Softball
Willis, Sarah
Sarah Willis
- Title:
- Head Softball Coach
- Email:
- williss@bgsu.edu
- Phone:
- 419-372-7159
Sarah Willis recently completed her seventh season as head coach of the Bowling Green State University softball program in the 2021-22 academic year. Willis officially joined the Falcon family on July 1, 2015.
JUNE 6, 2022 - Willis Named Head Coach at Bradley
Willis posted an overall record of 162-177 during those seven seasons in Northwest Ohio. Over her last three seasons, BGSU posted a 72-54 overall mark (.571).
The 2022 season saw Willis guide the Falcons to a 34-21 (.618) overall record and a 16-11 (.593) MAC ledger, good for fourth place in the 11-team league. BGSU’s total of 34 victories was the program’s highest in a decade, and the Falcons’ overall and league-only winning percentages also were the best since 2012.
The Falcons qualified for the 2022 MAC Tournament and advanced all the way to the championship game. Then, BGSU participated in national postseason play, heading to Fort Collins, Colo., and winning two games in the National Invitational Softball Championship. The wins, over Stephen F. Austin and George Washington, were the first national postseason victories in BGSU softball history.
Payton Gottshall was named the MAC's Pitcher of the Year in 2022, marking just the second time in program history that a BGSU hurler earned that honor. CF Greta L'Esperance joined Gottshall on the All-MAC First Team.
BGSU ended the 2021 season with an overall record of 27-27, and the Falcons went 19-20 in MAC action. BG, picked to finish eighth in the MAC in the preseason coaches' poll, ended the season in fifth place in the 11-team league. BGÂ was one of two conference teams to finish as many as three places higher than predicted.
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The Falcons finished with the program's highest winning percentage in MAC play since 2012, and BGSU's overall total of 27 wins was the highest since the 2013 campaign. Both figures were topped in 2022.
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Individually, Gottshall and SS Madi McCoy each earned All-MAC First-Team accolades in 2021. Gottshall was also named the MAC's Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and fellow redshirt freshman L’Esperance was chosen to the MAC's All-Defensive Team.
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Gottshall and McCoy were the Falcons' first all-conference first-team selections since 2014, and BGSU had multiple first-team picks for the first time since 2012.
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The Falcons excelled in the classroom as well. BGSU was named an Easton/NFCAÂ Top 10 Academic Team for the 2020-21 academic year, as the Falcons were ranked 10th in the nation among NCAA Division-I schools with a GPA of 3.704.
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Individually, no fewer than 16 Falcons were named 2021 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes. And, a school-record 12 BGSU student-athletes were named to the Academic All-MAC Team.
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Nikki Sorgi earned one of the most prestigious individual awards given out by the Mid-American Conference, as she was named the female recipient of the MAC's Bob James Memorial Scholarship Award. That honor is given to just one male and one female across the conference.
And, McCoy received the MAC Medal of Excellence – presented annually to just one male and one female student-athlete at each of the MAC’s 12 schools – for the 2020-21 academic year.
The Falcons posted a record of 11-6 in the shortened 2020 season, with a 5-0 record at the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational on what proved to be the final weekend of the campaign.
The Falcons' fourth win that weekend was the 100th career victory for Willis. She achieved that milestone in BG's win over Chattanooga on March 7.
BGSU amassed much-improved statistics in multiple categories in 2017 and again in '18, including in the win column. The 2019 Falcons batted .270 as a team, marking the second-straight season that BG hit .270 or better (after doing so just five times in the previous 39 years).
In her first year with the Falcons, the team went 18-36 overall and 6-17 in MAC play. And, in 2017, the team was picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the preseason coaches' poll. But, the Falcons were in the race for a MAC Tournament berth until the final day of the regular season.
BGSU won six more games in 2017 than in '16, and the team's MAC win total was four victories higher than the previous year. BG went 24-32 overall and 10-14 in league action, and the Falcons finished as close to first place as to last place in the East Division.
BGSU nearly tripled the home win total from the previous year, despite playing fewer games at Meserve Field. The Brown and Orange went 8-3 at Meserve in 2017 after posting a 3-11 home mark in '16.
Falcon pitchers threw 10 complete games, including four shutouts, in the 11 home games in 2017.
BGSU's 2017 victories included a 3-2, neutral-site win over Oklahoma State, a team that won 38 games, advanced to an NCAA Regional and finished the year ranked 25th in the nation.
Then, in 2018, the Falcons went 26-26 overall, posting the program's highest win total in five years. BG finished with a .500 record for the first time in five seasons as well.
The '18 club threatened the school single-season records in multiple hitting categories. BGSU hit .286 on the year, the second-best average in program history and just three percentage points shy of the school record (.289 in 2002). The 2018 team also posted the second-best totals/averages in total bases (582), slugging percentage (.424) and runs batted in (196 - tied for second), and Falcon sluggers hit 37 home runs, the third-highest total in program history.
The 2019 Falcons scored a total of 225 runs, just five shy of the school record. BGSU's 4.41 runs per game was the third-highest average in program history and the highest since 2007. And, the team's total of 201 RBI fell just one shy of that school record.
Willis came to Northwest Ohio after a highly-successful stint on the staff at the University of Dayton. During the 2015 season, her first with UD, Willis helped the Flyers to a 39-14 overall record and an Atlantic 10 Conference mark of 20-2. UD broke the school record for wins in a season, and the Flyers earned the first A-10 regular-season title in program history. Dayton also advanced to the A-10 Tournament Championship final for the first time in history.
Willis worked with the Flyer pitching staff, achieving tremendous success in '15. The staff led the conference and ranked among the top-25 in the nation in several categories. UD led the league in wins, saves (10), winning percentage (.736), strikeouts (353), shutouts (12), fewest runs allowed (155) and fewest earned runs allowed (118). The Flyers also surrendered the fewest hits, doubles, triples and homers of any A-10 team in 2015.
The Willis-led pitching corps included the 2015 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year in Kayla English, as well as the A-10's Rookie of the Year in Manda Cash. English earned all-conference first-team honors, while Cash was named to the second team. Â Additionally, English was named the A-10 Pitcher of the Week on four occasions, while Cash earned four A-10 Rookie-of-the-Week honors. Cash set the school single-season saves record, leading the nation in that category, and she earned the final NFCA National Pitcher-of-the-Week honor of the 2015 season.
Willis joined the Dayton program after spending two seasons (2012-14) as an assistant coach as Southeast Missouri State University. She also spent several years (2010-12) as an assistant coach at Princeton University. Willis coached the pitchers, catchers and outfielders at Princeton, and her duties at SEMO included skill instruction and player physical, mental and emotional development of pitchers/catchers/hitters on a day-to-day basis.
Willis was the recruiting coordinator for both the Tigers and the Redhawks.
In 2012, Willis spent the summer with the North Carolina Diamonds of the NPF where she coached along with Teresa Wilson, one of the top pitching instructors in the nation. Willis assisted in skill instruction and management of pitchers, catchers, outfielders and offense along with helping develop individualized training programs for the athletes.
Willis began her coaching career as a student assistant coach at Texas Tech University, her alma mater. She pitched for the Red Raiders from 2005-08, and finished her career with 22 wins and 298 strikeouts in 113 appearances. She was named to the Texas Tech dean's and president's honor lists. In 2007, Willis had the highest GPA of any female athlete at the school.
Willis graduated from Texas Tech in 2008, with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She went on to earn her master's degree in exercise and sport sciences from TTU in 2010.
The former Sarah Losleben, Willis and her husband, Joe (a native of Chillicothe, Ill.), reside in Bowling Green. They have two daughters: Zoey, who was born in January of 2017; and Payton, born in October of 2018.
SARAH WILLISÂ YEAR BY YEAR AT BGSU
YEAR Â Â OVERALL Â Â MAC Â Â MAC FINISH
2016Â Â Â 18-36 Â Â 6-17 Â 6th in East
2017 Â Â 24-32 Â Â 10-14 Â 5th in East
2018Â Â Â 26-26Â Â Â 8-14Â Â 4th in East
2019Â Â Â 22-29Â Â Â 7-14Â Â 10th
2020Â Â Â 11- 6Â Â Â ----Â Â ----
2021Â Â Â 27-27Â Â 19-20Â Â 5th of 11
2022Â Â Â 34-21Â Â 16-11Â Â 4th of 11 (MAC Ty. runner-up) (NISC)
Totals 162-177  66-90
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JUNE 6, 2022 - Willis Named Head Coach at Bradley
Willis posted an overall record of 162-177 during those seven seasons in Northwest Ohio. Over her last three seasons, BGSU posted a 72-54 overall mark (.571).
