Bethel Park native coaches team to NCAA softball title
Sue Kunkle
Sue Kunkle just coached Southern Indiana to the NCAA Division II national softball championship for her 512th career victory. So what did the Bethel Park native do next?
No, she didn’t go to Disney World. She hopped in her car, jumped on the freeway and traveled from Evansville to Chattanooga to recruit a player that could help her win the school’s second national title.
“It doesn’t end,” Kunkle said. “I do enjoy recruiting though,” she added, even though this particular five-hour trip was elongated because of a massive car pile-up on the interstate. “I do absolutely love what I do and I hope I’m alive to see another 500 (victories).”
At age 46, and given the time frame (17 years) it took her to reach the milestone, Kunkle likely will reach 1,000 career wins and perhaps another national title or two.
“As long as my body will let me,” Kunkle said she would stay in the game.
Kunkle has played softball all her life, starting on the sandlots in Bethel Park, where her team reached the PIAA finals her freshman year in 1987. The 1990 graduate went on to become the winningest pitcher in the history of California University of Pennsylvania with a 54-12 career mark. The all-regional and all-conference performer led the Vulcans to three PSAC West championships, a regional banner and the school’s first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II College World Series.
During a summer camp while working as a volunteer assistant at Cal, she discovered coaching was her calling. It was a different form of education from her teaching career.
“I dreamed of doing this,” she said. “At camp, Cal put me at all these stations, coaching, hitting and pitching and I loved that. I realized coaching was what I wanted to do. I knew it was for me.”
After spending a year at Morehead State, she was named an assistant coach at her high school alma mater. Kunkle moved on to the University of Akron, developing some of the Zips’ best hurlers. She also coached two USA athletes International squads, one finished first in Holland and the other took third in Australia. She arrived at Southern Indiana in 2002, ready to challenge for Great Lakes Valley Conference championships and national titles.
“Each of those experiences was a stepping stone. I remember things from Moorehead State, Bethel Park and Akron that have helped me even though all those have been a long time ago. They all prepared me for this moment.”
We are family
Wherever she has roamed, the one constant for Kunkle has been family. All her life she has been supported by her parents, David and Marilyn; her brother, David, who excelled as a third baseman on Bethel Park’s 1988 WPIAL championship and PIAA runner-up clubs; daughter, Morgan; and now, granddaughter, Presley, 5 months. Her extended family includes not only her uncles and aunts but her players as well.
“I’m really big on building trust and developing relationships with my players. Our whole program is based around relationships and family. We invest time in making sure players are happy.”
Noting that college sports is “business,” Kunkle added, “but with a lot of laughs. My college experience was amazing. I played with a national program. So I wanted to carry that over with me. We don’t scream and yell a lot. We are disciplined and structured. We want to win. But, we are building memories, too.”
Sue Kunkle poses with the NCAA trophy with her parents, Marilyn and David.
Boy, did the Screaming Eagles ever make memories this season. Though they compiled a 41-23 record, they got hot at the right time, winning 14 of their final 15 games, including going undefeated in the World Series. They swept Saint Anselm College, 4-0 and 8-3, in the best-of-three championship series
“We have been successful here but absolutely this is the icing on the cake,” said Kunkle of not only the school’s first national title but also the state of Indiana’s first softball national championship at any level, NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA or AIAW. “It’s a huge honor just to go (to the World Series), but to actually go there and win it is something you actually only dream about doing.”
After going 0-2 in last year’s World Series, the Screaming Eagles did dream of returning in 2018, but they never imagined the struggle they faced. Though they graduated some key players from the 2017 squad, they were expected to challenge for another championship. However, Southern Indiana slumped early and the Screaming Eagles nearly failed to qualify for their own conference tournament. In fact, they tied California State University-Bakersfield (1989) for the most losses by a Division II national championship softball team. With a 27-22 record, they were seeded sixth in the GLVC tournament but they won the conference title with a 4-0 record. They captured the Midwest Region No. 1 Tournament with a 3-1 mark before sweeping the University of Illinois Springfield in the Super Regional. They went 5-0 in the World Series and defeated three nationally ranked clubs.
“When you look at how our season progressed, you realize why this championship meant so much. Everybody expected us to be tremendous out of the gate but we had to find the right pieces to the puzzle. We needed time to grow and learn each other because the dynamics of the team had changed.
“In the beginning of the season, we had mishaps and miscues, ups and downs, bad games and good games. Times where we weren’t playing great ball at all and you are left scratching your head as to what’s going on. How can a World Series team not make its own conference tournament?” Kunkle said.
“We kept the faith though and suddenly something happened. We found the team we were all along because we took the pressure off ourselves. We expected to be a World Series team from the start. We were just going to get there a different way. We didn’t have flashy stats, offensive numbers or records. We clawed our way there. The team was truly resilient. It refused to lose, displayed a lot of heart and a lot of grit. They had the desire to win and they were not going to be denied once they got there.”
Once Southern Indiana smoothed out the bumps in the road and reached the World Series for the second time in two seasons, Kunkle knew from experience the Screaming Eagles would not be denied the championship.
“We were not going to go there and lose two and be done,” she assured. “The big difference from last year to this year was we were more settled. Last year, we thought that the nerves got to us. Even though I had played there before, we (the staff and I) were tense, too. It can be overwhelming and rowdy. It’s a big stage and it can get to you. But this year, we were better prepared and confident. We had more swag and more grit.”
Grit to keep going
Grit has gotten Kunkle to the top and promises to keep her there. While she employs two young assistant coaches, Kunkle continues to participate in drills during practice sessions. She even throws batting practice. There are days, she admits, when she can’t pick her arm up but she does as much as she can.
“I don’t over do it to the point where I can’t get out of bed,” she said with a chuckle. “I’m as active as I can be and do everything with them. As long as my body will let me, I’ll continue.”
Kunkle also continues to stay on top of the game. She attends clinics. She studies at seminars.
“The game is quickly evolving and I’m still learning,” she said. “Sometimes, as a coach, you see a drill and say, oh my gosh, that is awesome, let’s do it. I am always eager to learn.”
Throughout all her years of coaching, Kunkle has learned the value of relationships. She said that is key for anybody thinking about going into the profession.
“You don’t do it for the money,” she said with a hardy laugh. “My advice really is for them to make sure you are building relationships because that is what the game and coaching are all about. It’s not about winning. It’s about how you treat your players because if they don’t respect you, then you will not win more games. Yelling at kids, making them run until they puke, that’s not how it’s done. I know that our kids are treated fantastic and they have fun. We laugh and we win championships but we also lift at 6 o’clock in the morning, six days a week and work with the strength coach. We do it all. Everybody has their own style but I’m not a big fan of degrading players, screaming and hollering at them. I’m not that coach.”
No, Sue Kunkle of Bethel Park is a championship coach.