players and coaches are excited about getting things rolling and working hard to put EMU softball on the map.

The biggest change coming to athletics will be with softball. Construction started on the softball field in left field where the sod was pulled up and a batting cage is being built. There will also be a bullpen set up that accommodates up to six pitchers. Along with these additions, there will be a change in the size of the field. In the past, EMU has had the largest field in the ODAC. Soon a new fence will be set up which measures 205 at center and 195 in left and right field. The field will also have a new backstop with sod behind the plate.

The most drastic change in the appearance of the field will be the long awaited addition of dugouts and even built in bleachers. This will give the field an amazing makeover and help EMU have the best field in ODAC.

Larry Martin, Director of Athletics, is hoping to have most of the changes done by the start of the spring season and many people have been lending a hand and many hours of hard work to see these improvements are made.