The 2022 season saw Willis guide the Falcons to a 34-21 (.618) overall record and a 16-11 (.593) MAC ledger, good for fourth place in the 11-team league. BGSU’s total of 34 victories was the program’s highest in a decade, and the Falcons’ overall and league-only winning percentages also were the best since 2012.
The Falcons qualified for the 2022 MAC Tournament and advanced all the way to the championship game. Then, BGSU participated in national postseason play, heading to Fort Collins, Colo., and winning two games in the National Invitational Softball Championship. The wins, over Stephen F. Austin and George Washington, were the first national postseason victories in BGSU softball history.
Payton Gottshall was named the MAC's Pitcher of the Year in 2022, marking just the second time in program history that a BGSU hurler earned that honor. CF Greta L'Esperance joined Gottshall on the All-MAC First Team.
BGSU ended the 2021 season with an overall record of 27-27, and the Falcons went 19-20 in MAC action. BG, picked to finish eighth in the MAC in the preseason coaches' poll, ended the season in fifth place in the 11-team league. BGÂ was one of two conference teams to finish as many as three places higher than predicted.
Â
The Falcons finished with the program's highest winning percentage in MAC play since 2012, and BGSU's overall total of 27 wins was the highest since the 2013 campaign. Both figures were topped in 2022.
Â
Individually, Gottshall and SS Madi McCoy each earned All-MAC First-Team accolades in 2021. Gottshall was also named the MAC's Freshman Pitcher of the Year, and fellow redshirt freshman L’Esperance was chosen to the MAC's All-Defensive Team.
Â
Gottshall and McCoy were the Falcons' first all-conference first-team selections since 2014, and BGSU had multiple first-team picks for the first time since 2012.
Â
The Falcons excelled in the classroom as well. BGSU was named an Easton/NFCAÂ Top 10 Academic Team for the 2020-21 academic year, as the Falcons were ranked 10th in the nation among NCAA Division-I schools with a GPA of 3.704.
Â
Individually, no fewer than 16 Falcons were named 2021 Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes. And, a school-record 12 BGSU student-athletes were named to the Academic All-MAC Team.
Â
Nikki Sorgi earned one of the most prestigious individual awards given out by the Mid-American Conference, as she was named the female recipient of the MAC's Bob James Memorial Scholarship Award. That honor is given to just one male and one female across the conference.
And, McCoy received the MAC Medal of Excellence – presented annually to just one male and one female student-athlete at each of the MAC’s 12 schools – for the 2020-21 academic year.
The Falcons posted a record of 11-6 in the shortened 2020 season, with a 5-0 record at the Clearwater Spring Break Invitational on what proved to be the final weekend of the campaign.
The Falcons' fourth win that weekend was the 100th career victory for Willis. She achieved that milestone in BG's win over Chattanooga on March 7.
BGSU amassed much-improved statistics in multiple categories in 2017 and again in '18, including in the win column. The 2019 Falcons batted .270 as a team, marking the second-straight season that BG hit .270 or better (after doing so just five times in the previous 39 years).In her first year with the Falcons, the team went 18-36 overall and 6-17 in MAC play. And, in 2017, the team was picked to finish sixth (i.e., last) in the East Division in the preseason coaches' poll. But, the Falcons were in the race for a MAC Tournament berth until the final day of the regular season.
BGSU won six more games in 2017 than in '16, and the team's MAC win total was four victories higher than the previous year. BG went 24-32 overall and 10-14 in league action, and the Falcons finished as close to first place as to last place in the East Division.
BGSU nearly tripled the home win total from the previous year, despite playing fewer games at Meserve Field. The Brown and Orange went 8-3 at Meserve in 2017 after posting a 3-11 home mark in '16.
Falcon pitchers threw 10 complete games, including four shutouts, in the 11 home games in 2017.
BGSU's 2017 victories included a 3-2, neutral-site win over Oklahoma State, a team that won 38 games, advanced to an NCAA Regional and finished the year ranked 25th in the nation.
