Lindsay Gardner begins her fifth season as head softball coach on the hilltop. In 2012, she led the Hilltoppers to the Heartland Conference Tournament Championship and a spot in the NCAA South Central Regional for the first time since 2009. The team also finished as runner-ups in the regional tournament. The 2013 team took a step further, winning the NCAA Regional as the seventh seed and advancing to the NCAA Super Regional for the first time in school history. In 2014, St. Edward's qualified for the regional tournament for the third-straight year. The 2015 squad finished the season as runner-up in the conference, falling in extra innings in the championship game of the Heartland Conference Tournament.
Gardner is not new to the hilltop: she served as assistant coach in 2007 and 2008, helping the Hilltopper coaching staff earn the honor of National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) South Central Regional Coaching Staff of the Year in 2008. She played a vital role in the Hilltoppers’ back-to-back appearances in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament, a third-place finish at the 2008 NCAA World Series and a school record for wins with a 53-17 record in 2008. Success is a way of life for Gardner, who brings a palpable passion and a wealth of experience to the program.
A native of Katy, Texas, Gardner graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology. While at UT–Austin, her defensive efforts at second base, as well as her productive offense, played a key role in the success of the Longhorn softball program, which included a third-place finish in the 2003 College World Series, Big 12 Regular Season Champions (2002 and 2003) and Big 12 Tournament Champions (2002 and 2003). Gardner earned many honors as a Longhorn including NCAA All-American and Easton All-American (2000), NFCA first-team All-Midwest Region (2000 and 2002), NFCA Regional All-Tournament Team (2003), Big 12 Freshman of the Year (2000), Big 12 All-Conference Tournament Team (2000, 2002 and 2003) and Big 12 All-Conference Team (2000, 2002 and 2003). Gardner has the stats to back up her honors. She led the Big 12 in batting average (.519) and set single-season records for batting average (.421) and hits (83) in 2000. She also finished her career in the top 10 of 17 UT–Austin offensive categories.
Gardner spent two and a half years playing for the USA National Team from 2001 to 2003, where she was in the top five in batting average (.375) while playing second base and left field. After her career with the U.S. team, she played five seasons in the National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) league with the Texas Thunder and the Rockford Thunder from 2004 to 2008. Gardner was the first ever NPF Player of the Week, as well as Defensive Player of the Year in 2004, when the Rockford Thunder were regular-season champions. She was named to the NPF All-Star Team three times, and she finished her career in 2008 after leading the team in RBI production and holding a .986 fielding percentage at second base. At the 2008 NPF Finals, Gardner won the first–ever Battle of the Bats Homerun Derby, sending 30 balls over the fence after three rounds.
Gardner resides in Pflugerville, Texas, and when not coaching she enjoys photography and music.Â
