Danielle Henderson
Encyclopedia
Danielle Henderson (born January 29, 1977) is an American
former All-American right-handed softball
pitcher
from Commack, New York
. She played for the UMass Minutewomen from 1996 to 1999 and was an Olympic champion for Team USA
softball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was also a pro champion playing four years in the National Pro Fastpitch
from 2004 to 2007.
Henderson began her career by making All-Atlantic 10 honors and claiming Rookie of The Year. She also broke the top-10 for UMass history for her 0.96 ERA, 23 wins and 11 shutouts.
She threw her first no-hitter on May 12 vs. the Marist Red Foxes
.
Sophomore:
Henderson would earn her first All-American and Atlantic 10 Pitcher of Year awards as well as tossing two no-hitters and breaking the UMass season records for strikeouts (335), innings pitched and strikeout ratio. Her 25 wins and 15 shutouts were at the time both second best in school history.
On April 26, 1997, Henderson struck out a school and career best 18 Fordham Rams
in regulation, this now ranks third all-time for a single game.
The UMass Minutewomen made it to the Women's College World Series
on Henderson's arm but failed to win a game. However, Henderson was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Junior:
Throwing 5 no-hitters (one perfect game
vs. the Fordham Rams
on March 29, 1998) earned her all-season honors from conference and the NCAA. Henderson broke four school records with her 30 wins, 430 strikeouts, 23 shutouts (still the record) and double-digit strikeout ratio (12). In addition, she also cracked the top-10 NCAA Division I season records with her strikeouts, shutouts and second best all-time strikeout ratio mark, which currently ranks 6th all-time
A return trip to the Women's College World Series
ended by shutout as the Minutewomen lost their second game to Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
Senior:
Henderson posted 6 no-hitters, two perfect games and repeated all-season honors, including a First Team All-American highlight and her third straight Atlantic 10 Pitcher of The Year. Henderson won 30 games, struck out a school and conference record 465 batters (which led the nation) and tied the best season ERA mark of 0.39 at UMass. Her strikeout ratio of 14 set a new NCAA season mark that is now 6th all-time. Her 105 scoreless innings streak from March 16 - May 2, 1999 remains an NCAA record.
Henderson closed her career at UMass with the best strikeouts, ERA, shutouts, wins and strikeout ratio numbers ever, of which she still owns the first three.
In May 1999, Henderson was awarded the Honda Sports Award
as the best softball player in the country.
the summer after she graduated in 1999. On July 29, 1999, Henderson threw a perfect game
defeating Colombia
9-0 at the start of the Pan American Games.
She competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney
where she received a gold medal with the American team. Her only game was a 3-0 win over Cuba
.
in 2004 with the now defunct Arizona Heat
. She currently ranks top-10 in career strikeouts and wins. In 2005, Henderson made the All-NPF East Team.
Although she did not play, Henderson also won a NPF Cowles Cup Championship with the defunct New England Riptide
on August 28, 2006.
On October 9, 2009, Henderson was honored with an invitation into the UMass Hall of Fame.
Since 2007, Henderson had been working putting on softball clinics before joining the coaches of the Adelphi Panthers. She left and joined the Ohio State Buckeyes
in 2009.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former All-American right-handed softball
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 Commack, New York
Commack, New York
Commack is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the towns of Huntington and Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York, United States on Long Island...
. She played for the UMass Minutewomen from 1996 to 1999 and was an Olympic champion for Team USA
Team USA
Team USA is a wrestling faction brought together as part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's X-Cup Tournaments, which involved a team of X Division superstars from various countries representing their nation in an international wrestling competition.-America's X-Cup:Team USA was created and led...
softball at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was also a pro champion playing four years in the National Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...
from 2004 to 2007.
UMass
Freshman:Henderson began her career by making All-Atlantic 10 honors and claiming Rookie of The Year. She also broke the top-10 for UMass history for her 0.96 ERA, 23 wins and 11 shutouts.
She threw her first no-hitter on May 12 vs. the Marist Red Foxes
Marist Red Foxes
Marist College plays NCAA Division I athletics as a member of the MAAC. Other schools in this conference include Siena College, Iona College, Niagara University, Manhattan College, Fairfield University, Loyola College in Maryland, Canisius College, Rider University, and Saint Peter's...
.
Sophomore:
Henderson would earn her first All-American and Atlantic 10 Pitcher of Year awards as well as tossing two no-hitters and breaking the UMass season records for strikeouts (335), innings pitched and strikeout ratio. Her 25 wins and 15 shutouts were at the time both second best in school history.
On April 26, 1997, Henderson struck out a school and career best 18 Fordham Rams
Fordham Rams
The 22 Fordham University varsity sports teams are known as the Fordham Rams. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football. In football, the Rams play in the Patriot League of NCAA...
in regulation, this now ranks third all-time for a single game.
The UMass Minutewomen made it to the 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...
on Henderson's arm but failed to win a game. However, Henderson was selected to the All-Tournament Team.
Junior:
Throwing 5 no-hitters (one 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...
vs. the Fordham Rams
Fordham Rams
The 22 Fordham University varsity sports teams are known as the Fordham Rams. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football. In football, the Rams play in the Patriot League of NCAA...
on March 29, 1998) earned her all-season honors from conference and the NCAA. Henderson broke four school records with her 30 wins, 430 strikeouts, 23 shutouts (still the record) and double-digit strikeout ratio (12). In addition, she also cracked the top-10 NCAA Division I season records with her strikeouts, shutouts and second best all-time strikeout ratio mark, which currently ranks 6th all-time
A return trip to the 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...
ended by shutout as the Minutewomen lost their second game to Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
Senior:
Henderson posted 6 no-hitters, two perfect games and repeated all-season honors, including a First Team All-American highlight and her third straight Atlantic 10 Pitcher of The Year. Henderson won 30 games, struck out a school and conference record 465 batters (which led the nation) and tied the best season ERA mark of 0.39 at UMass. Her strikeout ratio of 14 set a new NCAA season mark that is now 6th all-time. Her 105 scoreless innings streak from March 16 - May 2, 1999 remains an NCAA record.
Henderson closed her career at UMass with the best strikeouts, ERA, shutouts, wins and strikeout ratio numbers ever, of which she still owns the first three.
In May 1999, Henderson was awarded the 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 softball player in the country.
2000 Olympics
Henderson began playing for Team USATeam USA
Team USA is a wrestling faction brought together as part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's X-Cup Tournaments, which involved a team of X Division superstars from various countries representing their nation in an international wrestling competition.-America's X-Cup:Team USA was created and led...
the summer after she graduated in 1999. On July 29, 1999, Henderson threw 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...
defeating Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
9-0 at the start of the Pan American Games.
She competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
where she received a gold medal with the American team. Her only game was a 3-0 win over Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
National Pro Fastpitch
Henderson began playing with the rejuvenated National Pro FastpitchNational Pro Fastpitch
National Pro Fastpitch , formerly the Women's Pro Softball League , is the only professional women's softball league in the United States. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001. The NPF revived the league in 2004 and currently features four teams: USSSA Pride, Akron Racers, Chicago...
in 2004 with the now defunct Arizona Heat
Arizona Heat
The Arizona Heat is a women's softball team based in Tucson, Arizona. From the 2004 season, it played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. The team's home games were played at historic Hi Corbett Field....
. She currently ranks top-10 in career strikeouts and wins. In 2005, Henderson made the All-NPF East Team.
Although she did not play, Henderson also won a NPF Cowles Cup Championship with the defunct New England Riptide
New England Riptide
The New England Riptide is a dormant women's softball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. Since the 2004 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch. Operations were suspended in February 2009 . The NPF website does not list the Riptide as a current team.- 2004 :The 2004 season...
on August 28, 2006.
Honors
In 2001, while serving a second term as Assistant Coach, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst ceremoniously retired Henderson's #44 jersey. In her last season with her the Minutewomen, Henderson was also inducted into the New England Women's Hall of Fame on September 24, 2002.On October 9, 2009, Henderson was honored with an invitation into the UMass Hall of Fame.
Since 2007, Henderson had been working putting on softball clinics before joining the coaches of the Adelphi Panthers. She left and joined the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
in 2009.
University of Massachusetts Minutewomen
| YEAR | W | L | 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... |
| 1996 | 23 | 8 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 197.2 | 124 | 56 | 27 | 76 | 113 | 0.96 |
| 1997 | 25 | 15 | 35 | 15 | 3 | 272.0 | 147 | 60 | 31 | 62 | 335 | 0.80 |
| 1998 | 30 | 8 | 33 | 23 | 2 | 256.0 | 112 | 38 | 26 | 84 | 430 | 0.71 |
| 1999 | 30 | 4 | 33 | 22 | 0 | 234.0 | 72 | 15 | 13 | 40 | 465 | 0.39 |
| TOTALS | 108 | 35 | 125 | 71 | 5 | 959.2 | 455 | 169 | 97 | 262 | 1343 | 0.71 |
Arizona Heat & New England Riptide
| YEAR | W | L | 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... |
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... |
| 2004 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 94.2 | 62 | 32 | 22 | 49 | 83 | 1.63 |
| 2005 | 9 | 10 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 123.0 | 85 | 56 | 35 | 55 | 150 | 1.99 |
| 2006 | 7 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 82.0 | 83 | 41 | 33 | 53 | 64 | 2.81 |
| 2007 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 68.2 | 57 | 23 | 19 | 32 | 68 | 1.95 |
| TOTALS | 31 | 22 | 55 | 25 | 5 | 368.1 | 287 | 152 | 109 | 189 | 365 | 2.07 |