Then, in 2018, the Falcons went 26-26 overall, posting the program's highest win total in five years. BG finished with a .500 record for the first time in five seasons as well.
The '18 club threatened the school single-season records in multiple hitting categories. BGSU hit .286 on the year, the second-best average in program history and just three percentage points shy of the school record (.289 in 2002). The 2018 team also posted the second-best totals/averages in total bases (582), slugging percentage (.424) and runs batted in (196 - tied for second), and Falcon sluggers hit 37 home runs, the third-highest total in program history.
The 2019 Falcons scored a total of 225 runs, just five shy of the school record. BGSU's 4.41 runs per game was the third-highest average in program history and the highest since 2007. And, the team's total of 201 RBI fell just one shy of that school record.
Willis came to Northwest Ohio after a highly-successful stint on the staff at the University of Dayton. During the 2015 season, her first with UD, Willis helped the Flyers to a 39-14 overall record and an Atlantic 10 Conference mark of 20-2. UD broke the school record for wins in a season, and the Flyers earned the first A-10 regular-season title in program history. Dayton also advanced to the A-10 Tournament Championship final for the first time in history.
Willis worked with the Flyer pitching staff, achieving tremendous success in '15. The staff led the conference and ranked among the top-25 in the nation in several categories. UD led the league in wins, saves (10), winning percentage (.736), strikeouts (353), shutouts (12), fewest runs allowed (155) and fewest earned runs allowed (118). The Flyers also surrendered the fewest hits, doubles, triples and homers of any A-10 team in 2015.
The Willis-led pitching corps included the 2015 Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year in Kayla English, as well as the A-10's Rookie of the Year in Manda Cash. English earned all-conference first-team honors, while Cash was named to the second team. Â Additionally, English was named the A-10 Pitcher of the Week on four occasions, while Cash earned four A-10 Rookie-of-the-Week honors. Cash set the school single-season saves record, leading the nation in that category, and she earned the final NFCA National Pitcher-of-the-Week honor of the 2015 season.
Willis joined the Dayton program after spending two seasons (2012-14) as an assistant coach as Southeast Missouri State University. She also spent several years (2010-12) as an assistant coach at Princeton University. Willis coached the pitchers, catchers and outfielders at Princeton, and her duties at SEMO included skill instruction and player physical, mental and emotional development of pitchers/catchers/hitters on a day-to-day basis.
Willis was the recruiting coordinator for both the Tigers and the Redhawks.
In 2012, Willis spent the summer with the North Carolina Diamonds of the NPF where she coached along with Teresa Wilson, one of the top pitching instructors in the nation. Willis assisted in skill instruction and management of pitchers, catchers, outfielders and offense along with helping develop individualized training programs for the athletes.
Willis began her coaching career as a student assistant coach at Texas Tech University, her alma mater. She pitched for the Red Raiders from 2005-08, and finished her career with 22 wins and 298 strikeouts in 113 appearances. She was named to the Texas Tech dean's and president's honor lists. In 2007, Willis had the highest GPA of any female athlete at the school.
Willis graduated from Texas Tech in 2008, with a bachelor's degree in psychology. She went on to earn her master's degree in exercise and sport sciences from TTU in 2010.
The former Sarah Losleben, Willis and her husband, Joe (a native of Chillicothe, Ill.), reside in Bowling Green. They have two daughters: Zoey, who was born in January of 2017; and Payton, born in October of 2018.
SARAH WILLISÂ YEAR BY YEAR AT BGSU
YEAR Â Â OVERALL Â Â MAC Â Â MAC FINISH
2016Â Â Â 18-36 Â Â 6-17 Â 6th in East
2017 Â Â 24-32 Â Â 10-14 Â 5th in East
2018Â Â Â 26-26Â Â Â 8-14Â Â 4th in East
2019Â Â Â 22-29Â Â Â 7-14Â Â 10th
2020Â Â Â 11- 6Â Â Â ----Â Â ----
2021Â Â Â 27-27Â Â 19-20Â Â 5th of 11
2022Â Â Â 34-21Â Â 16-11Â Â 4th of 11 (MAC Ty. runner-up) (NISC)
Totals 162-177  66-90
Â
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Saturday, May 14
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Wednesday, May 08
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