July 16, 2009

 

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - United States coach Jay Miller and Australia player Tracey Mosley will be two competitors in the World Cup of Softball with Oklahoma City University ties.

Miller guided the OCU softball program from 1985-87, leading the Lady Chiefs to the 1986 NAIA championship game. Mosley became a three-time all-American playing in 1992-95 for OCU.

The World Cup of Softball runs Thursday through Monday at Hall of Fame Stadium. Australia debuts against Olympic gold medalists Japan at 2 p.m. Thursday, and the United States faces Netherlands at 7 p.m. Thursday.

The tournament concludes with the championship round Monday. Tournament games will be televised on ESPN or ESPN2. For information, see here.

Miller came to OCU in 1985 after being Purdue head coach from 1980-81, then being a Missouri assistant from 1982-84.

OCU played its last year in NCAA Division I in 1985, going 28-32 in Miller's first year. Then OCU joined the NAIA and went 50-26, finishing as NAIA softball runner-up 2-1 in nine innings against St. Mary's (Texas).

Miller led OCU to a 46-27 showing with a fourth-place finish nationally in 1987 before returning to Missouri as head coach. In Miller's OCU stint, Miller garnered District Nine coach of the year honors twice and NAIA Southwest Region coach of the year.

Miller's coaching record stands at 954-607 through 27 years as a head coach. He was named U.S. head coach on Feb. 16.

"This a tremendous honor," Miller said then. "I have been fortunate to work with USA Softball for almost 20 years in one capacity or another and this is a great opportunity. I have been fortunate to work with the best softball players in the world and I look forward to doing so again this summer."

This year, the National Fastpitch Coaches Association inducted Miller into its Hall of Fame.

"Jay Miller is one of the most well respected coaches in the country," OCU coach Phil McSpadden said.

Miller spent 15 years at Missouri and the past seven years with Mississippi State. The United States took the Canada Cup title last week.

Mosley, from Adelaide, South Australia, helped OCU win NAIA national championships in 1994 and 1995 after finishing as national runner-up in 1993. She set the NAIA single-season record with 29 home runs as a senior. Mosley holds school records for single-season and career home runs and single-season batting average.

McSpadden called Mosley a five-tool player.

"The girls I played with at OCU, we always knew we were good enough to win nationals," Mosley said. "We were always so close, but never got there until the last two years. We taught each other how to take that next step and to not let anything by you. At training, I would have competitions with Phil and bet him he couldn't get the ball past me. It's just not letting a single person beat you or get you down."

Mosley played for Australia in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Australia took the silver medal in 2004 and bronze in 2008. She is one of four former OCU players to win Olympic medals with their respective countries.

She has represented Australia in international competition since 1992.

"She was confident," McSpadden said of Mosley. "Tell her she can't do something, she would say, `I'll show you.' It was unfathomable for her to be off. She had all the skills. She had the best hands of anybody I coached."