Michele Granger facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | American | |||||||||||||
| Born | January 15, 1970 Placentia, California |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||
| Country | USA | |||||||||||||
| Sport | Softball | |||||||||||||
| College team | California | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Michele Marie Granger, born on January 15, 1970, is a famous American softball pitcher. She was an amazing college player and won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Michele played college softball for the University of California. She is known for holding many pitching records. She is also in the USA Softball Hall of Fame.
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High School Star
Michele Granger was a top pitcher at Valencia High School from 1985 to 1988. She still holds some of the best national records for high school softball. For example, her career ERA (which measures how few runs she allowed) was super low at 0.10. She also threw 36 no-hitters and had 1,635 strikeouts.
A no-hitter is a game where the pitcher doesn't let the other team get any hits. A strikeout happens when a batter misses three pitches.
In 1986 and 1987, Michele set a record by striking out 21 batters in a single 7-inning game. This is the most possible in a regulation game! In her final high school game in 1988, she struck out 40 batters in a long game.
When she was only a sophomore in high school, Michele joined the Team USA. She played for Team USA until after the 1996 Olympics.
College Career
Michele played college softball for the California Golden Bears. She was a four-time NCAA Division I First Team All-American. This means she was recognized as one of the best players in the country for four years.
Early Years
In 1989, Michele pitched her first career no-hitter. It was also a perfect game, meaning no opposing player reached base at all. She had to take a break that season because of an injury to her pitching hand.
When she returned in 1990, Michele was incredible. She threw 5 more no-hitters. She had the best ERA on her team and led the NCAA in strikeouts. She earned her first All-American award.
Setting Records
In 1991, Michele continued to dominate. She threw four no-hitters and another perfect game. She set new school records for wins, strikeouts, and shutouts. A shutout is when a pitcher doesn't let the other team score any runs. She also set a new record for strikeouts in a 7-inning game, striking out 21 batters.
By 1992, Michele added 6 more no-hitters and two perfect games. She broke her own record for shutouts, pitching 26 that season. She also broke the NCAA record for career no-hitters, reaching 16. That year, she led her team to the Women's College World Series.
Senior Season and Legacy
In her senior year (1993), Michele threw 9 more no-hitters, including one perfect game. This set a new NCAA record for no-hitters in a single season. She also became the all-time NCAA leader with 25 career no-hitters.
Michele broke her own strikeout record with 484 strikeouts that season. She led the entire nation in strikeouts for three years in a row. She finished her college career with an amazing 1,640 strikeouts, which is still one of the highest totals ever.
She also set a new NCAA record for career shutouts, finishing with 94. In one game, she pitched 12 innings and struck out 26 batters. This is one of the most strikeouts ever in a single college game.
Michele Granger left the California Golden Bears holding many school records. She still holds the Pac-12 Conference records for innings pitched and shutouts. She is also the NCAA leader in career no-hitters.
1996 Olympics Gold
Michele Granger prepared for the very first Olympic softball tournament in 1996. It was held in Atlanta, Georgia. She threw the first-ever pitch in Olympic softball history! Team USA won that game 10-0 against Puerto Rico. Michele struck out 10 batters and only allowed two hits.
On July 30, Michele helped Team USA win the gold medal game against China. Team USA won 3-1. Michele pitched the first five innings, giving up only one run. She struck out 8 batters. In total, she had two wins and 25 strikeouts in the Olympics.
After Playing Softball
After her amazing playing career, Michele Granger was inducted into the California Golden Bears Hall of Fame.
She also joined the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) and International Softball Federation (ISF) Softball Halls of Fame in 2006.
Michele has also worked as a coach. She was on the coaching staff for the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers softball team. She currently volunteers at Sierra College and coaches high school softball.
Links
- NCAA Division I softball career strikeouts list
- NCAA Division I softball career wins list
- NCAA Division I softball career -1.00 ERAs list
