Lauren Elizabeth Anna Haeger (born September 3, 1992) is a professional softball pitcher and first baseman with the Dallas Charge of

National Pro Fastpitch National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), formerly the Women's Pro Softball League (WPSL), was a professional women's softball league in the United States. The teams battled for the Cowles Cup. The WPSL was founded in 1997 and folded in 2001; the NPF revive ...

(NPF). After being named a member of the 2011

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...

Softball All-American Team and earning a gold medal at the III Pan American (18-under) Games in 2010, Haegar played softball at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. She was the third collegiate softball player to be recognized as both the Most Outstanding Player of the

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

and the

USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year The USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year is an award given by USA Softball to the best college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United S ...

. In 2015, she became the first player in the history of college softball to record 70

home run 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 ...

s as a hitter and 70 wins as a pitcher; no other player has registered even 60 home runs and 60 wins. Haeger was drafted by the Dallas Charge in the 2015 NPF Draft and reported to the team that June.

Early life

Haeger was born in

Peoria, Arizona Peoria is a city in Maricopa and Yavapai counties in the state of Arizona. Most of the city is located in Maricopa County, while a portion in the north is in Yavapai County. It is a major suburb of Phoenix. As of the 2020 census, the popul ...

, to Fred and Kathleen Haeger. She had a brother named Matthew. Her father is an assistant softball coach at Deer Valley High School. At Deer Valley, Haeger played one year and lettered in basketball and played all four years of both volleyball and softball. Haeger broke Arizona's state hitting record with 48 home runs in one season and was named to the 2011

Softball All-American Team. She received First Team All-State honors in two seasons. Haeger pitched for Team USA in the III Pan American Championships in 2010, where she hit for a .400

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. She was on the International Softball Federation championship team, hitting .500 with eight RBIs.Lauren Haeger
Team USA. Retrieved December 4, 2015.Lauren Haeger
Gatorzone.com.

University Athletic Association The University Athletic Association (UAA) is an American athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division III. Member schools are highly selective universities located in Georgia, Illinois, M ...

. Retrieved December 4, 2015.

College

Haeger began her career at the

in 2011 with a 15-5

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

in her 27 appearances, throwing 6 shutouts. She was named the first team utility/pitcher for NFCA All-Southeast Region and ranked seventh in the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC) with a 1.85

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 129 strikeouts during her 124.2 innings. At the plate, Haeger led her team with ten doubles, 14 home runs, 52 RBIs, 36 walks, and a consecutive on-base streak of 18. Following her 2012 SEC All-Tournament Team and All-Freshman selection, Haeger went 16-2 with 119 strikeouts in 128.1 innings and an ERA of 2.35. She also set a career high of innings pitched with 7.2 against the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

on March 16. She won six games against Top 25 teams. Haeger was ranked seventeenth in the country for home runs, with a team high 18 and batted .319 with 70 RBIs, 46 walks, and an on-base streak of 24 games, a team best. She led the SEC in RBIs and was third in walks. She also set the University of Florida's record for the most intentional walks in a season (5) and the single game RBI record (7) against their rival

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

at Regionals. To close out her sophomore season, Haeger was named First Team All-SEC and First Team NFCA All-Southeast Region, along with her first All-American title. As a junior, Haeger remained consistent with 24 circle appearances and 13 starts. She ended the season with a record of 10-3 and ranked fourth with an ERA of 1.79. Haeger also pitched 98 innings with 69 strikeouts, an opponent's batting average of .190, and a no-hitter against the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

on February 9, allowing only three walks while striking out 11. She remained a force at the plate all season, leading the Gators to victory in the 2014 Women's College World Series. Haeger again received First Team NFCA All-Southeast Region honors and batted .317 with six doubles, leading her team in RBIs (67) and walks (43). In her final season as a Gator, Haeger finished with an overall record of 32-2 with her lowest collegiate ERA of 1.23, ranked fourth in the country, and 24 consecutive victories, another Gator record. She also beat her previous home run record of 18, hitting 19 that year. Haeger also set both the regular season career home run record (66), with a grand slam against the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

, and the all-time RBI record (222), which occurred on March 6 against 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 ...

. She became the only collegiate pitcher in history to win 70+ games and to hit 70+ home runs. Before Haeger, no player but Babe Ruth and her had won 60 games and hit 60 home runs. Haeger was 15th in the country with 71 RBIs and she hit .433 during the 2015

NCAA Division I Softball Championship The NCAA Division I softball tournament is held annually in May/June and features 64 college softball teams in the United States, culminating in the Women's College World Series (WCWS), which is played in Oklahoma City. Tournament play and team s ...

. Haeger was nominated for

ESPY Award An ESPY Award (short for Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Award) is an accolade currently presented by the American broadcast television network ABC, and previously ESPN (as of the 2017 ESPY Awards the latter still airs them in the for ...

s in the Best Female Collegiate Athlete and Best Championship Performance categories in 2015. She joined

Danielle Lawrie Danielle Elaine Lawrie (born April 11, 1987) is a Canadian, former collegiate All-American, medal-winning Olympian, professional All-Star softball pitcher and current sports commentator. Lawrie played college softball at Washington, in which sh ...

and Keilani Ricketts as the only players in college softball history to receive both the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player. She won the Honda Sports Award for Softball, SEC Female Athlete of the Year and SEC Pitcher of the Year, and was NFCA All-Southeast Region for the third year in a row.Lauren Haeger up for two awards at 2015 ESPYS
GatorZone.com. June 24, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015. Haeger is ranked amongst the all-time leaders in ERA and wins.Lauren Haeger named 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year
Team USA. May 27, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2015.

Professional career

Haeger plays professional softball with the Dallas Charge of

. She was selected with the 21st pick of the 2015 NPF College Draft. She finished her first season with a batting average of .206 in 35 games. She had an ERA of 3.01 and led the team's pitchers with six wins, 86 strikeouts, 19 games pitched and innings pitched. On August 11, 2016 Lauren Haeger pitched a no-hitter, beating the

Chicago Bandits The Chicago Bandits were a women's professional softball team based in Rosemont, Illinois. Since the 2005 season, they have played as a member of National Pro Fastpitch (NPF). The Bandits won the 2008 NPF championship, defeating the Washington ...

5-0. The only Bandit to reach base did so via a Charge fielding error.

Personal life

Haeger's favorite athletes are Tim Tebow, Michael Jordan, and Albert Pujols. She also has a tattoo of a sunflower on her arm to honor Heather Braswell, an honorary member of the Gators softball team who died several years after being diagnosed with brain cancer.Hutchins, Andy (September 8, 2015)
Florida's Lauren Haeger adds sunflower to tattoo to honor Heather Braswell
Alligator Army. Retrieved December 4, 2015.

Career statistics

Professional (NPF)

College

High school

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haeger, Lauren 1992 births Living people Florida Gators softball players Sportspeople from Glendale, Arizona Softball players from Arizona Scrap Yard Dawgs players Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners