Purdue University Northwest Women's Softball

King will be steering the ship as the team's skipper.  King, the senior member of the PNC Athletic Department, will serve as head coach, recruiting coordinator and first base coach for the Panthers.  Over the past thirteen seasons, King has been instrumental in recruiting quality talent for the softball program.  Not only has King recruited countless student-athletes over the years, he also played a significant role in the 205 wins and three CCAC tournament appearances the program has achieved over the years. During his time at PNC, King has had the opportunity to coach 21 All Conference student athletes and 6 Purdue North Central Athletic Hall of Famers. The Panthers Academic Excellence Program has consistently yielded a team grade point average higher than the University average and has also produced seven All Conference Academic student-athletes and two NAIA Scholar Athletes. King has been around softball for over 40 years, beginning as a travel coach for some of the best teams in Northwest Indiana.  He was a coach for the Indiana Bulldogs for a number of years and has coached several all-state players, one Miss Softball and two All-Americans.  King also coached the 23 and under Bulldogs that finished 5th in the nation in 2002.  King, a retired chemist, and his wife Shelley have one daughter, Kristin, who earned her education degree from Purdue Calumet and two grandchildren.  Kristin is a guidance counselor at a local middle school. Gil Arzola returns to PNC as an assistant coach for Denny King, 13 years after starting the Panther program in 2002 as a club program.  Arzola helped transition the program from club status (2002 and 2003) to intercollegiate status (2004) when King served as his assistant.  The Panthers first season under the NAIA (04) umbrella saw the Panthers finish 19-24 overall as an Independent.  In Arzolas last year in 2005, the Panthers finished 16-27 but earned a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament appearance, their first year of conference play.  In 28 years as a softball coach, Arzola has held coaching positions at the high school, collegiate and club levels.  Besides his stint at PNC, he was the head coach at Portage High School, Wheeler High School and South Central High School.  He also served a year as an assistant at Portage (08) and at Valparaiso University in 2007.  Arzola has authored a number of articles about coaching and team building including articles and.  Arzola is currently an instructor at Triple Crown in Valparaiso, Indiana. Arzola and his wife Linda have two grown daughters and two granddaughters, who he also coaches.  Jenn Cassell returns to PNC as the Infield Coach for the Panthers after previously serving under former head Coach Jeff Boardman in 2010. The 2010 season for PNC was a memorable one as the team accumulated 27 wins, the second highest for a single season in program history.  Under Cassells tutelage, 2010 also saw the Panthers finish second in the Chicagoland Conference in fielding with a .955 fielding percentage.  The Panthers were led by 2015 Hall of Fame inductees, third baseman Karissa Inglis (.975) and first baseman Lindsay Gernenz (.975).  Prior to her coaching career, Cassell played three seasons for PNC, filling the role at first base and catcher.  During her final season at PNC, she fielded .974 and hit .333, striking out only seven times (tied for second all-time at PNC).  Cassell also helped the team to their second CCAC tournament appearance. Between coaching stints at PNC, Cassell began a new career as an Ironworker for the Ironworkers Union Local 395.  She has continued her playing career, participating in a womens fast pitch league as a first baseman. Cassell currently resides in Kingsbury, Indiana with her husband, Athletic Trainer Doug Cassell, and their two softball playing daughters, Emily (8) and Brooklyn (2).

