Jenny Dalton-Hill (born March 5, 1974) is an American former collegiate All-American softball player and current sports commentator. She played for the

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

from 1993 to 1996 where she won three Women's College World Series championships (1993, 1994, 1996). Having also played baseball, Dalton-Hill is a former member of the

Colorado Silver Bullets The Colorado Silver Bullets were an all-female professional baseball team that played in the United States from 1994 to 1997. The Bullets were the first such team since the folding of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in 1954. ...

and

United States women's national baseball team The United States women's national baseball team is a national team that represents the United States of America in international women's baseball competitions. It is controlled by USA Baseball and is a member of the Pan American Baseball Confeder ...

, earning a bronze medal at the

2010 Women's Baseball World Cup The 2010 Women's Baseball World Cup was an international baseball competition that was held in Venezuela from August 12 to August 22, 2010. Japan successfully defended their title from 2008, defeating Australia 13–3 in the final. Teams The fol ...

. She holds the career

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

and

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...

records in RBIs. She is the first and one of nine

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

players to hit .400 with 200 RBIs, 50

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and an .800

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

in her career.

Arizona Wildcats

Dalton-Hill began her career in 1993 as an All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

conference selection with a .318 batting average for her freshman year. That season the Wildcats made the WCWS and Dalton got a hit in her first at-bat at the tournament, helping defeat the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns on May 29. When the team made the finals vs. rival the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

, Dalton earned her first national championship (the school's second overall) on May 31, despite being shut out at the plate by

Lisa Fernandez Lisa Maria Fernandez (born February 22, 1971) is an American former softball player and current associate head coach at UCLA. She played college softball at UCLA as a pitcher and third baseman, and is a three-time medal winning Olympian with Te ...

with only a

base on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

to her credit. In her sophomore season, Dalton-Hill was named First Team All-Pac-10 and All-American. She posted the second-best RBIs and

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

s (led the conference) totals in school history; both still rank top-10. Her RBI total was also second all-time for an

season and is still a top-10 record. Her walks total also led the conference and she had a career-best 89

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

s. Returning to the WCWS for a second series, Dalton-Hill started the tournament by driving in two runs to help best the UIC Flames on May 26. The next game vs. the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

she was perfect at the plate (3/3). Against rival

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

in the semifinals, she hit a three-run home run and had two walks on May 29 to reach the championship. Dalton-Hill and teammates won the title 4-0 over the

Cal State Northridge Matadors The Cal State Northridge Matadors (branded as the CSUN Matadors) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Northridge in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. The Matadors field 17 teams in nineteen sports. The Matadors c ...

on May 30. Dalton-Hill had an RBI but again was shut out at the plate. She still eas named to the All-Tournament Team for her .625 (5/8), 5 RBIs, home run and three walks effort. Dalton-Hill again achieved First-Team All-Pac-10 and All-American honors. She broke school season records for walks and runs scored. The walks too led the conference and both stats led the NCAA for the year. Dalton-Hill remains the season standard for school, conference and

runs scored all-time. Her home runs (career best) and RBI totals were and are top-5 school and top-10

season records. February 18, 1995, Dalton-Hill hit three home runs vs. the

Illinois State Redbirds The Illinois State Redbirds are the athletic teams that represent Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois. Teams play at the NCAA Division I level ( FCS in football). The football team competes in the Missouri Valley Football Conference wh ...

to tie the school and then NCAA single game record. Later that year on April 28 she performed the feat again over the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

to become the first player with multiple three-home-run games and the only one to do it in the same year. Prior to the NCAA tournament, Dalton-Hill also became just the second player, after teammate Laura Espinoza, to cross both the 50-home-run and 200 RBIs benchmark. She was also the first of select players to make the RBI club in only three seasons. At the WCWS in the Wildcats' game two, she hit a three-run homer to beat the Cal State Fullerton Titans on May 26 and moved to the semifinals where she drove in the eventual game-winning run in the first inning vs. the UNLV Rebels on May 28. In the finale, the Wildcats lost 4–2 on May 29 vs.

and Dalton-Hill again suffered a batting shutout. The title was later vacated by the NCAA for rules violation. For her final season, Dalton-Hill earned her third consecutive First Team conference and NCAA citations. In addition, she was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and became the first player to hold the Triple Crown of the best average, RBIs (both were career highs) and home run totals in a single season for the conference. Dalton-Hill also earned the

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in th ...

for "Softball Player of The Year." The Wildcat broke the school record for walks and continues to hold the distinction. Her season average, RBIs, home runs and career-best

were and are top-10 school records. Along with her Triple Crown, she also led the NCAA in RBIs, home runs, walks and runs scored. Finally, the RBIs (second best), home runs and runs scored were and are top-10 all-time NCAA season records. On March 1, 1996, Dalton-Hill tallied 8 RBIs in a single game vs. the

Tennessee Lady Vols The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in Division I of the National Collegi ...

for a career high. She drove in her 316th career RBI in grand slam fashion off Shawn Starling of the

Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...

on May 17, eclipsing former teammate Laura Espinoza for the record. On May 26 at the WCWS, Dalton-Hill was perfect (3/3) with two RBIs vs.

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

. Making her fourth finals appearance in a row on May 27, Dalton-Hill broke through her slump by hitting a three-run home run in the first inning to eventually best the

Washington Huskies The Washington Huskies are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Washington, located in Seattle. The school competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac- ...

6–4 for her third championship. She was later named All-Tournament and MVP of the series. When she left the

, she was and is still tops in career RBIs, walks and runs. She placed second in average, hits, home runs, doubles and slugging, those each now rank top-10 all-time, except the hits. Dalton-Hill also held every career crown in the now

that she did for Arizona, of which she still does for the RBIs and runs. She now sits in the top-10 for every conference career offense category that she is not atop, excluding hits and doubles. For the

career records, Dalton-Hill again led in RBIs, walks, runs scored and slugging percentage, as well as amassing the second-most home runs behind teammate Laura Espinoza. She still claims the most RBIs and ranks top-10 in runs (2nd) and home runs (tied 10th) all-time.

Baseball

In 1996, she played for the Colorado Silver Bullets in what would prove to be their final season. Competing at the 2010 Women's World Cup of Baseball, she shared duties at first base with former Arizona teammate Laura Espinoza. In 2012, Dalton served as a coach for the United States national women's team.

Personal life

Dalton-Hill was eligible to play for Team USA in the

1996 Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

but opted to pursue other endeavors. She volunteered to coach for the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

in 1997 where they won their 5th national title. She would later relocate and join the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30,473 ...

program for two years as an Assistant Coach. In 2001, Dalton-Hill was inducted into the Wildcats Hall of Fame. As she had been a member of the baseball

in 1997, Dalton reemerged from retirement in 2010 to partake in the USA Baseball Women's National Team who won the bronze at the

. She currently coaches high school softball in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, is a staff member of women's Team USA baseball and is incumbent on the USA Board of Directors for softball. Dalton-Hill is married to Marc Hill and has three children, Dalton, Brookelyn and Cogan. When Glendale High School (Dalton's alma mater) built their softball field in 2005, they named it Dalton Field in her honor. They also retired her number. She is also a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church). Dalton-Hill frequently offers color commentary for the

Softball Tournament and 7 Innings Podcast.

Statistics

Awards and honors

*1996 Medal of Honor (Pac-10) *1996

(softball) *2016 All-Century Softball Team (

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalton, Jenny 1974 births Living people Arizona Wildcats softball players Baseball players from Glendale, California American female baseball players Latter Day Saints from California Softball players from California Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners