INDIANAPOLIS – Beginning a new era for the IUPUI softball team after an unprecedented season of success in 2017, the IUPUI athletics department and Director of Athletics Dr. Roderick Perry have announced the hiring of Elisabeth Beirne to take over the program as head coach Monday (July 17).  Coach Beirne joins the Jags out of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and is a long tenured assistant coach with multiple ties to the Horizon League.
 
"I'm thrilled to welcome Liz to IUPUI," Dr. Perry said of the new hiring.  "The vision that (she) shared during the interview process confirms that she is the right person to lead the softball program."
 
Coach Beirne has served as the assistant coach at UIC since 2016, actively participating in all phases of training, coaching, and preparing the Division I program.  The Flames went 39-22 this past season with a 20-4 mark in Horizon League play, winning the conference title and advancing to the NCAA Regionals.  Prior to her time at UIC, Coach Beirne worked as the assistant coach at Wright State, another Horizon League member. 
 
"Her past experiences at two Horizon League institutions shows that she understands the level of commitment and types of student-athletes necessary to be successful in our new league."
 
A pitching specialist by nature, Coach Beirne has earned the reputation of developing pitchers into elite caliber players, which includes the 2017 Horizon League Pitcher of the Year and two First-Team All-Conference pitchers that same season.  Additionally, she coached a conference All-Freshman Pitcher at UIC and helped her student-athletes set multiple pitching records in her time at Wright State, which includes the single season wins record (21), the team-best overall and conference record (37-23, 18-6), and ranked in the top-25 in the nation in team ERA (2.21). 
 
"I would like to thank Dr. Perry, Gail Barksdale and the search committee for this incredible opportunity to join the IUPUI Athletics Department as the next head softball coach," Coach Beirne said of her hiring.  "I am excited to lead this program with passion and purpose, creating successful student-athletes on the field, in the classroom, and life."
 
In addition to her time spent at UIC and Wright State, Coach Beirne also worked as an assistant coach at Georgia Southern for six years, a tenure that saw her pitchers produce a perfect game, two no-hitters and five Southern Conference Pitchers of the Year.  She also spent time as a pitching coach at Tennessee State and spent her playing days at Olivet Nazarene in Illinois.  An NAIA program and member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Beirne had a four-year record of 74-26 with 32 shutouts.  She was a 2003 First-Team All-American and NCCAA All-Tournament selection, helping Olivet to a third-place finish at the NAIA World Series.  That year, she was 29-7 with a 1.61 ERA.  She was named an All-Conference selection in 2004 after going 20-8 with a 2.66 ERA.
 
"I look forward to the challenge of growing IUPUI into a contender in the Horizon League and building relationships with the alumni."
 
Last season, IUPUI went 23-31 overall with an 11-6 record in the team's final campaign as a member of the Summit League.  The Jags closed the chapter by winning the program's first-ever regular season conference championship while landing six All-Summit League selections as well as the Summit League Player of the Year in Maggie Good.  Good also became the first Jaguar and Summit League student-athlete ever to be named the USA Softball National Player of the Week.  Interim head coach Heather Tarter was named the Summit League Coach of the Year, and has since accepted a position at Evansville of the Missouri Valley Conference, the same conference she competed in as a collegiate athlete at Northern Iowa. 
 
"This is an exciting day for IUPUI softball," Dr. Perry said in closing.
 
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