The winningest coach in Gardner-Webb softball history, head coach Tom Cole enters his 11th season at the helm for the Runnin’ Bulldogs. Cole came to Gardner-Webb in 2001 and produced immediate results, supervising GWU’s transition to NCAA Division I status and directing the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a school-record 36 wins in just his second year in Boiling Springs.

Gardner-Webb finished the 2010 season in a three-way tie for third-place in the Big South Conference regular season standings, turning in an 8-10 conference record on the year.  Overall the Runnin’ Bulldogs were 22-32 on the season, its first 20 win season since 2008, but were even more impressive at home where they posted an 11-6 record.

For the second straight year, the Runnin’ Bulldogs softball team advanced to the Quarterfinals of the Big South Conference Championship Tournament, this time falling to the host and No. 6 seeded Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs had four players receive postseason honors for the second straight year, as senior first-baseman Christa Fullwood and sophomore utility player McKenzie Morenus both earned spots on the All-Conference First-Team, while junior pitcher Cindy Boomhower and senior catcher Mandy Ward both were named to the Second-Team All-Conference.  

Coach Cole’s squad also placed 15 members on the 2010 Big South Presidential Honor Roll, a huge academic achievement for the Runnin’ Bulldogs softball program.

Fullwood, who was named to the All-Conference Academic Team, also earned a spot on the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region All-Second Team and the North Carolina All-State University First-Team by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association.
 Fullwood was also named as a Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award Finalist, a first in GWU’s history.

The end of the 2010 season saw the rewriting of GWU's Division I career record books, as departing seniors Christa Fullwood, Melody Harrell, Mandy Ward and Christine Murray all left their mark on the Gardner-Webb softball program.  Fullwood finished her career at GWU as the DI career leader in batting average (.380) and in fielding percentage (.992).  Fullwood ranks second in career RBIs (107), second in doubles (31), third in homeruns (20), third in total bases (272), tied for third in extra base hits (56) and fifth in walks (61).

Fellow teammate Melody Harrell wrapped up her career second in extra base hits (57), second in total bases (292), second in runs scored (105), tied for second in triples (9), third in hits (190), tied for third in doubles (30), fourth in at bats (666), fourth in RBIs (103), fourth in homeruns (18), fifth in batting average (.285) and fifth in stolen bases (37).  Harrell is also the only Runnin’ Bulldog in GWU’s Division I history to have at least 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in her career.

Catcher Mandy Ward finished her four-year career at GWU as the Runnin’ Bulldogs DI leader in homeruns (26) and ranks third in RBIs (106), third in fielding percentage (.984), third in runners caught stealing (36), tied for third in extra base hits (56), tied for third in doubles (30), and fourth in total bases (265).

Right-handed hurler Christine Murray, who shattered GWU season records as a junior, finished her career as the leader in strikeouts per 7 innings pitched (7.47) and second in strikeouts (471). Murray also ranks third in wins (31), third in complete games (33), third in innings pitched (441.2), third in shutouts (8), and fifth in ERA (3.46).

For the Gardner-Webb softball team, 2009 was a season of firsts - the Runnin’ Bulldogs first year competing as members of the Big South and the first ever appearance for Gardner-Webb in the Big South Softball Championship tournament.  Despite a very young team, as the roster consisted of seven freshmen and only two seniors, Coach Cole did not allow the youth to perturb the Runnin’ Bulldogs, as GWU picked up 19 wins on the season. 



The Runnin’ Bulldogs entered its first ever Big South Softball Championship tournament in 2009 as the No. 5 seed, but turned some heads in the three-day event.  Gardner- Webb went 2-2 in the tournament, defeating No. 4 Charleston Southern in the opening round and then eliminating No. 6 Coastal Carolina in the first elimination game of the championships.  While at the tournament the Runnin’ Bulldogs made history, as in the 12-8 win over No. 6 Coastal Carolina, the two teams combined for 20 runs, the third most in Big South Softball Championship history.  



GWU had four players receive postseason honors, as junior first-baseman Christa Fullwood and sophomore utility player Kelsey Witter both earned spots on the All-Conference First-Team, while junior shortstop Melody Harrell and junior catcher Mandy Ward both were named to the Second-Team All- Conference.  The four all-conference selections were the most ever for a GWU team in one year since the Bulldogs moved to the NCAA Division level in 2000-01.  Fullwood along with Christine Murray were both named to the 2009 Big South Softball Championship All-Tournament Team as well.



In 2009, Gardner-Webb’s Christa Fullwood also made waves nationally, as at the conclusion of the season, the junior was ranked seventh in the nation in batting average with her average of .460 on the year.  Fullwood was also ranked 23rd in the country in on-base percentage at .519 and 48th nationally in slugging percentage at .719.  Fullwood also was named to the All-Conference Academic Team and also earned a spot on the North Carolina All-State University First-Team by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association.



