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Jill Justin

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Jill Justin-Coffel (born October 1967) is an American, former collegiate NCAA Division I All-American, right-handed hitting softball player, originally from Oak Lawn, Illinois. She played for the Northern Illinois Huskies softball team as an outfielder from 1986–89, partly in the Mid-American Conference and defunct North Star Conference. She and later was a medal-winning member of Team USA softball. She is the 4-year batting average champion (5th overall) for the NCAA and owns nearly all Huskie batting records.[1]

Northern Illinois Huskies

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Justin-Coffel graduated from Harold L. Richards High School in 1986 with a Hall-of-Fame career.[2] In her 1986 freshman season, she earned All-MAC conference honors and set new school season records for batting average, home runs and slugging percentage, all of which rank in the top-5 at the school. On April 4, 1986, Justin-Coffel hit a school single-game record of three doubles vs. the Ball State Cardinals.

During her sophomore year, Justin-Coffel earned First Team All-American recognition.[3] The Huskie broke her own average and slugging records whilst also posting new records in hits, doubles and on-base percentage. Justin-Coffel still heads the lists in single season slugging, while her hits and triples are tied for second place all-time in the program. Her school record batting average and doubles (career bests) also led the NCAA.[4]

Justin-Coffel also achieved a then university record 15 consecutive game hitting streak. On May 1, 1987, she became the first player in NCAA Division I to hit three home runs and amass a total of 13 bases for a single game (against the Bradley Braves), in which the Huskies eventually won 12-2. Both record totals from the game were tops for the Division.

In 1988, Justin-Coffel was once again honored as a First Team All-American.[5] She was also selected for the All-North Star conference accolade after the program spent the previous year as an Independent. For the second consecutive time, she was crowned batting champ in the NCAA. Justin-Coffel's home run and on-base percentage were new school records, she still retains the on-base title; her hits were second only to her previous year's mark and remains top-5 all-time. Along with her RBI total, she earned a conference batting Triple Crown.

The Huskies entered their first Women's College World Series and it also would be Justin-Coffel's only appearance. The team was eliminated by the eventual champions the UCLA Bruins on May 27; she had a double and two walks in two games.[6][7] For that World Series, Justin-Coffel was awarded the NSC Offensive MVP title.

For her final season with the Huskies, Justin-Coffel was awarded with all-season honors as a 1989 First Team All-American and received her second All-North Star selection.[8] Achieving a .443 average, it was the first occasion a Division I player had hit .400 or better in all four eligible seasons of play. For the Huskies, Justin-Coffel held all the top seasons averages and she also surpassed Yvette Cannon (George Mason Patriots) for the batting crown in all Division I capacities where at least two seasons of 250 at-bats were played. Her career best RBI total was also a new school record, while her on-base and triples were and still do rank top-5, and she led the NCAA in slugging percentage with another career best.[9] These would help her to a second conference batting Triple Crown.

Justin-Coffel claims career records in average, RBIs, hits, home runs, triples, doubles, slugging and on base percentages; she is second in runs for the Huskies.[10][11] In the NCAA, she posted the best slugging percentage and still ranks in the top-20 for a career.

Post-NIU

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Justin-Coffel was invited to join Team USA and proceeded to win gold at the World and Pan-American championships between 1990 and 1995. She also auditioned for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.[12][13]

The former Huskie also played during the summer season for the Connecticut Brakettes from 1999-2004 and set all-time team records for RBIs, home runs and doubles.[14][15] On August 24, 2001, Justin-Coffel "singled to drive" in the winning run for the National A.S.A. Championship, in which the Brakettes won 2-1.[16]

In 1994, Justin-Coffel was inducted into the NIU Athletics Hall of Fame[17][18] and, in 2002, was inducted a second time alongside her 1988 teammates.[19] Justin-Coffel was also inducted into the Harold L. Richards High School's Hall of Fame on September 24, 2006.[20]

As of 2006, Justin-Coffel worked as a physical education (PE) instructor in Illinois state.[21]

Statistics

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Northern Illinois Huskies softball

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YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
1986 42 131 26 57 .435 28 6 6 12 99 .755% 10 7 11 14
1987 49 147 53 74 .503 34 5 7 20 123 .836% 25 6 10 10
1988 46 126 31 61 .484 34 8 1 18 105 .833% 29 1 3 4
1989 45 131 38 58 .443 38 5 8 6 95 .725% 30 4 8 9
TOTALS 182 535 148 250 .467 134 24 22 56 422 .789% 94 18 32 37

References

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  1. ^ "Division I Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  2. ^ "Harold L. Richards High School Athletic Hall of Fame". Bulldogsathleticshome.com. Archived from the original on June 19, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  3. ^ "1987 NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "1987 Division I Statistics" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  5. ^ "1988 NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  6. ^ "1988 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 1". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  7. ^ "1988 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 5". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  8. ^ "1989 NFCA Division I All-America Teams". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  9. ^ "Softball Statistics" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  10. ^ "Softball Record Book 2020" (PDF). Niuhuskies.com. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  11. ^ "No NCAA Call For Huskies". Northernstar.info. June 21, 1989. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  12. ^ "WOMEN'S PROGRAM HISTORY". Teamusa.org. Archived from the original on January 21, 2014. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  13. ^ Julie Deardorff (September 5, 1995). "Oak Park's Tyler Makes Olympic Softball Squad". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  14. ^ Brakettes Softball (2012). "BRAKETTES ALL-TIME RECORDS". Brakettes. Brakettes Softball. Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  15. ^ Brakettes Softball (2012). "BRAKETTES ALL-TIME ROSTER". Brakettes. Brakettes Softball. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  16. ^ Brakettes Softball (2012). "1991 BRAKETTES IN REVIEW". Brakettes. Brakettes Softball. Archived from the original on February 3, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  17. ^ NIU Athletics Hall of Fame
  18. ^ NIU Athletics Hall of Fame seeks 2017 induction class nominations
  19. ^ Staff (October 7, 1994). "Niu To Honor Its Version Of The `Fab 5'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  20. ^ Northern Illinois University Huskie Athletics (1998–2006). "Hall of Fame - Northern Illinois University Intercollegiate Athletics". niuhuskies.com. Northern Illinois University Huskie Athletics. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
  21. ^ Sean Connor (April 25, 2006). "Catching up with the record-breaker". Northern Star. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
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