Jennie Ritter

Jennifer "Jennie" Darlene Ritter (born June 1, 1984) is an American, former collegiate All-American, retired softball pitcher and current sports commentator originally from Dexter, Michigan. Ritter played college softball and was a starting pitcher for the Michigan Wolverines softball from 2003 to 2006 and led them to the 2005 Women's College World Series championship. She is the career shutouts record holder for the Wolverines in the Big Ten Conference.

Jennie Ritter
Ritter at the White House in 2005.
CollegeMichigan
ConferenceBig Ten
SportSoftball
PositionPitcher
Jersey #15
MajorIndustrial and operations engineering
Career2003–2006
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
NationalityAmerican
Born (1984-06-01) June 1, 1984
Dexter, Michigan
High schoolDexter,
Dexter, Michigan
Career highlights
Awards
Honors
  • NFCA first-team All-American (2005)
  • NCAA All-Tournament Team (2005)
Records
  • All-time strikeout ratio at Michigan and the Big Ten
Tournaments
2003 NCAA, 2004 WCWS, 2005 WCWS, 2006 NCAA
Medal record
Women's softball
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
2007 Rio Team competition
World Cup of Softball
2007 Oklahoma City Team competition

Early life and college career

Ritter graduated from Dexter High School in Dexter, Michigan in 2002.[1]

At the University of Michigan, Ritter played for the Michigan Wolverines softball team under head coach Carol Hutchins. Ritter saw limited playing time as a freshman in 2003, only getting 7 decisions for a 5-2 record. Debuting on February 15, 2003, Ritter got a no-decision, pitching 5-innings, giving up a run and striking out 9 vs. San Diego State Aztecs.[2] She made her second appearance in the 2003 NCAA Regionals, shutting out Wright State Raiders for three innings to collect her last win that season.[3]

In 2004, Ritter earned All-Big Ten honors after posting 24 wins and 269 strikeouts, of which the latter ranked second all-time for the Wolverines. Ritter fired her first career no-hitter on March 12 against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. She was a hit batter away from a perfect game.[4]

Ritter had a golden season as a junior in 2005, earning All-Big Ten and National Fastpitch Coaches' Association First Team All-American honors.[5] She was named conference "Pitcher" and "Female Athlete of The Year" to go along with the University of Michigan's "Female Athlete of The Year." She threw three no-hitters and a perfect game on April 17, 2005 vs. the Indiana Hoosiers.[6] She also broke and set the school records for wins and innings pitched. Her strikeouts and shutouts still rank top-5 all-time for a Wolverine season. She also earned a Big Ten pitching Triple Crown for the best win, strikeout and ERA totals.[7]

From February 12 to April 19, Ritter went on a career best 22 consecutive game win streak, eventually snapped by the Penn State Nittany Lions on April 22.[8] For the streak, she threw 151.2 innings and collected 73 hits, 19 earned runs, 22 walks and struck out 225 for a 0.88 ERA and 0.63 WHIP.[9] Ritter defeated the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats on March 20, pitching 5-innings of the 6-2 victory.[10] On May 4, Ritter punched out 16 of the Western Michigan Broncos in a two-hitter for her career single game regulation high.[11]

Ritter would lead the Michigan Wolverines to the No. 1 seed at the Women's College World Series and opened her first and only appearance with a shutout of the DePaul Blue Demons.[12] After escaping elimination, Ritter led the way into the Championship Finals against defending champs, the UCLA Bruins. Ritter toughed out a 10-inning battle in the third game of the finale series to win the National Championship and the distinction of being the first team east of the Mississippi River to accomplish the feat. She also earned All-Tournament Team honors for her 5-1 record and 60 strikeouts in 54-innings (then a new series record).[13][14]

Ritter's senior season saw her repeat all-season honors: All-Big Ten, First Team All-American and Michigan "Female Athlete of The Year."[15] She threw a no-hitter and broke her own record for strikeouts and strikeout ratio (11.6); her shutouts were also a new record, the strikeouts totals remains tops for a single season. Ritter also posted her best ERA and WHIP to accompany a pair of top-5 records for innings and wins at Michigan, helping to earn her a second conference Triple Crown.[7]

On April 15 in a 1-0 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes, Ritter struck out her 1,000th career batter.[16] In a win over the Michigan State Spartans on May 6, Ritter began a career best 45.2 consecutive scoreless innings streak that was broken on May 21, when she broke the school record for single game strikeouts, whiffing a career best 19 in Regional action against the Oklahoma Sooners.[17] During the streak, Ritter won all 8 games and struck out 76 batters, surrendering only 12 hits and 7 walks for a 0.42 WHIP.[18]