The 2008 Gardner-Webb team was able to reach the A-Sun Tournament for the third consecutive season by earning the No. 6 seed. Cole and his squad went into the tournament and shocked No. 1 seed Lipscomb by a 3-2 score. The team competed just as hard in the classroom, finishing with the No. 2 grade point average in the country among all NCAA Division I softball programs while 10 GWU players were named All-American Scholars.
 


In 2007, Cole guided the program to a 10-7-1 record in the A-Sun and a 35-26-1 overall mark, recording its first-ever postseason win in Division I. The Runnin’ Bulldogs, with solid all-around team play, earned the No. 2 seed in the league and advanced to the conference championship for the first time in the program’s history. The team broke nearly every major offensive statistical category en route to a second-place finish in the league during regular-season play. The 23.5 game improvement from the 2006 campaign marked the eighth-best turnaround in Division I history.
 


Melody Harrell finished the season ninth in the NCAA with 1.09 RBIs per game after amassing 51 in just 47 games. Abbie Looper, after blasting one final triple in her career in the second round of the A-Sun Tournament, ended her season 14th nationally in triples per game (0.10). Off the field, Joanna Ward earned first-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III honors.
 


Harrell garnered A-Sun All-Freshman team accolades.
 


After the 2007 season, Cole took over the reigns of the Michigan Ice professional softball team for the final three series of the season. While with the Ice, he was able to coach his former student-athlete and former assistant coach, Lani Shaffer, who was playing her second season with the team.
 


With only one senior on the squad and 11 underclassmen, Cole led his young 2006 team to a 12-38 record, finishing 7-13 in the Atlantic Sun despite having to deal with multiple injuries to the pitching staff. The seven wins were good enough for a spot in the conference tournament. Jessi Williams, who led the team in seven offensive categories, was named second-team all-conference and second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III.
 


In 2005, Cole saw his Runnin’ Bulldogs post a 19-33-1 mark while suffering through a plague of assorted injuries, which hampered the squad all season. Not all was lost however as Rachael Riopel was named Second Team All-Atlantic Sun and was tabbed by CoSIDA as an ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American Third Team. Riopel was also selected to the North Carolina All-State Team by the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association.
 


Cole guided Gardner-Webb to the nation’s 14th-best turnaround in 2004, as it posted a 30-32-1 record to improve 10.5 games from the previous season. The Runnin’ Bulldogs also went 11-9 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, good enough for a sixth-place finish and the program’s first-ever appearance in the A-Sun Championship.
 


After leading the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a spot in the A-Sun Championship and just the third 30-win season in school history, Cole was voted as the A-Sun Coach of the Year by his league peers.
 


Now with ten seasons under his belt in Boiling Springs, Cole owns a 227-313-3 record at Gardner-Webb, making him the only coach in school history with 200 career victories to his credit.
 


Off the field, Cole’s teams have been extremely successful, as on three separate occasions, he has had the program rated in the top-20 academically by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Following the tremendous 2007 campaign, Cole’s team had 10 student-athletes garner NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete awards. The team finished fourth nationally with a 3.493 GPA. In 2006, he had nine earn NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete status while the team placed seventh with a 3.43 GPA.
 


After the 2005 season, five were named to the NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete roster. In 2003, the team was 20th in the NFCA with a 3.24 GPA. Eight of his student-athletes were named NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete.
 


All ten of Cole’s teams have recorded a GPA of at least 3.07 since his arrival at GWU.
 


In 17 years as a collegiate head coach, Cole has put together a 353-481-3 career record. He picked up his 300th career victory with a 6-0 win over Presbyterian on March 18, 2008.
 


Prior to coming to GWU, Cole was the head coach at NCAA Division III Elmhurst (Ill.) College. There, the Jamison, Pa., native inherited a program that had to forfeit the last two games of its previous season due to a lack of players. Cole wasted little time in turning around the struggling program and during his five seasons there, became the winningest coach in the history of the program. In 1997, Cole was named the CCIW Coach of the Year and the NFCA Division III Midwest Regional Co-Coach of the Year.
 


Before his tenure as Elmhurst, Cole spent two years as an assistant at Kutztown (Pa.) University with the softball and women’s basketball teams. From 1988-92 he was the head softball coach, head women’s basketball coach and a physical education instructor at Broward Community College in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
 


Cole also served a five-year stint as athletics director and head coach for softball, girl’s basketball, and volleyball at Orlando Christian (Fla.) High School.
 


Cole earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation and parks administration from North Carolina State University in 1977. Cole then went on to get his master’s degree from Florida International University in 1989.