June 15, 2005
IOWA CITY – University of Iowa softball coach Gayle Blevins announced today that Amanda Scott has been named pitching coach. Scott will be replacing former assistant Debbie Bilbao, who resigned at the end of the season to spend more time with her family.
Scott played at Fresno State and graduated as one of the school’s most decorated athletes. She was named Fresno State’s No. 2 greatest athlete of the 20th century and led the Bulldogs to their first NCAA Championship in 1998. While at Fresno State, she compiled a 106-18 (.855) record with a 0.55 ERA and 851 strikeouts. She threw 68 shutouts in 871 innings pitched and was a four-time first team all-American. Scott was also named to the College World Series all-tournament team twice and was MVP in 1998. She was the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year three times and finished her career with a .303 batting average along with 31 home runs and 212 RBI.
Scott began her coaching career at Michigan State University where she served as pitching coach from 2002-04. She then pitched professionally for the New York Juggernauts and led them to a National Pro Fastpitch championship in 2004 while earning league MVP honors. She finished the 2004 season with 15 wins and an ERA of 0.88. Scott is currently the Juggernauts pitching coach.
“I am thrilled to be at Iowa,” Scott said. “It’s a great opportunity to work with a coaching staff as experienced and talented as the one at Iowa. Gayle Blevins and Michelle Venturella are as talented as anyone in the nation and it’s a tremendous opportunity to be a Hawkeye. I look forward to working with Gayle and Michelle to make Iowa even more of a national powerhouse.”
“We are extremely excited to have Amanda on staff with us,” Blevins said. “She brings so many dimensions that will help our program. She is an excellent pitching coach and will have a definite impact on training our pitchers, both mentally and physically. She will also impact the offensive side of our team, as they will be able to face an extremely talented pitcher everyday in practice. Amanda is a winner and brings that mentality and confidence to our staff.”