WATCH: Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s Lisa Davidson Put Florida State Softball On Map in 1990s

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME

WATTCH: Lisa Davidson was the second Lady Seminoles to be named an All-American. She finished her career with four consecutive ACC Championships and three World Series appearances. In 2003, almost 10 years since she graduated, Davidson was again honored when the ACC organized a 50th Anniversary team for each sport and she was selected one of 24 Florida State softball players named to the squad. In 2005, she was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame.

LISA DAVIDSON – 2014 INDUCTEE

• All-American At FSU
• ACC Tournament MVP
• Florida State Hall of Fame
A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Some men follow their fathers into sport. Some women follow their moms. For Lisa Davidson, softball was a mother-daughter thing.

“My mom was an awesome third baseman with the Zephyrs adult team in Satellite Beach,” said Davidson.

“I was always around when they would play, and I always had my glove in hand.”

Born at Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center, Davidson was throwing softballs almost simultaneously as learning to walk.

By the time she was six years old, she was involved in girls’ traveling teams, progressing from Percy’s Junior Lassies to the Lassies and to the Mets, all Satellite Beach teams. Because she lived in Indialantic, she switched to the local Sharks, much to the consternation of the Mets.

Not to worry, however, for Davidson was soon returning to Satellite Beach. Her home address placed her at Melbourne High School, which she attended for a year, but the family soon moved to Satellite Beach so Davidson could play ball with the superior Satellite High School softball team.

“The team was so much better,” she said.

“It was a huge thing for us to move, because we didn’t have much money, but my mom thought it would give me the edge I needed for a scholarship.”

Mom was right.

REMARKABLE TRANSITION TO FAST PITCH

After snagging the team championship for Satellite and enjoying an incredible and totally legit .809 batting average in her senior year, Davidson was recruited by the Lady Seminoles at Florida State University, an impressive accomplishment, particularly when considering that she had only played slow pitch in high school, while the Lady Seminoles were a fast pitch team, requiring intensive batting practice on Davidson’s part to come up to speed in zeroing in on those 80-miles-per-hour pitches.

Davidson was a fast learner. As a freshman, she stepped in and led the team with a .341 batting average.

The Lady Seminoles themselves were transitioning as well as Davidson, stepping into a new conference, the ACC, and claiming the first ACC title in any sport, thanks in large part to Davidson, who dominated the conference.

She led the ACC in triples and was ranked in the league’s top 10 in five other categories. Her platinum exploits on the diamond earned her the ACC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player title in 1993. She was an all-tournament selection at the UNC Invitational.

Davidson was the second Lady Seminoles to be named an All-American. She finished her career with four consecutive ACC Championships and three World Series appearances.

In 2003, almost 10 years since she graduated, Davidson was again honored when the ACC organized a 50th Anniversary team for each sport and she was selected one of 24 Florida State softball players named to the squad.

In 2005, she was inducted into the FSU Hall of Fame.

After college, Davidson played semi-professional ball in San Antonio, Texas for five years.  With a master’s in English, she taught high school for 15 years in South Florida before joining her mom at the family business, Dogleg Sportswear in Orlando.

Daughter Taylor carries on the athletic tradition in her own sport, soccer. You can expect another Hall of Famer in the family.

“She’s a much better athlete than I ever was and I expect will be highly recruited,” says the proud Davidson.

FOR INFORMATION about the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame, call 321-615-8111 or e-mail Contact@SpaceCoastDaily.com.

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