Towson University Women's Softball

Costello led the Tigers to their 10th Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament appearance. Towson finished as the CAA Runner Up, its highest postseason finish since 2009 when the Tigers finished in second-place.     The season was highlighed by Missy McCormick who pitched the first perfect game in school history (April 10 vs. Temple). The Tigers finished the regular sesason with a 29-25 record, their third-straight winning record.         Towson had the CAA Leader in four statistical categories; Olivia Yarbrough in Runs Scored (45), Missy McCormick in Runs Batted In (53) and Home Runs (12), Maureen Hepner in Total Bases (103) and Home Runs (12).     The 2013 season was a memorable one for Costello, as a career milestone was acheived by the long-time Tiger coach. On February 8, 2013, the Tigers 7-5 victory over Ohio gave Costello the 500th win of her career. In addition, Costello saw outstanding pitching from senior Katie Lingmai, who finished her career as the Towson career leader in innings, strikeouts, complete games and shutouts. Lingmai struck out 721 batters in her career while going 18-16 in her last season with 25 complete games and six shutouts.     In 2012, Towson was led by Lingmai who set the schools all-time and single-season strikeout record. She became the first pitcher in school history to strikeout 200 or more batters in a season (203).     She  broke the schools all-time strikeout mark and finished the season with 524. The Tigers were led offensively by freshman shortstop Hailey Balk, whose 57 bases hits were tied for the ninth-most ever in a single season at Towson.     Although the 2011 Tigers fell just short of 30 wins, the team advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. In addition to coaching the team to the schools the single-season stolen bases record with 71, Costello saw outfielders Erika Stasch and Rachel Miller earn first team all-CAA honors and pitcher Katie Lingmai second team honors.     The 2010 Tigers advanced to the CAA Championship Tournament for the third straight year while five Tigers earned All-CAA honors, including Stef Streets, who knocked in 116 runs during her career.     The 2009 Tigers came within one win of the CAA Championship, falling to James Madison in the championship game. Costello had five players earn All-CAA honors that season. In addition, she earned the 400th win of her career against La Salle in April.     After enduring their first losing season in eight years in 2007, the Tigers bounced back in a big way in 2008. Costellos crew posted a 37-26 mark and made it back to the CAA Tournament. Along the way, the Tigers set several school records and five Tigers earned All-CAA honors for their play. Towson finished third in the CAA Tournament in 2008     In 2007, the Tigers faced a very difficult schedule and finished the year with a 25-31 record. Despite their losing record, the Tigers remained in contention for  a berth in the CAA Tournament until the final game of the year.     The 2006 season saw Costello lead a very young Tiger team  to a 33-28 record, the eighth straight 30-win season. However, they failed to qualify for the CAA Tournament. It marked the first time since 1998 that Towson did not qualify for its post-season conference tournament.          Although they came up short in their bid to earn a post-season tournament appearance, the Tigers came on strong in the final weeks of the season. After starting their CAA schedule with a 1-5 record, the Tigers rallied to win 8 of 14 CAA games before they were eliminated on the final weekend of the season when Hofstra failed to beat Delaware.     On April 11, 2006, the Tiger coach earned another individual milestone when Towson beat Mount St. Marys for her 300th career victory.     Honored as the CAA Coach of the Year in 2005, Costello has led the Tigers to a second place finish in the CAA four times in the 10 years that the CAA has held a softball championship.     In 2005, she led the Tigers to a 38-19 record, setting a school record for wins in a season.     The 2005 season was one of Coach Costellos best years as the Tigers coach. In addition to posting a 13-2 record in Colonial Athletic Association games to finish second in the CAA, the Tigers did well in non-conference games, sweeping doubleheaders at Virginia and Princeton.     With their 13-2 record, the Tigers finished second in the CAA standings, just one-half game behind Hofstra (14-2). Hofstra earned the right to host the CAA Tournament by virtue of its 1/2 game edge.     Hofstra went on to win the CAA championship, beating Towson in the finals. It marked the third time in four CAA seasons that Towson finished as the CAA runner-up to Hofstra.     In 2004, the Tigers overcame a number of injuries and posted another winning season with a 35-28 record. Towson finished third in the Colonial Athletic Association with an 11-7 mark. But, the Tigers lost their first two games in the CAA Tournament.     In 2003, the Tigers enjoyed a very successful season. Towson posted a 31-22-1 overall record against a very strong schedule. It marked the Tigers fifth straight 30-win season.     Towson won 16 of its final 23 games and qualified for the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament for the second year in a row.     After starting their CAA schedule with three straight losses to Hofstra, the Tigers went 8-4 the rest of the way to finish fourth. Towson won two -out-of-three games from George Mason and James Madison while sweeping three games from Drexel. In the three-game sweep over Drexel, the Tigers won a memorable 20-inning game, 1-0, and held the Dragons to one run in 34 innings in the series.     