Bronx, N.Y. – After 17 seasons and 624 wins,
Bridget Orchard has announced her intention to step down as head coach of the Fordham softball program to take the same position at her alma mater, Villanova, effective immediately. Orchard and the Rams recently captured their sixth consecutive Atlantic 10 championship and seventh overall and made the program's eighth trip to NCAA Regionals.
"Coach Orchard has brought unprecedented success to Fordham University and our softball program, by taking it to another level, as evidenced by her seven conference championships and eight NCAA appearances," Director of Athletics Dave Roach said, "We will be forever grateful to Bridget for guiding the program for 17 highly-successful seasons and understand her wish to return to her alma mater. We wish her nothing but the best in her future."
When Coach Orchard (née Baxter) was first hired in July 2001, former Senior Associate Athletic Director Marianne Reilly was quoted as saying that "[Coach Baxter] brings the promise of a successful future for Fordham Softball". At the time of her hire, the program had amassed an overall record of 132-413-3 (.244 win percentage) since its creation in 1985. Orchard and the 2002 Rams struggled to a 14-43 record in her inaugural year but beginning with a 37-win campaign the following year, the program has since enjoyed 16 straight seasons with at least 32 victories, all but two with 35 or more, and three with more than 40. The program's current win percentage sits at .498. Orchard became the program's leader in wins with her fifth victory in 2004.
Under Coach Orchard, a seven-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, Fordham has totaled a 624-378-1 record (.623) across 1,003 contests with seven A-10 championships (2011, 2013-18), five regular season titles (2005, 2011, 2014, 2016-17), and eight NCAA appearances (2010-11, 2013-18), including one At-Large bid in 2010.
The program has also seen 46 First Team All-Conference selections, 25 Second Team honorees, and 20 freshmen named to the All-Rookie squad under Orchard. Among major award winners, seven have earned Rookie of the Year, five have earned Player of the Year, and three have been named Pitcher of the Year. Off the field, four Rams have earned Academic All-American status to go with 23 overall A-10 All-Academic awards and eight Academic All-District accolades.
Orchard has also overseen 49 National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region honors and 20 Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) All-Stars, including two Players of the Year and one Coach of the Year honor with the latter. Orchard's coaching staff has also been named the NFCA All-Mid Atlantic Region's best on three separate occasions (2010-11, 2017).
The Fordham softball program has, in four separate seasons, garnered votes in at least one national top-25 poll. Making their debut in March 2010, the Rams, led by two-time First Team All-American and Academic All-American Jen Mineau, steadily gained more votes over the course of that year's record-breaking season. That 2010 squad set a program benchmark with a 49-12 record, a 21-game winning streak to finish the regular season, and the program's lone At-Large berth to the NCAA Championship. Fordham was subsequently ranked just outside the top-25 in both of the next two years' preseason polls nationally.
Orchard's 2017 squad saw it return to the national conversation, garnering double-digit votes on two occasions late into the season as the team soared to a 46-win season and a fifth straight A-10 title. The group set a new record with 13 postseason conference accolades and a record six NFCA All-Region honorees.
Fordham joined the Atlantic 10 beginning with the 1996 season and had 18 conference victories before Coach Orchard took the helm in 2002. Since, the Rams have a 260-108 record in-conference, the second-most wins and second-highest win percentage over that span. Currently, Fordham has the second-most wins all-time in the Atlantic 10, with 278, and the sixth-highest win percentage, although second-highest among active members.
A four-year starter with the Wildcats, Orchard became the first player in Villanova's history to reach 200 career hits and 100 career runs, earning First Team Big East All-Conference and All-Academic during her career.
"I want to thank Fordham for taking a chance on me 17 years ago as a young 25-year old head coach," Orchard said, "I have grown, developed, and been challenged over the years. I owe so much to all the amazing people that I've been able to work with. Fordham has been family to me and always will be. I have been blessed with incredibly talented student-athletes. Watching them do amazing things with their lives after college is what makes coaching so rewarding. Seeing them get their dream jobs, attending their weddings, having their own children, creating lifelong friendships, and being proud Rams is the greatest part. As I begin the next chapter of my life, I am thankful for all that Fordham has taught me and done for me. I am returning home to where it all started for me and my family, at Villanova."
