After a 41-13 season in 2021, Freed-Hardeman softball spent the summer ranked #25 in the final poll of the year. With a majority of their lineup returning to play, the Lady Lions began their magical 2022 campaign with a preseason ranking of #15.
Wanting to test his squad early, a trip to Florida matched head coach Todd Humphry's Lady Lions against three teams hailing from the Sunshine State. Though not ranked at the time, two of those teams - Webber International and Southeastern - traveled to Columbus, Georgia for the World Series.
"We went to Florida at the beginning of the year and went 6-0 we thought that was pretty neat," said Head Coach Todd Humphry of his team's hot start. "Then for us to be in the 20s and undefeated was an eye-opener because in 2018 when we went to the World Series, our record was 36-16."
Beginning their year with a 15-0 start, FHU skyrocketed up the rankings, landing at the #4 spot while garnering one first-place vote. That winning streak to start the season continued until March 20 when the best start to a season in program history ended with a 22-0 mark.
The Lady Lions tore through the opposition, ending the regular season with a 45-3 record, including a perfect 16-0 in non-conference play. The Lady Lions marched through the Mid-South conference tournament, avenging last season's championship loss by defeating Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College twice.
One of the biggest days for FHU softball came not from the diamond, but from the NAIA offices in Kansas City when on May 2 it was announced that Morgan Stadium at Tucker Field would be one of 10 opening round sites.
The Lady Lions drew the top seed against three other opponents who each won their respective conference tournaments with the #4 seed Friends (Mich.) University upsetting FHU in the first game of the tournament. From there, Freed-Hardeman rattled off four wins in two days to win their second opening round champion crown and punch their ticket to the final site in Columbus.
After a rainy start to the tournament delayed proceedings by a day, the Lady Lions found themselves again fighting through the consolation bracket after dropping their first game to Indiana Wesleyan 3-1.
With their backs against the wall, Freed-Hardeman won consecutive elimination games before falling to Science & Arts (Okla.) five games short of their goal of the Big Red Banner.
Freed-Hardeman's record-breaking season saw the Lady Lions advance the farthest in the World Series in program history. Additionally, FHU's 54 wins are the most wins by a Lady Lion softball team.
The Lady Lions' hitting prowess was on display all season with several statistical totals ranking in the top 10 of the country. FHU was among the best in home runs (51), extra-base hits (167), and total bases (794).
Coach Humphry leaned on his leadoff hitter, Kennedy Harris, to spark that offense, saying, "I think she had eight home runs in the first three or four weeks of the season so she was definitely a spark to our offense." But Humphry was hesitant to note one specific player, "It's hard to say anything about anyone in particular because Sophie [Dunavant] had a stellar year as a three-hole hitter and catcher batting almost .500 and Allie Mitchell was second on the team in home runs as the nine-hole hitter." The Thompsonville, Illinois native Kennedy broke both the single-season stolen bases record with 39 swipes while breaking Freed-Hardeman's career record with 66 stolen bases over her three-year career at FHU.
While the FHU hitting scored runs in 59 of their 60 games, it was their pitching was rattled the opposition. The Lady Lions shut out their opponents 22 times, the second-most in the NAIA. By holding their opponents to a .173 batting average, the Lady Lion pitching staff was the second-best in the country. FHU's microscopic 1.22 earned run average was the fifth-lowest in the nation.
The Lady Lions had three members chosen as All-Americans with two more being honorably mentioned. Three of those five were pitchers. "I tried to emphasize early in the year that we don't have a number one and number two, three, or four," explained Humphry. "We were a staff because I felt on any given day they could go out and win a ballgame. And each pitcher from Brittany [Adair] to Emily [Bradford] has a different skill set that they can add to the team."
Humphry expects to return to Columbus for the 2023 World Series and plans to enjoy the journey.
"Not only are we a strong program," said Humphry, "but we have a lot of fun. You can see by watching our games online or if you're in person that we enjoy what we do."
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