Courtney Blades
Encyclopedia
Courtney Blades-Rogers is a former All-American righ-handed hitting softball
pitcher
from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
. She attended Belaire High School from 1993-1996. She was a starting pitcher for two NCAA Division I teams: the Nicholls State Colonels and later the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. For her career she collected an NCAA Division I 151 wins (second most
) and 1,773 strikeouts (fifth most
).
At the close of 1998, Blades two-year career placed her in the top-10 for school records in batting average (.320), shutouts and ERA; her 613 strikeouts set the record.
Blades transferred to Southern Mississippi as a junior to continue working with her relocated head coach Lu Harris. She proceeded to strike out 497 batters, setting a new NCAA Division I season record, eclipsing Michele Granger
's previous mark of 484, set in 1993. Her 43 wins, 0.99 ERA, 318.0 innings and 22 shutouts set all new school records. The wins were the fourth best ever in the NCAA as she led the nation that year.
After being honored with First Team All-American honors, Blades led the Golden Eagles to an appearance at the 1999 Women's College World Series
. It was a first for the school program and especially notable because it was their reactivation after 7 years.
2000: Senior Year
Blades surpassed her own record by reaching 516 strikeouts against the USF Bulls on May 6; she also broke Michele Granger
's previous NCAA Division I career strikeout record of 1,640 by reaching 1,643 in the same game.
On March 1, 2000, Blades struck out 18 batters in a 7-inning, 7-1 win against the Samford Bulldogs
, her career-high for a regulation game. The performance placed her with the NCAA fourth best (third at the time) regulation game record holders. During the NCAA Tournament to reach that year's Women's College World Series
, Blades would notch her career, school and conference record best 21 strikeouts against the LSU Tigers
in a 1-0, 13-inning loss on May 20, 2000. The game total was also the tournament record that held until 2004.
At the WCWS, Blades twirled her second season perfect game
on May 26. It was the fourth perfect game ever pitched at the WCWS. Blades fanned 11 of the No. 2 seeded 2000 NCAA batting champs, the Arizona Wildcats
, on opening day to also break the NCAA season wins record. Southern Mississippi would end the season with a third place finish at the series and ranked fourth nationally under the command of Blades, who was selected to the WCWS All-Tournament Team.
She finished the season with a total of 663 strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to break 500 and 600 strikeouts in a season. That mark brought her career total to 1,773, a record that would stand until February 25, 2006 when Texas Longhorns pitcher Cat Osterman
passed the mark against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Blades would win 52 games in her final season, setting the NCAA Division I single season record. Her ERA, innings pitched and shutouts also reset school records, conference records (excluding ERA), and also placed Blades in the top-5 for inning and shutout records in an NCAA season. Her strikeout ratio of 11.6 led the nation.
Blades would earn All-USA, USA Pitcher of The Year, USA MVP and a First Team All-American citation. She also picked up the 2000 Softball Honda Sports Award
as the best collegiate player that year. Blades still owns the Conference USA career strikeouts crown (1,160 in just two seasons), while her wins (95), ERA (0.93) and innings (717.2) are all top-5 for a career.
for one tournament in 2000. She pitched in 5 games with a 2-1 win-loss record, 37 strikeouts, 1 earned run in 24.1 innings, putting her ERA at 0.29. One of the wins Blades pitched was a perfect game
with 11 K's against the Decatir Twisters.
, Brett Favre
, Ray Guy
, Sammy Winder
, Janice Felder, Nick Revon, and Clarence Weatherspoon
.
Blades was ceremoniously invited into the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Hall of Fame on March 31, 2006.
Athletic Accomplishments
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
. She attended Belaire High School from 1993-1996. She was a starting pitcher for two NCAA Division I teams: the Nicholls State Colonels and later the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles. For her career she collected an NCAA Division I 151 wins (second most
NCAA Division I Softball career wins list
There are currently 64 pitchers and 29 records in the NCAA Division I 100 Wins Club:-Progression:Debbie Nichols won her 140th career game defeating the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns 3-1 on April 7, 1990, besting Rhonda Wheatley's original record. Courtney Blades passed Nichols for her 150th win pitching a...
) and 1,773 strikeouts (fifth most
NCAA Division I Softball career strikeouts list
There are currently 64 pitchers and 59 records in the 1,000 Strikeout Club:-Progression:Shawn Andaya broke the original strikeout record by Amy Unterbrink during her 1987 campaign. Michele Granger struck out her 1,235th batter on February 22, 1993 shutting out the Northwestern Wildcats 8-0...
).
Nicholls State Colonels
Blades began her career with the Colonels and earned the 1997 Southland Newcomer of The Year Award. She continued her excellent play to earn both Player and Pitcher of The Year in 1998. Her combined ERA, strikeouts, wins, shutouts and innings pitched stats led the league.At the close of 1998, Blades two-year career placed her in the top-10 for school records in batting average (.320), shutouts and ERA; her 613 strikeouts set the record.
