CHAMPION MAGAZINE ARTICLE

SAINT LEO, Fla. – Saint Leo softball assistant coach Maddie Holub has caught the eye of the NCAA Champion Magazine and the rest of the nation with her efforts as assistant on the Lions staff.

Entering the coaching ranks last year, Holub took a pitching staff of just two returners and an incoming freshman and made them a powerhouse in the circle in Division II.

Holub, a standout at Fort Hays State University, showcased a set of skills that led to her being named the 2013 NFCA and Daktronics All-America first teams as a pitcher and was tabbed the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Pitcher and Player of the Year.

In 2015, the pitching staff recorded a then-program record 18 shutouts, with a team ERA of 1.23 to finish as the second best pitching staff in the nation in Division II. Following the season, Holub was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Assistant Coach of the Year. Prior to the Holub's arrival at Saint Leo, the pitching staff had just eight shutouts, an improvement of 10 games.

Current senior Alana Tabel went from a 3.47 ERA as a sophomore, the season before Holub arrived, to a Division II best 0.94 ERA. As a junior, Tabel pitched 17 complete games with five shutouts en route to her 16-5 record.

This season, Holub has pushed the staff even further. Two of three pitchers on staff hold a sub-1.00 ERA, as all three are ranked in the top-25 in the nation. The staff as a whole, leads all of Division II in earned run average with a staff ERA of 0.86. Tabel is second in the nation with a 0.64 ERA in her senior season. Stephanie Adkins, who was just named one of 25 finalist for the Schutt Sports/NFCA DII National Player of the Year, is eighth in the nation owning a 0.82 ERA. Samantha Tyler is 24th in the country with a 1.26 ERA.

Holub is leading the pitching staff to leaving a footprint in the Saint Leo history books. In 2016 alone, the staff has increased their shutout record from 18 in 2015 to 22 in 2016, with three regular season games remaining.

Not only has the pitching staff set records, but head coach Erin Kinberger has turned the Lions into one of the best teams in the country. Saint Leo has reached the highest rank in program history, No. 4 in the country, and held that for two weeks. The Lions have been the one SSC team who have been consistently in the top-25 of the NFCA Coaches Poll after jumping to No. 14 in week one of the season. 

In just her first year at Saint Leo in 2015, Kinberger set the most wins by a first year head coach (39), breaking the previous record of 25 wins (2011 John Conway).

With their longest win streak of the year at 23 consecutive games, the Lions broke the program record of 18 games in a season set in 1994. Already, the 2016 team has tied the program record for conference wins in a season with 20 and look to add more at Rollins this weekend.

Saint Leo closes out the regular season as No. 7 in the nation and travels to Winter Park, Fla. to take on Rollins College on Friday, April 22nd at 7 pm and Saturday, April 23rd at 1 and 3 pm. The Lions sit at No. 2 in the South Region and look to advance to the NCAA postseason.