April 8, 2009

Story courtesy of St. Francis Sports Information Office

CHICAGO, Ill. - He's still 1,300 wins behind his University of St. Francis coaching colleague Gordie Gillespie -- college baseball's all-time winningest coach who won his 1,800th game on April 3 -- but Saints'

softball coach Dick Smith reached a milestone of his own Tuesday afternoon when he earned his 500th career collegiate victory with a thrilling 4-3 win at arch-rival Saint Xavier in the first game of a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader.

Junior left fielder Maggie O’Shea belted a grand slam to lead USF to the come-from-behind victory. The win could not have been punctuated any better as the game ended on a nifty double play when sophomore right fielder Kaylee Shell made a shoestring catch on a line drive and then doubled off the runner on first base for the third and final out.

Smith, who has earned 476 of his 500 wins in two stints covering 16 seasons as head coach at USF, credits his many fine players for his accomplishment.

"I did not win 500 games," said Smith. "It has been the effort of all the great young women who have played for me here at St. Francis. We've had some very talented players and very good championship-caliber clubs over the years and they are the reason why this milestone has been reached."

Smith took over the USF coaching reins back in 1985 and stayed for 10 seasons before moving on to NCAA Division I Valparaiso University. He later returned to the Saints as an assistant coach and again assumed the head coaching duties prior to the 2004 season. During Smith's initial 10-year reign with the Saints, St. Francis qualified for the District 20 playoffs each season and captured the tournament title seven times. USF also won seven Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference crowns and made three NAIA World Series appearances, including the 1988 and 1993 seasons when the Lady Saints placed ninth in the nation.

USF was a mainstay in the top-20 rankings during that decade, as well, appearing eight times, while also stringing together five consecutive 30-win seasons between 1989 and 1993. Since his return in 2004, USF has advanced to the NAIA Region VII Championship tournament three times in five seasons.

Smith's overall coaching record now stands at 500-423 in 18 seasons and is 476-353 in 16 years at USF.