Ted Evans begins his ninth year as head coach of Armstrong Atlantic State University, where he has led the Pirates to six NCAA Championships appearances in the last seven seasons, including advancing to the NCAA Regional final in 2007, and four years of national NFCA DII rankings to end the season out of those seven seasons.

In eight seasons as head coach of the Pirates, Evans has compiled a 258-157 overall head coaching record.

The Pirates had an outstanding 2012 season, winning the Peach Belt Conference regular season title with a 19-1 league mark and hosting an NCAA Southeast Regional for the first time in program history. Coach Evans was named the PBC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career and the team featured consensus first-team All-American second baseman April Jowers and All-Region selections Shelby Duff, Megan Barnwell, Baillie Temples and Heather Walker. Armstrong finished the year ranked No. 17 in the NFCA Top 25 after achieving a high national rank of No. 6.

Armstrong finished second in the Peach Belt Conference in 2011 with a 31-14 overall record and a 13-7 mark in the league. The Pirates featured PBC Player of the Year and consensus first-team NFCA All-American second baseman April Jowers and also All-Region and All-Conference pitcher Megan Barnwell, who tied the NCAA DII single game strikeout record with 23 vs. Columbus State on March 8.

The Pirates knocked off several nationally-ranked teams in 2010, en route to an NCAA Championships berth. Six Pirates earned All-Conference honors - senior Nicole Huddleston, sophomore April Jowers, junior Amber Janus, freshman Megan Barnwell, freshman Shelby Duff and sophomore Baillie Temples, with three of those players - Temples, Duff and Jowers - earning NFCA All-Southeast Region honors.

With a team featuring 10 underclassmen in 2009, the Pirates finished tied for third in the Peach Belt Conference standings and featured four All-PBC performers - first-teamers Nicole Huddleston, Sam Floyd and Emily Headrick, as well as second-teamer Jessica Strong.

Armstrong finished third in the South Atlantic Regional in 2008, knocking out host UNC Pembroke and GCSU along the way. The Pirates finished with a 30-23 overall record, and a 13-5 Peach Belt Conference mark, good for a second-place finish in the league - Armstrong's highest league finish since 2004.

The Pirates finished the 2007 season with a 31-18 overall record and a No. 15 national ranking after another impressive regionals run that saw AASU knock off then No. 2-ranked Columbus State, 4-0, to earn a berth in the region final. This came on the heels of the 2006 season in which AASU finished 40-27 with a third-place finish in the South Atlantic regional and a No. 23 final ranking.

Evans joined Armstrong from Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2005 as the second head fastpitch softball coach in school history. A California native and the son of a highly successful junior high school coach, Evans brings nearly nearly 30 years of teaching and coaching experience to Armstrong Atlantic State. A former professional baseball player in the Cincinnati Reds organization, Evans played and coached competitive men’s fastpitch softball for 17 years. Infused with a self-proclaimed passion for softball, Evans has the reputatio n of a ‘teaching coach’ and has earned credit amongst his peers for his innovative hitting technique.

Evans played for 19 years in the renowned Dixie Major League in Chattanooga, where he was honored as the Chattanooga Softball Player of the Year three times. He was also the player/coach for the McKee fastpitch team for 17 years, guiding the team to 12 city championships and at one time a 101-1 overall record. On February 27, 2006, Evans was inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Sports Hall of Fame.

Evans graduated from Andrews University with a bachelor’s degree in physical education, and earned his master’s of education from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Cat Hostfield begins first season as an assistant coach for the Armstrong Atlantic State University softball squad.

A four-year standout at the University of Tennessee, Hosfield went 49-22 with a 2.91 ERA in her career for the Vols, earning All-SEC Freshman Team honors in 2009 while also earning SEC Holor Roll honors all four years at UT. She was the National High School Player of the Year in 2008 at Murfreesboro HS by the NHSCA. 

A native of Murfressboro, Tenn., Hosfield graduated from Tennessee with her bachelor’s degree in 2012 in communication studies and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in adult education and community leadership from Armstrong.

April Jowers joins the Pirate coaching staff as a student assistant for the 2013 season following a stellar career at Armstrong.

A two-time consensus first-team All-American, Jowers was the two-time PBC Player of the Year for the Pirates in 2011 and 2012 and ranks as one of the top hitters all-time in league history. She holds Armstrong’s career batting average and stolen base records as well as the PBC’s all-time hits record.

A native of Columbus, Ga., Jowers will finish her bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in May 2013.

Jessica Strong joins the Pirate coaching staff as a volunteer assistant for the 2013 season.

A former Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America outfielder for the Pirates, Strong played from 2007-09 and hit .330 with 13 home runs and 95 RBIs in her career. A native of Fountain Valley, Calif., Strong graduated from Armstrong with her bachelor’s degree in education in 2009 and received her master's degree in education from Armstrong in 2010.