Salem, Va. --- Director of Athletics Scott Allison has appointed Mike Mitchell as the new head softball coach for the Maroons. Mitchell replaces Mike Walthall, who has been the Maroons' head softball program coach for the past three years and served as an assistant in the early years of the program.
Mitchell is no stranger to Roanoke. During his two years as an assistant coach at Roanoke, the Maroons scored a 30-win season, an ODAC Title and an NCAA Regional Tournament berth. Mitchell has 20 years of coaching experience at both the collegiate and high school level. He has been the head coach at William Byrd High School since 2006.
Mitchell holds an associate degree from Virginia Western Community College in 1990 and a bachelor's degree from Ferrum College in 1993. A local in the Roanoke valley, he graduated from Patrick Henry High School and returned to his alma mater for a four-year stint as the head baseball coach from 1999 to 2003. Prior to PH, he was the head baseball coach at Virginia Western Community College from 1995-99. In his final year at VWCC, he led the team to the Virginia Community College State Championship.
The Maroons finished the 2008 season 28-10, 13-5 in the ODAC for the 11th-straight 25-win season in the 12-year history of the program. The season was highlighted by a 17-game win streak, which was the third-longest in school history.
