By Stan Cole
 
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Amanda Littlejohn Stadium is home to the Campbell University softball team.  The Camels compete on an artificial turf surface in front of an enclosed grandstand with a full inning-by-inning scoreboard in left field.  Beyond the right field fence is a covered area for batting and pitching practice. 
 
Down a small embankment behind the stadium lies the McLeod field house, home of the Campbell softball and soccer team dressing rooms, offices and athletic training facilities.
 
Just four decades ago, on the same site, there stood what folks now would refer to as a recreation league softball diamond, surrounded by a chain link fence, backstop and a couple of small portable bleachers.  No dugouts, just two benches behind the fence.  No press box, public address announcer or scoreboard operator.
 
That's where the Campbell softball team prepared to play its first season in the fast pitch format as winter turned to spring in 1986. 
 
But wait, there's more. 
 
Not only did that squad, under the direction of first-year head coach Ronda Mueller manage a 19-7 record in its first year of fast pitch competition, but that same team also posted a 15-11 mark in slow pitch play in the program's final year before transitioning fully to the NCAA Division I level.
 
Yes, you read correctly.  In 1986, Campbell University's softball team split its 52-game schedule evenly between fast pitch and slow pitch games.  The last time the Camels competed in an NAIA District softball tournament – slow pitch format – was the '86 event at Elon, N.C.
 
Like Mueller before, Antionette Matthews signed a scholarship to play both basketball and softball at Campbell.  By the time she began her senior season on the softball team, she had already been named the school's outstanding female athlete twice (an honor she would receive a third time less than two months later) and was on her way to a second-straight All-America honor in hoops.
 
When she found out that the 1986 season would be divided between a fast and slow pitch format, Matthews recalled that she and her teammates were somewhat in a state of disbelief.
 
"It was hilarious," she said.  "We were all thinking, what are we going to do?  One game we played slow pitch, then the next day, played fast pitch."
 
After serving as an assistant coach in 1985, Mueller was promoted to the head job.  She was informed by athletics director Wendell Carr that the next season would prepare the team for a full fast-pitch slate once Big South Conference play began the following year.
 
Because North Carolina high schools were still playing slow pitch softball in the mid-1980s, Mueller and the coaches that followed her, turned their attention to the Northeast to recruit fast pitch players.
 
A direct mail campaign
The starting pitcher in Campbell's initial fast pitch softball game might not have even attended the university if it wasn't for simple, old-fashioned preparation – and the United States Postal Service.
 
During her senior year at Warwick High School in Lititz, Pa., Ruth Marks sat down, filled out information request post cards and mailed them to numerous colleges and universities in the south.
 
Ruth doesn't remember if her first contact with Campbell came from Carr about the softball team, or Mrs. Diamond Matthews, who was then University President Dr. Norman A. Wiggins' secretary, regarding a Presidential Scholarship interview.  She just knows that her recruitment started after that card arrived in Buies Creek.
 
That's how the middle child of 11 began her journey from Central Pennsylvania to Buies Creek and would ultimately deliver a pitch on Mar. 8, 1986, at Florence, S.C., that would open the fast pitch era in Campbell's softball program.
 
Similarly, Ruth's battery mate that day when the Camels faced Francis Marion, Kris Olgiati, arrived in Buies Creek by an unusual route.  She wasn't contacted by Mueller or her predecessor Billy Bowers, but initially by a member of the University executive cabinet.
 
Frank Upchurch served as Vice President of Development at Campbell in the mid-1980s and was acquainted with former Campbell basketball alumni Harry Johnstone and Ken Faulkner, who were South Jersey natives.  Kris' father, Charlie (known to everyone in the area as "Charlie O") was heavily involved in the Riverside School Board and Hall of Fame.
 
"Somehow Frank Upchurch and my dad came to meet," Kris recalled four decades later.  "My dad told him I was a fast pitch catcher and was praising my abilities.  I didn't know what I wanted to do as far as which college I would attend, but I knew I wanted to play softball."
 
