Royals Hall of Fame
Chantel Dodge is the third softball athlete inducted into the Queens Athletics Hall of Fame. The Shalimar, Florida native is also the third pitcher from the program to earn the honor. In four years of play, Dodge recorded three no-hitters, earned Conference Carolinas All-Conference and All-Tournament Team recognition three times, and received Conference Pitcher of the Year honors twice. Additionally, Dodge was named to the Southeast Region All-Tournament Team, the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-Region Team, and the NCCSIA All-State Team during her career.
As a team, the Royals saw a multitude of successes with Dodge on the pitcher’s mound, winning back-to-back Conference Carolinas Tournament Championships in 2009 and 2010. The Royals also made NCAA Championship appearances in both seasons.
The four-year starter and team captain came to the Royals highly decorated at the high school level, earning the start in 49 games as a freshman. She ended the season with a team-high 17 wins and ranked No. 10 in the nation with 319 strikeouts. Her sophomore season was one for the books as well, with Dodge earning Conference Pitcher of the Year and League Tournament MVP honors for the first time in her collegiate career. That same season, Dodge was also a threat at bat for the Royals, tying for No. 1 on the team in home runs with four and ranking No. 2 on the team in runs scored with 25.
Dodge became the all-time strikeout leader at Queens during her junior season in the Royals’ sweep of West Virginia University on February 18, 2011. She finished the day with 542 career strikeouts to surpass fellow Queens Hall of Famer Catrina Crisp. In her senior season, the star pitcher recorded a career-high 22 wins.
Dodge completed her career with 762 career strikeouts, a number that still ranks No. 1 in Queens’ record books. Dodge also holds the single-season record for strikeouts (319) and wins (22), and the career wins record with 65 in the circle.
Dodge graduated from Queens with a bachelor’s degree in 2012, double-majoring in political science and philosophy and religion. She was named to the Girls Got Game/ NFCA Academic Team, the Presidential Honor Roll, the Dean’s List, and the Academic All-Conference Team multiple times during her career. In her senior season, Dodge represented Queens as the NCAA Woman of the Year nominee, a Conference Carolinas Murphy Osborne Finalist, and the Queens Senior Female Student-Athlete of the Year. Dodge has been a claims supervisor for Farmers Insurance Group for the past 12 years.
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