GRANVILLE, Ohio--  Denison University head softball coach Tiffany Ozbun has announced the hiring of Sara Birchmeier as the program's new assistant coach.  Birchmeier comes to Denison after spending two seasons at Division III Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania.

"We are excited to welcome Sarah to our Denison softball family," said Ozbun.  "During the interview process her commitment to the development of student-athletes was made very clear.  She brings experience as both a head and assistant coach, but most importantly as a scholar athlete.  She has been in similar shoes as our student-athletes by balancing high academics and high achieving athletics.  Sarah will be able to serve as a great mentor in our program, as well as in our Denison community."

After a successful four-year playing career at Wilkes University, Birchmeier accepted an assistant coaching position at Eastern and was thrust into the role as interim head coach prior to the start of the 2019 season.  Under Birchmeier, Eastern hitters saw a 40 percent increase in hits per game despite playing all but two games on the road while the Eagles' home facility underwent renovations. In the fall of 2019, Birchmeier resumed her role as the program's assistant coach. Eastern played 10 games in 2020 before the season was suspended due to COVID-19.

As an undergraduate at Wilkes, Birchmeier posted a 3.93 grade point average and was a two-time second-team All-MAC selection.  She was recognized by the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) as an All-America Scholar-Athlete and was named to the MAC Honor Roll.  She served as a team captain was a student ambassador on a service trip to Panama. In 2017, Birchmeier received the Student Diversity Award from Wilkes University.

Birchmeier has also been active as a travel softball coach.  She spent the past year as the assistant coach of the 14U New Jersey Cheetahs. In 2015, she was the head coach of the 18U South Jersey Bandits.

She received a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and secondary education from Wilkes in 2018 and recently completed graduate school, earning a master's degree in multicultural education from Eastern University.

Denison softball leads all North Coast Athletic Conference institutions with eight conference championships. Under Ozbun, the Big Red have won 303 games and posted a .621 winning percentage since 2008.