Ritter ended her collegiate career as the all-time Michigan Wolverines record holder in strikeouts, shutouts, WHIP, innings pitched and strikeout ratio. As well she also put up some of the best wins and ERA numbers all-time for the Wolverines. She currently still holds the records for shutouts.[19] For the Big Ten Conference she ranks top-10 in almost every other pitching category.[20] Ritter is also a top-25 strikeout ratio pitcher all-time for a career in the NCAA Division I.[21] Ritter graduated from the University of Michigan College of Engineering with a B.S.E. in industrial and operations engineering in 2007.[22]

Professional career

Ritter was selected to the National Team in 2007 and competed at the World Cup and Pan American games. She had previously been named to the USA Elite in 2005.[23][24]

On February 15, 2006, Ritter was selected 6th overall in the National Pro Fastpitch draft by the Akron Racers.[25] Ritter instead joined the PFX Tour where she was originally drafted fourth overall.[26] In 2008, Ritter played professional softball in Japan and had labrum surgery at the end of the year before retiring from playing softball in the fall of 2010.[27] Around this time, Ritter joined the Big Ten Network and ESPN as a color commentator for softball game broadcasts.[28][29]

Since 2013, Ritter has lived in Louisville, Kentucky and worked in management for Louisville Slugger.[28][30]

Career statistics
YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
2003 5 2 20 8 4 2 1 66.0 49 18 14 20 68 1.48 1.04
2004 24 8 41 31 20 8 2 207.2 118 41 35 45 269 1.18 0.78
2005 38 4 48 41 34 16 4 288.2 137 50 38 43 417 0.92 0.62
2006 31 8 42 35 32 17 1 272.2 129 41 30 39 451 0.77 0.61
TOTALS 98 22 151 115 90 43 8 835.0 433 150 117 147 1205 0.98 0.69

See also

References
  1. "Jennie Ritter". University of Michigan. Archived from the original on August 29, 2005. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  2. "Ritter Shines in First Start But U-M Loses To Aztecs in Nine". 2003-02-15. Archived from the original on 2010-09-01. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  3. "Michigan Staves Off Elimination With Rout of Wright State". Mgoblue.com. 2003-05-16. Archived from the original on 2012-06-16. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  4. "Ritter Nearly Perfect in No-Hit Win Against Notre Dame". Mgoblue.com. 2004-03-12. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  5. "2005 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  6. "Ritter No-Hitter, Findlay Home Runs Help U-M To Sweep". Mgoblue.com. 2005-04-17. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  7. "Softball Archived Statistics". Nfca.org. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  8. "Michigan, Ritter Have Win Streaks Halted By Penn State". Mgoblue.com. 2005-04-22. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  9. "2005 Softball Schedule". Mgoblue.com. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  10. "Michigan Rolls Past No. 1 Arizona for Kia Klassic Crown". Mgoblue.com. 2005-03-20. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  11. "Ritter Fans 16; U-M Hits 50 Wins With Sweep of WMU". Mgoblue.com. 2005-05-04. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  12. "Ritter Mows Down Demons, Leads U-M To WCWS Win". Mgoblue.com. 2005-06-02. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  13. "National Champs! Findlay Drives Michigan Past UCLA". Mgoblue.com. 2005-06-08. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  14. "Softball Division I Championship" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  15. "2006 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-Americans". Nfca.org. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  16. "Michigan Manages Just One Hit in One-Run Loss At Iowa". Mgoblue.com. 2006-04-15. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  17. "Michigan Uses Extra-Inning Win To Snare Regional Title". Mgoblue.com. 2006-05-06. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  18. "2006 Box Scores". Mgoblue.com. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  19. "2017 University of Michigan Softball Record Book" (PDF). Mgoblue.com. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  20. "2020-21 Big Ten Records Book" (PDF). Bigten.org. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  21. "Division I Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  22. "Jennie Ritter Biographical Information". JennieRitter15.com. Archived from the original on December 18, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  23. "Jennifer Ritter". Teamusa.org. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  24. "Wolverines Help USA Elite To 6-0 Start At Canada Cup". Mgoblue.com. 2005-07-07. Archived from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  25. "NPF Teams Add Depth With Senior Picks". Profastpitch.com. 2006-02-16. Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  26. "Ritter Among Top Choices in PFX Tour And NPFL Drafts". Mgoblue.com. 2006-02-16. Archived from the original on 2010-08-07. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
  27. "Catching Up With ... former Michigan softball star Jennie Ritter". Ann Arbor News. May 20, 2011. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  28. "Where Are They Now: Michigan's 2005 NCAA Champions". MGoBlue.com. University of Michigan. June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  29. "Hawkeyes Back On The Road To Minnesota". University of Iowa. May 7, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  30. "Careers: Jennie Ritter of Louisville Slugger". FloSoftball. December 17, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
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