Kris was one of four children in the Olgiati household, and her "considerable" scholarship made the difference.  So, the starting catcher on Holy Cross High School's state championship team enrolled at Campbell the following August.
 
D1 women's athletics in the mid-80s
The fall of 1985 brought changes to the Campbell women's athletics landscape as the school prepared for its first season of Division I competition the following year.  For the first time, the Fighting Camel program included a women's volleyball team in addition to its existing programs in cross country, basketball, tennis, softball and track & field.
 
Men's Big South Championships began in 1984 with cross country and soccer, and the first Big South men's basketball tournament was conducted in March of 1986 at Savannah, Ga.  Women's championships started in 1986-87.
 
Forty years later, varsity programs practice and compete in a "non-traditional" season – the fall for spring sports and vice-versa for those fall championship programs.  Now, each September and October, Campbell's softball team practices and competes for up to eight hours per week in addition to time set aside for strength training and conditioning.
 
That was not the case for the softball team.  Four members of the squad – Kris Au, Kim Edmondson, Felecia Owen and Matthews – also played basketball.  The '85-86 women's hoops season ended on Mar. 1 in the District 26 tournament final.
 
One week later, softball season began with two fast pitch games at Florence, S.C.
 
Getting up to speed
The addition of a pitching machine, along with the knowledge of Marks and Olgiati helped the Camels in their preparation.
 
"Ruth and Kris were very kind to us," said Matthews, who batted a combined .373 with 14 doubles and 8 home runs over 68 games the previous two years in the slow pitch format.  "In slow pitch, I was more of a power hitter, but in fast pitch, I had to speed up my bat speed.  Coming from basketball to softball, it was a big adjustment."
 
Mueller, who was named Outstanding Female Athlete three times (1980, 1981, 1982) and was later the first female inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame, brought extensive softball knowledge to her position.  She was an all-state choice in basketball and softball at Campbell, then earned All-America honors in summer slow pitch competition in 1984.
 
Olgiati remembers her coach's positive attitude, even when it meant that some of her players were helping to instruct the team.
 
"Ronda was so good natured and always laughing," said Olgiati.  "She would never be the type of person that viewed asking for help would be a sign of weakness.  She was very open to receiving any type of information."
 
With only a couple members of the 14-player team bringing fast pitch experience into the season, most practices focused on adjusting to the new format that allowed players to steal bases.
 
"The game is the same, but the way to win is so different," said Mueller.  "It's small ball. Stealing. Carol (Wynne) and Angie (Taylor), their favorite part about fast pitch was getting to steal and playing up (closer to the plate in the infield)."
 
Matthews, who went on to play competitive slow pitch softball into her late 40s, enjoyed the new format – especially from her position in center field.
 
"I really liked fielding – and in fast pitch I was able to throw out people at first base," said Matthews, who also adjusted well at the plate and batted .397 in 21 fast pitch games.  "I grew up watching baseball with my dad, so I took what I learned watching baseball and applied that.  We were so intrigued about learning a new sport and wanted to do the best we could do, we were competitors, and Ruth and Kris were very kind to us when we asked for advice."
 
A back and forth season
On Mar. 8, 1986, at Francis Marion, centerfielder and leadoff batter Regina Wilkes reached base when she was hit by a pitch, then stole second.  Carol Wynne reached on an error that allowed Wilkes to advance to third.  The first run in Campbell fast pitch softball history scored when Wilkes and Wynne pulled off a double steal.
 
Wilkes' single in the third was the first, and only, Campbell base hit of the game as Francis Marion scored a 5-1 victory.  UNCW defeated the Camels 3-2 in the second game. Marks pitched every inning that day.
 
Three days later, Campbell and Atlantic Christian (now Barton) split a slow pitch doubleheader in Buies Creek.
 