University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles
1999: Junior YearBlades transferred to Southern Mississippi as a junior to continue working with her relocated head coach Lu Harris. She proceeded to strike out 497 batters, setting a new NCAA Division I season record, eclipsing Michele Granger
Michele Granger
Michele Granger is an American former four-time First Team All-American left-handed softball pitcher and Olympic champion from Placentia, California. She played four seasons, over 5 years, for the California Golden Bears from 1989-1993...
's previous mark of 484, set in 1993. Her 43 wins, 0.99 ERA, 318.0 innings and 22 shutouts set all new school records. The wins were the fourth best ever in the NCAA as she led the nation that year.
After being honored with First Team All-American honors, Blades led the Golden Eagles to an appearance at the 1999 Women's College World Series
Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...
. It was a first for the school program and especially notable because it was their reactivation after 7 years.
2000: Senior Year
Blades surpassed her own record by reaching 516 strikeouts against the USF Bulls on May 6; she also broke Michele Granger
Michele Granger
Michele Granger is an American former four-time First Team All-American left-handed softball pitcher and Olympic champion from Placentia, California. She played four seasons, over 5 years, for the California Golden Bears from 1989-1993...
's previous NCAA Division I career strikeout record of 1,640 by reaching 1,643 in the same game.
On March 1, 2000, Blades struck out 18 batters in a 7-inning, 7-1 win against the Samford Bulldogs
Samford Bulldogs
Samford University fields 17 varsity teams . The Bulldogs have done well in recent years in both football and men's basketball, participating in the 1999 and 2000 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The women's basketball team made its initial NCAA tournament appearance in the 2011 NCAA...
, her career-high for a regulation game. The performance placed her with the NCAA fourth best (third at the time) regulation game record holders. During the NCAA Tournament to reach that year's Women's College World Series
Women's College World Series
The Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...
, Blades would notch her career, school and conference record best 21 strikeouts against the LSU Tigers
LSU Tigers
The LSU Tigers are the athletic teams of Louisiana State University. They participate in the NCAA's Division I, in the Southeastern Conference. It fields teams in 14 varsity sports . Its official team nickname is the Fighting Tigers and the school mascot is Mike the Tiger...
in a 1-0, 13-inning loss on May 20, 2000. The game total was also the tournament record that held until 2004.
At the WCWS, Blades twirled her second season perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
on May 26. It was the fourth perfect game ever pitched at the WCWS. Blades fanned 11 of the No. 2 seeded 2000 NCAA batting champs, the Arizona Wildcats
Arizona Wildcats
-Athletic program:The University of Arizona participates in the NCAA's Division I-A in the Pacific-12 Conference Arizona participates in the conference's South Division, along with Arizona State, Colorado, UCLA, USC, and Utah...
, on opening day to also break the NCAA season wins record. Southern Mississippi would end the season with a third place finish at the series and ranked fourth nationally under the command of Blades, who was selected to the WCWS All-Tournament Team.
She finished the season with a total of 663 strikeouts, becoming the first pitcher to break 500 and 600 strikeouts in a season. That mark brought her career total to 1,773, a record that would stand until February 25, 2006 when Texas Longhorns pitcher Cat Osterman
Cat Osterman
Catherine Leigh "Cat" Osterman , is an American athlete and was one of the pitchers on the USA Women's Softball Team which won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and the silver medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics....
passed the mark against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Blades would win 52 games in her final season, setting the NCAA Division I single season record. Her ERA, innings pitched and shutouts also reset school records, conference records (excluding ERA), and also placed Blades in the top-5 for inning and shutout records in an NCAA season. Her strikeout ratio of 11.6 led the nation.
Blades would earn All-USA, USA Pitcher of The Year, USA MVP and a First Team All-American citation. She also picked up the 2000 Softball Honda Sports Award
Honda Sports Award
The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States of America, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Award are automatically in the running for the Honda-Broderick Cup award, as...
as the best collegiate player that year. Blades still owns the Conference USA career strikeouts crown (1,160 in just two seasons), while her wins (95), ERA (0.93) and innings (717.2) are all top-5 for a career.
Stratford Brakettes
Blades played with the Stratford BrakettesConnecticut Brakettes
The Connecticut Brakettes is a women's fastpitch softball team based in Stratford, Connecticut. The team has won many state, regional, national, and international tournaments .- History :...
for one tournament in 2000. She pitched in 5 games with a 2-1 win-loss record, 37 strikeouts, 1 earned run in 24.1 innings, putting her ERA at 0.29. One of the wins Blades pitched was a perfect game
Perfect game
A perfect game is defined by Major League Baseball as a game in which a pitcher pitches a victory that lasts a minimum of nine innings and in which no opposing player reaches base. Thus, the pitcher cannot allow any hits, walks, hit batsmen, or any opposing player to reach base safely for any...
with 11 K's against the Decatir Twisters.