In the CAA Tournament, the Tigers came back through the losers bracket and reached the championship game for the second year in a row. After a 4-2 loss to Hofstra in the first round, the Tigers edged Delaware by 1-0 and George Mason, 2-1. However, Hofstra pulled out the championship game by a 2-1 margin even though the Tigers outhit the Pride, 9-4.     In 2002, Towson broke the school record for wins in a season for the third time in four years as the Tigers posted a 36-24 record.     The Tigers, who finished fourth in the CAA with an 8-7 league record, took some momentum into the first CAA Tournament, held at Hofstra. In the CAA Tournament, the Tigers used shutout pitching to beat Drexel by 5-0 and George Mason by 3-0. However, the Tigers  fell into the losers bracket when Hofstra pulled out a 4-3 win. A five-hit shutout by Beth Wilcox beat James Madison, 3-0, and earned Towson a berth in the championship round. However, Hofstra won the title with a 9-1 victory over a team that was short on pitching.     In 2001, the Tigers nearly won the America East championship in their final season as members of the league. After finishing fourth in the league standings with a 14-13-1 record, the Tigers came on strong in the league tournament. In the opening round, Towson stunned top-seeded Boston University, 2-0, as senior Kathleen OHara threw an eight-hit shutout. In the second round, the Tigers edged defending champion Hofstra, 6-2. The Tigers entered the championship round against the Pride needing just one victory to win the title.     Hofstra forced a deciding game with a 4-0 win. In the deciding game, Towson and Hofstra staged an epic struggle. After falling behind in the first inning, the Tigers rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. Towson held the lead until Hofstra tied the game in the last of the seventh inning. Eventually, Hofstra pulled out a 4-3 win in the 11th inning to claim its fourth straight title. The Tigers ended their season with a 35-26-1 record, setting a single season mark for victories.     In 2000, the Tigers had to come on strong in the final weeks of the season to earn a second straight berth in the league tournament. In the final week, the Tigers won four out of six America East games to finish with a 14-14 record. Towson dropped a 2-1 heart-breaker in the first playoff game to Hofstra. In the second game, Boston University edged the Tigers, 2-0. Towson finished the season with a 31-30 record, its second straight 30-win season.     In 1999, Coach Costello led the Tigers to the best season in school history. In her fourth season as coach, Towson set a then school record with 33 wins and earned its first berth in the America East Tournament. In the the tournament, Towson proved it belonged. After stunning top-seeded Hofstra by 4-3 in the first round, the Tigers edged Drexel, 1-0, in a tense 12-inning struggle, advancing to the championship round. However, Hofstra came back out of the losers bracket and beat the Tigers twice to win its second straight championship.     For her efforts, Costello was honored as the winner of the Towson University Coach of the Year award for womens sports.     The team has shown tremendous growth under the guidance of Costello. The first full-time softball coach that the program has known, Coach Costello became the Tigers head coach in 1996 after serving as an assistant coach to Elayne Lucas for two seasons.     During her two years as an assistant coach, Towson was one of the top teams in the Big South Conference. In 1994, Towson had its second straight 20-win season with a 21-9 mark. In 1995, Towson set a school record for victories with its 28-16 record. When Coach Lucas retired at the end of the season, Coach Costello was named as her replacement.     The Tigers struggled in their first three America East seasons. In 1996, Towson posted a 10-22 overall record while finishing 3-11 in the league. In 1997, the Tigers were 12-36 and finished eighth in the league with a 2-12 mark. But, there was considerable improvement in 1998. Towson posted a 22-25 overall record and was 4-10 in the league.     In addition to the improvement with the quality of play, the Tigers facility has improved dramatically over recent years. The facility has been upgraded with the installation of new bleacher seating, permanent outfield fences and dugouts on the Towson Center field.     Prior to coming to Towson, she served as the assistant coach at Rider University in New Jersey for three years. At Rider, she helped the Broncs win the 1990 East Coast Conference title as well as the ECAC Championship. She was also the Director of Intramurals at Rider for one year.     A native of Vineland, N.J., Coach Costello played three years of college softball at Trenton State College in New Jersey. She played one year at the University of Iowa as a freshman. While at Trenton, she was a member of the 1987 and 1989 NCAA Division III championship teams and earned second team All-America honors. As a senior, she was the captain of the Lions national championship team. She earned her B.S. degree in exercise physiology/physical education from Trenton State in 1990. She earned her Masters degree in liberal studies/sports administration from Towson in 1995.     Her 1987 NCAA Division III championship softball team was inducted into The College of New Jersey (formerly Trenton State) Athletic Hall of Fame seven years ago.