At the end of the month, the Camels compiled an 11-8 overall record while playing 13 games (winning 7) in fast pitch play.
 
"I felt like we did well to finish over .500," said Mueller.  "Switching back and forth messes with your confidence. You didn't feel like you were playing your best at either one as you're trying to learn and transition."
 
The Camels closed out their slow pitch schedule with a 15-11 record after falling to Catawba and Pfeiffer on Apr. 19 in the District tournament.  Kris Au completed her final slow pitch season with a 14-10 pitching record, while Matthews (.487), Jan Faulkner (.439) and Au (.403) all batted over .400.
 
The team won eight of its final nine games from Apr. 22-30 all in fast pitch play to close the season with a 34-18 overall mark – 19-7 in its new playing style.  Remarkably, Faulkner led the team in fast pitch play with a .400 batting average, Matthews hit .397 and Wynne .329.
 
Olgiati batted .253 – fourth on the team – but more importantly was a coach on the field from behind the plate.  While Matthews and Trisha Boyd were named all-tournament after leading the team to the district (slow pitch title), Campbell's first fast pitch catcher was voted team MVP.  Marks was presented the coaches award after tossing 169 of the team's 178 fast pitch innings.
 
"I loved putting on the equipment, my shin guards, chest guard, gave you total confidence," said Olgiati.  "Slow pitch was not for me.  Give me my face mask and shin guards."
 
In addition to finishing with an 18-7 won-lost pitching record, Marks batted .250 (13-of-52) with 14 walks.  She could also claim to be the best slow pitch batter in Campbell softball history after delivering singles in her only two at-bats in that format.
 
The schedule featured games against future Big South opponents Baptist (Charleston Southern), Coastal Carolina, Columbus College, Gardner-Webb, UNC Asheville, Winthrop as well as current or transitioning D1 members UNC Charlotte, UNC Wilmington and NC A&T.  Campbell also squared off against junior college programs like Louisburg, Anderson and Chowan to fill out the fast pitch calendar.
 
A different time and place
Marks recalls the promise of a new glove as additional motivation to earn a place on her high school varsity roster.
"I remember my dad telling me when I was a freshman in high school, if I made the varsity team, he'd buy me a glove," said Marks, who grew up on a 10-acre farm where family and friends gathered for slow pitch games during her youth.  "I still have that glove, it's full of dirt and doesn't work very well. But it was something to work for."
 
Now, the family of a college-bound freshman softball player in high school may spend $1,000 (or more) per season on equipment alone.
 
"I can't even imagine the budget of that program (in 1986)," said Olgiati.  "One big thing was when we would go to an away game – always a doubleheader – we used to get $5 for lunch and $10 for dinner.  If we stayed at a hotel, it was a low budget thing, but we were always competitive.  We were motivated to go out there and play."
 
That 1986 team shared an assortment of bats of different weights and sizes.  No dugouts covered their heads from the sun or rain.
 
"We didn't have warmups," said Marks.  "We just had our uniforms. There was no field house to change in. You changed in your dorm room and went to the field dressed and ready to play. You had to buy your own cleats."
 
A foundation laid
Little did Mueller, Matthews, Marks and Olgiati – and everyone who wore the Campbell softball jersey in the 1970s and 1980s know that they would lay the foundation for a championship program.
 
New Jersey native Julie Brzezinski was hired as head coach – fresh out of Furman University – in the summer of 1989.  She led the program to school record-breaking win totals in each of her first six seasons, including a 47-victory tally in 1995 when the Camels claimed the ASUN tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time.
 
Campbell also earned automatic NCAA regional berths by winning the 2008 and 2009 Atlantic Sun tournament titles as well as 3-straight Big South Conference tournaments from 2021-23.
 
The growth of athletic opportunities for females is further evidenced by the Women's College World Series, where the NCAA Division I softball champion is crowned annually, sells out 13,000 seat Devon Park in Oklahoma City and every inning is broadcast on the ESPN networks.
 
A greater gift
Not only did Campbell's last team to play slow pitch – and first to face a fast pitcher – softball combine to win more than 65 percent of its games, but those individuals also left with memories they would carry throughout their life.
 
Matthews, who grew up in Angier and attended nearby Harnett Central High School, later joined Mueller as an inductee in the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
"The (six) seniors on that team had been playing together for a long period of time, but we came together and learned about each other's culture," said Matthews.  "Kris was Catholic, Ruth had a lot of brothers and sisters, I was homegrown."
 
As someone who came from out of state, Olgiati quickly felt at home in Buies Creek.
 
"I just remember a lot of laughs, a lot of very unbelievably athletic women who were very kind as well," said Olgiati.  "Ruth came from Pennsylvania, I came from New Jersey, we didn't have a car.  There were some local girls, and we got very close.  It was a really nice group of girls. While everybody wanted to win, it wasn't clique-y. We went in there for one purpose, to do our best."
 
Marks and Olgiati also met their future husbands in Buies Creek.  Ruth met Bryan while both were playing trumpet in the band.  In fact, band director Jack Stamp, a huge baseball fan who also faithfully supported the softball team, gave her the nickname, "Ruthless."
 
During her sophomore year, Kris met Campbell law student George Pozega and the two have been together ever since.
 
"How can a guy from West Virginia and a girl from New Jersey meet in Buies Creek?" said Olgiati.  "Because of Campbell University, George and I have been married for over 33 years.  When you think about Buies Creek, you just have a smile."
 
Update
Ruth Marks Carr '89 now serves as Director of Religious & Spiritual Life at Methodist University.  In addition to playing in the band and pitching four seasons (1986-89), she – like so many other softball players – was a member of the basketball team for two seasons.  She was named a first-team All-Big South Conference pitcher in 1987.
 
Antionette Matthews Carr '86 – like her Coach Ronda Mueller – was a 3-time winner of Campbell's Outstanding Female Athlete Award after being named All-American in basketball twice.  She was the first Campbell athlete to have her jersey number (34) retired.  Following graduation, she served as assistant basketball coach and head softball coach (1988), earned the distinction of being the first African-American head coach in school history and was inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1996.  She is now an educator in Hampton, Va.
 
Ronda Mueller Johnson '82 – served as head softball coach for the 1986 and 1987 seasons.  She was inducted into the Campbell Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.  She taught and coached in the Johnston County schools for three decades before joining the Campbell University faculty in 2016 as an adjunct instructor in the Exercise Science program.
 
Kris Olgiati Pozega '89 lived in Raleigh for nine years following graduation and worked for the N.C. Department of Revenue before she and George moved back to her native New Jersey.  Kris was a two-time All-Big South Conference first-team catcher.
 
1986 Campbell Softball Roster

No.	Name	Year	Pos.	Hometown
5	Edna White	Sr.	IF	Stedman, N.C.
6	Kris Au	Jr.	P	Raleigh, N.C.
8	Amy Howard	Sr.	OF	Sanford, N.C.
25	Ruth Marks	Fr.	P	Lititz, Pa.
10	Carol Wynne	Jr.	2B	Cary, N.C.
11	Angie Taylor	Jr.	1B-OF	Buies Creek, N.C.
18	Trisha Boyd	Sr.	SS	Cary, N.C.
20	Antionette Matthews	Sr.	OF	Angier, N.C.
24	Regina Wilkes	So.	OF	Brooklyn, N.Y.
26	Kris Olgiati	Fr.	C	Riverside, N.J.
27	Felecia Owen	Sr.	IF	Angier, N.C.
28	Kim Edmondson	Jr.	OF	Tarboro, N.C.
32	Linda Taylor	Sr.	OF	Elizabethtown, N.C.
35	Jan Faulkner	So.	C-1B-P	Fayetteville, N.C.

Head Coach: Ronda Mueller
Assistant Coach: Leslie Bunn