Karenmarie Pena joins APSU Lady Govs Softball coaching staff

Austin Peay Sports Information

Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University’s softball program has filled its final open assistant coaching position for the 2015-16 school year with the addition of Karenmarie Pena.

Pena, who spent the past three seasons at St. Ambrose University (Davenport, Iowa), will assist Lady Govs first-year head coach Shane Showalter in all facets of the team, with emphasis on the pitching staff.

Prior to her stint at St. Ambrose, Pena served three season (2009-12) at Ashford University (Clinton, Iowa), where the Saints improved from two wins prior to her joining the coaching staff to 14 wins in Year 1 to 27 victories in her third season with the Saints.

Pena’s first venture into coaching was at her alma mater Western Illinois University (Macomb, IL) where she learned under legendary head coach Kathy Veroni, who has 869 career victories. She served as an undergraduate assistant in 2006 helping construct practices and working with the pitchers before coaching in the prep ranks for three years.

In her playing days at Western Illinois, Pena was twice named first-team Mid-Continent All-Conference as a pitcher In fact, she earned conference’s Pitcher of the Year honors her senior season in 2005. She was selected National Fast-pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) second-team Great Lakes Region and to the All-Mid-Continent Tournament Team. Pena also was named pitcher of the week five times while at Western Illinois.

Despite only pitching two seasons for WIU, Pena is still ranked in the program’s top 10 all-time in career wins, strikeouts, shutouts, strikeouts per inning, games pitched, complete games and innings pitched.

Pena played her first two collegiate seasons at Santa Fe Community College (Gainesville, FL), where she was first-team All-Conference in the Florida College System Activities Association.

She prepped at Alleman High School (Rock Island, IL), where she still holds the state of Illinois high school single-game record of 38 strikeouts (22 innings), while also recording a 31-strikeout effort – in a 14-inning contest. She was inducted into the Alleman High School Hall of Fame in 2011.