Softball Coaching Staff
Assistant Coach Clarisa Crowell
Assistant Coach Jaime Grillo
Volunteer Assistant Kim Doran
Syracuse head coach Mary Jo Firnbach guided the Orange to its most successful season to date in 2005. Under her direction, SU established a new school record for victories (28), made its second appearance in the BIG EAST Championship and won its first postseason contest, a 5-1 triumph versus Villanova on May 13, 2005. In addition, the Orange defeated 11-time national champion UCLA, 2-1, in the 2005 season opener and posted two victories against nationally-ranked Florida State.
The 2005 squad fielded a program-best seven All-BIG EAST selections, including SU’s second conference Rookie of the Year, Erin Downey, and set single-season records in numerous categories including hits (369), runs scored (209), home runs (39), runs batted in (187) and fielding percentage (.966).
SU’s success did not go unnoticed as Firnbach and her two assistants were selected as the 2005 BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year.
Firnbach has taken the Orange softball program from the drawing board to the diamond and she is 138-148-1 (.483) as a head coach with three winning seasons in the Orange’s first six campaigns.
Firnbach was named Syracuse’s first coach on July 18, 1998. She used the 18 months between her appointment and SU’s first game to build a solid foundation for the program. In her first season as a head coach, she guided the team to a 24-23-1 record. Firnbach topped that win total in 2002, leading SU to 25 victories and the team’s first-ever BIG EAST Tournament berth.
In SU’s five seasons in the BIG EAST, Firnbach has coached 18 all-league selections, including four-time All-BIG EAST performer Tanya Rose. In 2002, Rose became just the fourth player in conference history to be the BIG EAST Rookie of the Year, first-team All-BIG EAST and a member of the league’s all-rookie team in the same season.
Under Firnbach’s tutelage, SU has also gained recognition on the regional level. Since 2002, the Orange has boasted eight NFCA All-Northeast Region selections.
Firnbach’s players also had success off the field. Since the start of the 1999-2000 school year, softball student-athletes have been named to the SU Athletic Director’s Honor Roll (3.0-or-better for the semster) a total of 113 times. The Orange also has had 52 BIG EAST Academic All-Star (3.0-or-better for the academic year) selections in that time. In addition, Syracuse has had 10 CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees and in 2002, Kristen Collins and Julie Dunn were both named third-team Academic All-Americans.
Her achievements as a coach are no surprise. Firnbach was an all-star caliber player and excelled as an assistant coach before moving to Syracuse.
Firnbach completed a standout playing career at Southern Illinois University in 1991 when she earned her undergraduate degree in community health education. She was a four-year letterwinner at third base for the Salukis and was the MVP of the 1990 squad. Firnbach served as team captain in 1991 when she led the Salukis to a 42-7 record, the Gateway Conference regular-season and tournament championships, and a trip to the NCAA Regionals. Firnbach was a two-time Gateway All-Conference first-team and All-Midwest second-team selection. She was also a two-time GTE second-team Academic All-American.
Firnbach joined the Raybestos Brakettes in Stratford, Conn. for the 1991 season. The Brakettes won the national championship and the gold medal at the Olympic Sports Festival. She also played with the Michigan Cruise in Ann Arbor, Mich., finishing fifth at the national tournament in 1994.
Firnbach entered the coaching profession immediately following graduation, serving as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons at her alma mater, while completing her master’s degree in sport psychology. She served as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan from 1993 to 1995 where she helped lead the Wolverines to a Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championship, the National Invitational Tournament title and to an appearance in the College World Series.
Firnbach then served as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Illinois State for three years. The Redbirds won Missouri Valley Conference crowns in 1996 and 1997.
Firnbach has received numerous honors recognizing her accomplishments both on and off the field. She was named the Gateway Conference’s Athlete of the Decade for the 1980s and was Southern Illinois’ nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year award in 1991. Firnbach received the Virginia Gordon Scholar/Athlete Award and the Southern Illinois Outstanding Leader Athlete Award in 1990 and 1991. In 1996, she was inducted into the Southern Illinois University Athletic Hall of Fame. She is also a member of the Woodstock (Ill.) High School Hall of Fame.
Firnbach has spoken at various coaches’ and players’ clinics on a wide variety of topics, including fielding, hitting, catching and recruiting. She was the director of the Illinois State University summer camp and a camp instructor at the University of Michigan. Firnbach is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and is currently serving as president of the BIG EAST Softball Coaches Association. She is also the conference representative on the NFCA Division I Coaches Committee and on the NCAA Division I Regional Advisory Committee.
She resides in Syracuse.
Firnbach's Year-by-Year Record
| Year | Overall | Pct. | BIG EAST | Pct. |
| 2000 | 24-23-1 | .510 | --- | |
| 2001 | 19-28 | .404 | 6-14 | .300 |
| 2002 | 25-21 | .543 | 12-6 | .667 |
| 2003 | 17-25 | .405 | 7-13 | .350 |
| 2004 | 25-29 | .463 | 9-11 | .450 |
| 2005 | 28-22 | .560 | 11-7 | .611 |
| Totals | 138-148-1 | .483 | 45-51 | .469 |
Firnbach's All-BIG EAST Players
2001
Christina Holowich - Second Team
2002
Julie Dunn - First Team
Tanya Rose - Rookie of the Year, First Team, All-Rookie
Heather Brown - Second Team
Katie Kaempfer - All-Rookie
2003
Tanya Rose - Second Team
Alexis Switenko - All-Rookie
2004
Tanya Rose - Second Team
Alexis Switenko - Second Team
Cassie Morales - Third Team
Courtney Mosch - Third Team
2005
Erin Downey - Rookie of the Year, Second Team, All-Rookie
Cassie Morales - First Team
Courtney Mosch - First Team
Shawna Norris - Second Team
Tiffany Robinson - First Team
Tanya Rose - First Team
Alexis Switenko - Second Team
