Troy University Athletics
Softball
- Title:
- Co-Interim Head Coach
- Email:
- wardh@troy.edu
- Phone:
- 3969
Holly Ward, one of the top pitchers in Mississippi State history, begins her third season as an assistant coach at Troy. Following her playing career, Ward played professionally for Scrap Yard Fast Pitch before returning to Mississippi State as a coach last season.
In her second season at the helm of the Troy pitching staff, ace Leanna Johnson earned All-Sun Belt First Team and NFCA All-South Region Second Team honors.Â
Johnson continued her dominance in the circle under Mullins’ guidance, ranking 12th in strikeouts (260), 20th in shutouts (7) and 22nd in hits allowed per seven innings (4.14).
In her first year with the Trojans, Ward coached a stellar pitching staff that landed inside of national rankings in multiple different areas.
As a staff, Troy’s pitchers ranked eighth nationally in shutouts (8) paced by Leanna Johnson who led the nation and ranked eighth in Troy’s single season records (7) through just 23 games.
Troy’s pitching staff sat down 169 batters to lead Sun Belt Conference and pinned opponents to a .193 batting average, good for second-best in the league.
The Trojans 17 wins tied Louisiana for most in the conference while their 103 hits allowed ranked second.
Under Ward’s leadership, Johnson also found herself ranked nationally in strikeouts (sixth), victories (sixth) and saves (ninth).
Ward holds multiple Mississippi State records and ranks in the top 10 in numerous other single-season and career categories – she is the school record holder for shutouts and perfect games. A native of Haleyville, Ala., Ward started 23 games as a senior for the Bulldogs and posted a 1.43 ERA, which ranked 23rdnationally and was the fourth-lowest in Mississippi State history.Â
In Ward’s lone season on the coaching staff, the Bulldogs punched their ticket to a third straight NCAA Regional appearance after totaling 35 wins on the season. Among Mississippi State’s wins was a victory at Alabama, just the Crimson Tide’s second loss in 38 games, and a series victory at No. 7 Florida.
Ward put together one of the top senior seasons in Mississippi State history where she ranked tied for first in shutouts (14), fifth in strikeouts (372), innings pitched (467.1) and saves (7) and sixth in opponent batting average (.231) and solo no-hitters (1). Her efforts earned a spot on the 2018 NFCA All-Southeast Region Second Team.
She finished her career ranked in the top 10 in shutouts, perfect games, innings pitched, strikeouts, saves, complete games, no-hitters, opponent batting average, wins, strikeouts/seven innings and games started.
Ward was named the Alabama Gatorade Softball Player of the Year coming out of Haleyville High School where she was a member of the varsity team for six years. She led the Lions to back-to-back Alabama 4A state titles and posted a 0.80 ERA with 335 strikeouts in 219.1 innings as a senior.