Awards & Honors
On November 4, 2000, Blades was inducted by the Southern Mississippi Director of Athletics Richard Giannini into the newly-created Southern Miss Legends Club; other members include Reggie CollierReggie Collier
Reginald C. Collier is a former professional American football player. Best known as a dynamic college football star, Collier had a short-lived professional career in both the United States Football League and National Football League.Collier played collegiate football as a quarterback for the The...
, Brett Favre
Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League . He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons , Green Bay Packers , New York Jets and Minnesota...
, Ray Guy
Ray Guy
William Ray Guy is a retired American football punter for the Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders. Coming from the University of Southern Mississippi, he was the only pure punter ever to be drafted in the first round of the NFL draft when the Oakland Raiders selected him in 1973.Guy was a key member of...
, Sammy Winder
Sammy Winder
Sammy Winder is a former professional American football running back who spent his entire professional career playing for the Denver Broncos, from 1982 to 1990....
, Janice Felder, Nick Revon, and Clarence Weatherspoon
Clarence Weatherspoon
Clarence Weatherspoon, Sr. is a former American professional basketball player in the NBA.After a college career at the University of Southern Mississippi, Weatherspoon was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers as the ninth pick in the 1992 NBA Draft...
.
Blades was ceremoniously invited into the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles Hall of Fame on March 31, 2006.
- 1997-1998 All-Southland
- 1998 Southland Player of The Year
- 1998 Southland Pitcher of The Year
- 1999-2000 WCWS All-Tournament Team
- 1999-2000 First Team All-American
- 2000 USA MVP
- 2000 USA Pitcher of The Year
- 2000 Region 7 Most Outstanding Player
- 2000 Honda Sports AwardHonda Sports AwardThe Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States of America, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Award are automatically in the running for the Honda-Broderick Cup award, as...
- USA All-Decade Team (2005)
Nicholls State & Southern Mississippi
| YEAR | W | L | GP Games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although exceptions are made if the pitcher announced in the starting lineup is injured before facing a batter, perhaps while... |
GS Games started In baseball statistics, games started indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he faces the first opposing batter... |
CG Complete game In baseball, a complete game is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher.As demonstrated by the charts below, in the early 20th century, it was common for most good Major League Baseball pitchers to pitch a complete game almost every start. Pitchers were... |
SHO Shutout In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.... |
SV Save (sport) In baseball, a save is credited to a pitcher who finishes a game for the winning team under certain prescribed circumstances. The number of saves, or percentage of save opportunities successfully converted, is an oft-cited statistic of relief pitchers... |
IP Innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one inning pitched. One out counts as one-third of an inning, and two... |
H Hit (baseball) In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.... |
R | ER Earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run for which the pitcher is held accountable . Any runner who tags his base and reaches home plate is scored against the pitcher as an earned run... |
BB Base on balls A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08... |
SO Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.... |
ERA Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine... |
| 1997 | 27 | 14 | 15 | = | 288.1 | 50 | 303 | 1.21 | ||||||
| 1998 | 29 | 7 | 14 | = | 255.2 | 39 | 30 | 310 | 0.82 | |||||
| 1999 | 43 | 6 | 56 | 56 | 22 | = | 318.0 | 45 | 497 | 0.99 | ||||
| 2000 | 52 | 7 | 66 | 60 | 46 | 28 | = | 399.2 | 51 | 663 | 0.89 | |||
| TOTALS | 151 | 34 | 215 | 190 | 142 | 79 | 1261.2 | 176 | 1773 | 0.97 |
Athletic Accomplishments
- 1,773 strikeouts fifth mostNCAA Division I Softball career strikeouts listThere are currently 64 pitchers and 59 records in the 1,000 Strikeout Club:-Progression:Shawn Andaya broke the original strikeout record by Amy Unterbrink during her 1987 campaign. Michele Granger struck out her 1,235th batter on February 22, 1993 shutting out the Northwestern Wildcats 8-0...
- 151 wins second mostNCAA Division I Softball career wins listThere are currently 64 pitchers and 29 records in the NCAA Division I 100 Wins Club:-Progression:Debbie Nichols won her 140th career game defeating the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns 3-1 on April 7, 1990, besting Rhonda Wheatley's original record. Courtney Blades passed Nichols for her 150th win pitching a...
- 79 shutouts (seventh most)
- 14 career NCAA Division I no-hitters
- 3 career NCAA Division I perfect games
- .320 batting average (Nicholls State Colonels)
- .307 batting average (Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles)