Cassidy Duskin, softball player and fifth-year applied professional studies major, pitches during a game against University of West Alabama.
Head softball coach Julie LeMaire high-fives Maliyah Lawson, sophomore psychology major.
Head softball coach Julie LeMaire in the dugout with her team.
NSU softball pitcher Cassidy Duskin pitched a perfect game and head coach Julie LeMaire achieved 500 career wins, both in the same game on February 2, a 1-0 win over the University of West Alabama.
Duskin, a fifth year applied professional studies major, is in her first year at NSU after transferring from the University of North Alabama. This is also her last season, both at NSU and as a collegiate softball player.
“I wouldn’t want to be with any other team for my last year than the one I have here. When we’re on the field together, there’s no better connection than the ones I have with them,” Duskin said.
A perfect game happens when a pitcher allows no hits, runs, or batters to reach first base. Duskin faced 21 batters and got them all out, a difficult feat to achieve. This is the second perfect game in program history, with the first one being in 2018.
“There are a lot of pitchers that will never throw a perfect game in their entire careers. Cassidy was able to do something that many people will never be able to do,” Julie LeMaire said.
Duskin views this milestone as the culmination of the adversity she has faced during her softball career.
“Growing up, I was always told by my coaches that I would never pitch at any collegiate level, so not only have I pitched at three different collegiate levels, but now I also pitched a perfect game. It’s one of my greatest accomplishments in my softball career and it’s also the outcome of me never giving up on myself,” Duskin said.
Her resilience also comes from words her father has told her all her life.
“My dad has always told me ‘can’t never could until it tried,’ so I knew I could do it, but I didn’t think that it would actually happen, especially this being my last year,” Duskin said.
Despite the performance, Duskin has kept herself grounded.
“It’s very rare to throw a perfect game, so I’m taking this one and I know I’m going to continue to have good and bad games,” Duskin said. “I’ve been trying to tell myself that because it’s my last year I need to have fun playing, regardless of how I play.”
To add to an already special day, LeMaire recorded her 500th career win.
“A lot of people are always saying how similar Coach LeMaire and I are, so I’ve always looked up to her and when I found out it was her 500th career win we both immediately had this emotional connection and bond because we get to be a part of each other’s accomplishments,” Duskin said.
LeMaire is in her 16th year as a head coach, and her 10th at NSU. She attributes her 500 wins to all the players she’s had throughout the years.
“I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of really great athletes that have bought into what I ask of them on the field, which has ended up being successful for me on the field. At the end of the day, you can’t get a win without the players playing the way they need to, so the credit goes to them,” LeMaire said.
Even during her special moment, LeMaire was more excited for her player than herself.
“Everyone was excited about my 500th win, and I was just so excited for Cassidy because not a lot of kids achieve a perfect game. It was one of the best performances that I’ve been a part of,” LeMaire said.
LeMaire’s current assistant coach, Sydney Lageyre, was also a player for NSU under LeMaire, having been a member of the softball team from 2017-2022. She was on the team during the last perfect game, as well as when LeMaire achieved 300 and 400 career wins.
“Working with her daily as a coach, I get to see just how much she puts into this program and her attention to detail, all the small things that make us a top 25 team. It’s been amazing to be a part of this, and being able to coach alongside her for her 500th win makes everything come full circle for me,” Lageyre said.
Among Duskin’s plans for the future is to become a head softball coach, and she hopes to use what she learns from LeMaire on her journey.
“I love playing under LeMaire. She’s hardworking and sets very high standards for her athletes while also being there for us and teaching us things that will help us outside of softball. In my future as a softball coach, I hope to be like Coach LeMaire,” Duskin said.
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