Winders excited to help Cincy Christian program

Thursday, June 16, 2016
Kimmy Winders of Cloverdale takes a big cut during sectional action last month.

Cincinnati Christian concluded its first-ever softball season with a 10-27 record, going 5-13 in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

"Overall, looking back on this season I am very proud of the 11 kids that fought through major adversity this whole season," head coach Cory Gardner stated. "We have had our ups and downs but I am very confident in saying that we have had a lot more ups than downs."

Gardner and his staff have not had an easy task in starting a program from scratch.

Kimmy Winders

"This group has laid the foundation to what we hope becomes a very successful program here at CCU," he said. "I would also like to thank everyone who has supported us this season as we established the program. My staff and I will forever be grateful for that support."

The Eagles will welcome the addition of recent Cloverdale graduate Kimmy Winders to the roster for the 2016-17 season.

Academically at Cloverdale, Winders earned cumulative honors and was an academic letter-winner.

Winders is a utility player who can play multiple outfield positions as well as first base. She has played for the Indiana Valley Thunder travel organization for the last five years, and has earned all-Putnam County and all-conference honors for the past two years.

"I choose CCU because I fell in love with the campus and I am ready to begin softball at the collegiate level," she said in February when signing her national letter of intent. "The campus is beautiful and small, and that's what I'm most comfortable with. On my college visit, everyone was so welcoming and kind. It felt like home."

Winders looks forward to the challenge of helping to get the young program established.

"Finding out that CCU was starting a softball program was very exciting because I will be a part of something very special from the beginning," she said. "I'm very excited to see what my future has in store for me at Cincinnati Christian University."

Coach Gardner is looking forward to having Winders in his program.

"The addition of Kimmy Winders to our program was very big for our future in a number of ways," he said. "Kimmy is a fantastic young person who comes from an outstanding family that has been a pleasure to get to know through the recruiting process.

"As a player, Kimmy can play multiple outfield positions as well as first base," Gardner added. "She has a unique skill set as she throws left-handed but bats right-handed."

Gardner feels that Winder's roots from the softball-rich state of Indiana make her even more appealing.

"Kimmy is a true winner and knows what it feels like to win games and create a winning culture," he said. "Both her high school and travel organizations have winning backgrounds.

"She also helps us as a program in terms of getting our name out into the state of Indiana, which is a state rich in softball talent," Gardner added. "We are excited to have the opportunity to coach Kimmy Winders for the next four seasons."

In other news:

* Chambers to complete SIUE career -- Former Cascade softball standout Haley Chambers-Book, who led Riverton Parke to a state title in 2010, will resume her Southern Illinois-Edwardsville career next spring.

Chambers-Book had three outstanding seasons with the Cougars before taking the past school year off to get married and give birth to a son.

In a recent Facebook post, Chambers-Book said she and her family are moving to Edwardsville shortly and she will graduate next May.

As a junior in 2015, Chambers-Book was selected to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Mideast All-Region third team. She was a second-team choice as a sophomore.

As a junior, Chambers-Book was also selected as the Ohio Valley Conference Pitcher of the Year and as a first-team all-Ohio Valley Conference selection.

Chambers-Book finished her third year with the Cougars with a 1.45 earned run average and a 25-7 record. She set the single-season record for strikeouts at 315 and is just 14 strikeouts away from becoming the career-leader at SIUE. She currently has 723 and trails Erika Taylor, who accumulated 737 from 2008-2011.

Along with her superb pitching, Chambers led the Cougars in batting average (.369), RBIs (40), and hits (69). She was tied for the team lead in home runs at nine.

* Coaching carousel -- Edgewood boys' basketball coach Dave Mahurin has resigned following his arrest last month for a drug-related incident.

Bloomfield coach Matt Britton, who coached the Cardinals boys' team to the Class A state championship game in March, also resigned recently to spend more time with his family.

Greencastle is still working to find a replacement for Troy Greenlee, the Tiger Cubs' boys' basketball coach who resigned last month to take a position as athletic director/assistant principal at White River Valley.

Terre Haute South has two former college basketball players as interim head coaches for its basketball program.

Maynard Lewis, the 1998 runnerup for Mr. Basketball who played at Purdue, took over when Scott Ridge resigned to attend law school. THS girls' coach Cara Stuckey also resigned earlier this month, and former Indiana State player Richie Adderly is also coaching on an interim basis.

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: