BOONE, N.C. – App State Softball has hired respected pitching coach and former Division III head coach Natalie Ruechel as an assistant, head coach
Shelly Hoerner announced Thursday.
Ruechel will oversee the Mountaineers' pitching staff.
"We are excited to have Natalie join our staff," Hoerner said. "She fits what we are looking for here at App State and our softball program. Natalie comes from a family of softball coaches. With her knowledge, passion and energy for the game and her ability to get the most out of her pitchers while maintaining a genuine rapport and professionalism, she will fit right in here with the standards of our program."
Ruechel spent the 2021 season at the University at Buffalo where she assisted with the pitching staff as well as the offense. Ruechel coached three all-conference players as well as an all-region player. The Bulls set various single-season program records and finished with their best conference winning percentage since 2014 and fourth-best overall in program history.
Ruechel spent the abbreviated 2020 campaign as an assistant at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she worked with the program's offense and outfielders. Under her tutelage, the Seahawks averaged nearly 4.5 runs/game.
Prior to her stints at UB and UNCW, Ruechel coached for three seasons at Averett University, ascending to head coach for the 2019 season. Ruechel led the Cougars to a 31-16 record and a runner-up conference tournament finish in her year at the helm of the program, coaching an All-American and two all-region players. The 2019 Averett team set program single-season records for home runs, slugging percentage and pitching strikeouts.
Ruechel spent the 2017 and 2018 seasons as the pitching coach for Averett, helping lead the program to 50 wins over that span and a USA South Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017. Over those two seasons, members of the pitching staff earned conference rookie of the year and NFCA All-Region honors and led the USA South in strikeouts and wins. In her three years overall with Averett, the pitching staff's ERA dropped by over 30 percent and the staff's WHIP dropped by 25 percent.
Ruechel started her collegiate coaching career as the pitching coach at Carroll University in 2016, helping the team to a 25-15 record. Under her guidance, a pair of pitchers earned second team all-conference honors.
Ruechel earned her bachelor's degree in physical and health education in 2015 from Carroll University, where she played her final two seasons of collegiate softball and was a second team all-conference honoree at pitcher as a senior. She went on to earn a Master's of Business Administration with an emphasis in leadership from Averett University in 2018.
