Pitching Standout Blackburn Signs With USD Softball Team

8/6/2009

Amy Klyse

VERMILLION, S.D. –- Amy Klyse, the head softball coach at The University of South Dakota, has announced that pitcher Melissa Blackburn of Sioux Falls, S.D., has signed a letter of intent to play for the Coyotes starting in 2009-10.

Blackburn, a 2009 Sioux Falls Washington graduate, is also standout for the South Dakota Flash softball team which competes over the summer months.

“We’re excited about the addition of Melissa to our pitching staff,” Klyse said. “She is a talented pitcher who we expect to step in and contribute right away.”

Blackburn had an ERA of 1.77 in 2009 and had 9.4 strikeouts per seven inning game. She also hit .362 at the plate. In 2008 for the Flash, she had an ERA of 2.43 with a .388 batting average. She was part of two state championship teams as well with the Flash.

In her junior and senior years at Sioux Falls Washington, Blackburn was named All-State and was also voted team captain. As a junior, she hit .482 which was the highest average on the team. In 2005, she earned the USSSA Outstanding Pitcher Award. In 2009, she was named a South Dakota ASA Scholarship Winner while also being named a SEESA Scholarship winner.

Blackburn was a four-year letter winner in softball, basketball and track at Washington High School. She also was a member of the National Honor Society as a junior and a senior.