Softball |
How to Contact:
Coach Jeanine Gunther
Koehler Fieldhouse
ESU, East Stroudsburg, Pa. 18301
Phone: (570) 422-3122
University of North Carolina `97 - Jeanine Gunther, an assistant coach for the last two years, was named the East Stroudsburg University head softball coach during the summer replacing Janelle Breneman, who resigned to accept the head softball coaching position at Bucknell University.
Gunther has a Division I softball background. She played four years and started three as a catcher for the University of North Carolina. She gained All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as as a junior after leading the Tarheels to the ACC regular- season title. She played in 197 games during her career and had a batting average of .273 with 140 hits in 515 at-bats. She scored 46 runs and drove in 63. Gunther began her coaching career in 1998 as a volunteer assistant at North Carolina. She was a catcher for the Georgia Pride of the Women’s Professional Fastpitch Softball League (WPF) in 1998. The last two summers, she has played for Power Play Class 'A' women's fast pitch team out of Lancaster. Her team placed fifth in the ASA national championship last summer. Gunther feels her experience playing at the highest level of softball competition will help her as a head coach and also will benefit the ESU players. "I've worked with and played for outstanding coaches and learned how to put together practice plans and specific drills to use both during the pre-season practice and when games start," she explained. "I'm basically a laid-back person, but I demand intensity from the players in practice," she said. "I want them to reach their potential as athletes and have a good experience being members of a successful team. Gunther interacts with the players and runs practices in a positive manner. She is friendly, accessible and always enthusiastic in helping each individual player learn and improve. "I have a lot of confidence in my players and I let them know that all the time. That's my coaching style," she explained. "Then the key is to take all the individual players with their different personalities and mesh them together into a cohesive team. Team chemistry is so important at any level," she added. Gunther is counting on the 2001 Warriors coming together, playing hard and becoming a contender in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference race. She thinks the potential is there for her first ESU team to make the PSAC playoffs for the first time since 1981. A native of West Chester, Pa., Gunther grew up in Virginia Beach, Va. where she played basketball, field hockey and softball in high school. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from North Carolina in December, 1997.Assistant Coach
Kristy Richter
East Stroudsburg '00 - Kristi Richter returns to the East Stroudsburg softball program this season for the sixth straight year, but the first as a coach.
She was a pitcher and utility player for the Warriors for four years from 1996-99 and then was a student athletic trainer last season while completing her undergraduate degree in Athletic Training and Sport Management.
Richter pitched in 91 games, second most in the school's history, and completed 67 of them. She fired nine shutouts highlighted by two one-hitters. She made the All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division second team as a freshman after compiling a 10-8 pitching record and a 2.08 earned-run average. Also a dangerous hitter, Richter had a .280 career batting average. Her best season was as a junior when she batted a team-leading .350 with 11 doubles. The new coach now plays for the Spirit Women's Class 'A' softball team of Lyons, Pa. She is from Collegeville, Pa. and graduated from Methacton High School. Richter currently is working on a master degree at ESU in Sport Management and expects to graduate next year.