Bio

Head Coach Andy Kirschner is the Athletic Director at Penn State Beaver and is in his twenty-first season with the softball team. After going 1-14 in his first season with the team, Kirschner has led the Lady Lions to prominence in both the PSUAC and USCAA.

Kirschner boasts a career record of 410-369 while qualifying for the USCAA National Softball Tournament in eleven of the last fifteen seasons.

In the 2023 season the team made waves in Myrtle Beach during Spring Training. They came back with a record of 6-1 which helped get them to an overall record of 20-17 and a PSUAC record of 9-9. The Lady Lions once again made conference playoffs but missed the National Tournament mark. They look to continue having a great record and improving that more while they keep battling their way back to the National Tournament.

With things back on track after the COVID-19 pandemic the team tried their best to put up a fight. They went 14-14 overall and 12-6 in conference. The team made it to playoffs once again but had an early departure after two losses to Penn State DuBois and Penn State Brandywine. 

The 2021 season was tough for Beaver after only getting to play other PSUAC schools. Though they had a winning record of 16-11 they were unable to secure a spot in the National Tournament due to an early departure in the PSUAC Tournament when they played Penn State New Kensington.

After leaving Myrtle Beach Spring Training in a hurry went COVID-19 hit, the team was struggling with a 1-5 record. After not being able to finish the seaon they looked to improve for future seasons to come.

After arriving home from spring training one game above .500 (2019), Kirschner and his team set the tone for their season going on a 7-game win streak to nearly close out March.  Dropping 4 of 5 immediately following that streak, the Lady Lions got back on pace and won 8 consecutive games to start the month of April and went on to finish the second half of the season 16-3 securing them the #1 spot in the west heading into the PSUAC post-season tournament, marking their fourth straight appearance.  Despite an early departure from the PSUAC tournament, the team secured the #4 seed  in the USCAA Small College World Series, their highest seed in recent years, where they also struggled, losing their first two games. 

Coming off one of his best years (2019) as the head softball coach, Kirschner was named Coach of the Year in both the PSUAC and the USCAA.  In 2019, Kirschner led his team to an overall record of 29-11 in the regular season and a conference record of 17-4. In the nation, the team led in at bats (1145), hits (401), RBI's (286) and stolen bases (114).  The team was also in the top 5 in runs (308), doubles (72) and triples (17).  

In addition to his accolades on the field, Kirschner was also awarded with the Scannell Award (2019), named for Robert J. Scannell.  It recognizes an administrator, faculty, staff member or coach who has served commonwealth campus athletic programs with distinction.

During his tenure, Kirschner has coached one USCAA Academic All-American, 80+ PSUAC Academic All-Conference performers, 43 PSUAC All-Conference players, 20 PSUAC Honorable Mention All-Conference players, 12 USCAA All-Americans and 10 USCAA Honorable Mention All-Americans. In addition, he has coached four PSUAC Players of the Year (Ashley Watkins – 2x, Lindsey Scialdone, Vanessa Jackson), five PSUAC Pitchers of the Year (Kayla Chambers, Korey Freyermuth - 2x and Vanessa Jackson - 2x) and two PSUAC Newcomers of the Year (Vanessa Jackson, Taylor Johnson).  He has also been named the PSUAC Coach of the Year four times (2009, 2011, 2012, 2019) as well as the USCAA Garth Pleasant Athletic Director of the Year Award in June 2011.  Additionally, he was honored by the Beaver County Hall of Fame in 2013. 

Kirschner has held a variety of positions in the Athletic Department and has also assisted with the men's basketball program for four years. He was head coach of the Beaver campus women's volleyball team for two years as well.

Kirschner earned a master's degree in teaching and curriculum from Penn State in 2007 and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Edinboro University in 2002.

updated 8/7/2023