Tarter led the squad to two victories in the postseason, including a 5-0 upset shutout over Judson in the opener.  The 2015 campaign included four wins over ranked opponents, including a big early season victory over Central Methodist (Mo.), a team that went on to qualify for the NAIA World Series. That victory also gave the Peregrines the Bronze Bracket Title in the Gulf Shores (Ala.) Invitational, a highly competitive tournament that saw the Peregrines play two 2015 World Series teams and three teams in the final NAIA Top 25. Four players earned all-CCAC honors and two were named to the CCAC All-Tournament team in the Peregrines' first eligible season and senior Ashley Adams was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region Honorable mention selection for her efforts.  In addition, the Peregrines recorded their first-ever CCAC Player of the Week to go along with five all-CCAC Academic honorees and one NAIA Daktronics Scholar-Athlete.  Tarter led Purdue Calumet to a stellar finish in her first season, as the Peregrines finished the 2014 slate with a 28-8 overall record in Purdue Calumet's first year on the diamond, which included a 14-5 mark against CCAC opponents. The Black and Gold weren't only successful, but the Peregrines were able to win and compete against quality opponents. Purdue Calumet defeated No. 9 Saint Xavier (1-0), No. 25 Indiana Southeast (19-2), and fell to by a combined four runs to No. 9 Olivet Nazarene and No. 20 William Woods.    Under Tarter's leadership, Purdue Calumet ranked nationally in several categories, as the Peregrines stood in the Top 25 in NAIA Division II in five offensive categories, including runs per game (third, 7.75); RBI per game (third, 6.89); doubles per game (ninth, 1.89); slugging percentage (19th, .510); and batting average (23rd, .336). Behind a powerful attack, Purdue Calumet finished the year with 27 home runs, 248 RBI, 331 hits and 279 runs scored.  Even more, Purdue Calumet shocked its big brother counterpart, as the Peregrines stunned NCAA Division I Purdue 2-1 in their inaugural fall scrimmage in September of 2013. Prior to Purdue Calumet, Tarter spent four seasons as the top assistant at NJCAA power Parkland College under legendary coach Chuck Clutts, where she helped guide the Cobras to 168 victories in a four-year span, including three-straight NJCAA Region 24 titles and a pair of NJCAA National Tournament appearances. Tarter played an integral role in recruiting at Parkland, helping land five NJCAA All-Americans, 15 All-Region 24 performers and 23 M-WAC All-Conference selections. The Fairbury, Ill. native played collegiately at NCAA Division I Northern Iowa for two seasons. Prior to her time with the Panthers, Tarter was standout catcher for Kankakee Community College, where she was an all-region performer. She helped lead the Cavaliers to a pair of NJCAA Regional IV titles, while also finishing fifth in the NJCAA Division II National Tournament in 2006. Tarter graduated with a bachelors degree in exercise science from Northern Iowa in 2008. She currently resides in Merrillville. 2200 169th Street Hammond, IN 46323 1401 S. U.S. 421 Westville, IN 46391 If you have trouble accessing this page because of a disability, please contact PNW Marketing & Communications at . © 2016 Purdue University Northwest | An Equal access, equal opportunity university

Schapker enters first season as interim head coach and her third season overall coaching the program in the 2026 season. Schapker has played a crucial part the past few seasons helping continue the hardworking culture of the softball program and their success on-and-off the field. She has also helped Coach Zink break numerous batting and pitching record and was part of the 2024 coaching staff that helped PNW go to the GLIAC Softball Tournament. During her time as assistant, she has helped coach and develop All-GLIAC performers and Midwest All-Region selections. She arrived to Hammond from Calumet College of St. Joseph, where she served as assistant coach, primarily working with the pitching staff and on the recruiting trail for the NAIA program.  During her four years with the Calumet College staff, Schapker started as a Recruiting Assistant from 2019-2021. In the fall of 2021, Schapker started as an Assistant Coach with the Crimson Wave and helped lead the team to two appearances in the CCAC Conference tournament in the 21-22 and 22-23 seasons. A four-year member of the Calumet College softball team, Schapker was a starting pitcher three of those years. Schapker graduated with a bachelor's degree in business management in 2019 from CCSJ. After graduating, Schapker returned to her hometown of Bloomington, IN to attend Indiana University for graduate school, receiving a Master of Public Affairs degree with a concentration in Nonprofit Management and a Graduate Certificate in Philanthropic Studies from IUPUI in 2021. In addition to being an assistant softball coach, in September of 2021 Schapker started as the Sports Information Director at Calumet College while also serving as the Senior Woman Leader and Student Athlete Advisory Committee advisor.