By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Paige Hall has been hired by Willamette University as the head softball coach for the Bearcats, Athletics Director Rob Passage announced today. Hall, who has served as an assistant softball coach at Lewis & Clark College since 2013, will begin her duties at Willamette this week and she prepares the Bearcats for the 2020 season.
"We are very excited to have Paige leading our softball program," Willamette Director of Athletics Rob Passage said. "She is a great fit for the university and our athletics department. Paige is going to be an outstanding head coach and I look forward to a bright future for Bearcat Softball."
Hall played softball all four years as a student-athlete at Oregon State University from 2008-09 through 2011-12. She received Honorable Mention All-Pac 12 honors in 2012 and was Honorable Mention All-Pac 10 in 2010. She was named Honorable Mention on the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team in 2009. Hall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in health promotion and health behavior from the School of Public Health at Oregon State University in 2013.
As a college player, Hall saw action as a pitcher in 198 games with 174 starts. She achieved a career record of 51-44 in the circle. She tossed a perfect game, the third in Oregon State softball history, on Feb. 11. 2011 against Western Michigan University, while registering six strikeouts in six innings. She graduated from Oregon State with a 3.21 career earned run average, 588.0 innings pitched, and 386 strikeouts.
In her six seasons at Lewis & Clark, Hall has worked primarily with the team's pitchers and also developed the hitters. She guided the pitching staff to a 3.97 team ERA in 2017 for the second lowest ERA in school history. Hall also assisted with a variety of administrative duties. She planned practices, arranged travel accommodations and helped with recruiting. She also supervised the academic progress of team members, which helped the Pioneers earn a 3.2 grade point average during her time at L&C.
"I feel very honored and excited to have the opportunity to lead a group of talented young women who are well rounded student-athletes," Hall said. "Willamette traditionally always has excellent sports programs and I am excited to bring my knowledge of the Northwest Conference to our program. Oregon has always been my home, and to be able to stay local to continue my coaching career is a blessing."
This past year, Hall has served as the head softball coach for the NW Bullets Club team in Portland, Oregon. She guided the pitching staff to a 1.69 team earned run average and contributed to the offense finishing with a .319 batting average. The NW Bullets went 36-12 overall.
As a high school student-athlete Hall competed at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon. She was named All-State four times. She was chosen as the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year in softball during the 2007 season.
Hall was a volunteer assistant coach at Jesuit in 2013. She worked one-on-one with the pitchers, helped the hitters, and assisted in planning practices and lineups. Previously, she coordinated events for the Boys and Girls Club of Corvallis (Ore.), where she also tutored math students. She volunteered with Special Olympics Portland as a basketball coach from 2003 through 2013. Since 2012, Hall has worked with Diamond Pro NW in Tualatin, Oregon, as a pitching and hitting instructor.