Saint Vincent College

Nicole (Hinerman) Karr has served as the Saint Vincent College head softball coach since 2007, while adding the role of assistant athletic director for facilities and internal operations in the summer of 2023. 

A 2019 inductee into the Saint Vincent College Athletic Hall of Fame, Nicole has built the Bearcats into a consistent contender in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, holding a record of 337-254-1 over her 18-year career at Saint Vincent. Her teams finished .500 or better in 14 of her 18 seasons, while she has led the Bearcats to 20 or more wins nine times. Her players have garnered a total of 78 all-conference accolades. 

In 2024, the Bearcats finished 17-17 overall and 9-11 in conference play, narrowly missing the PAC postseason by just one game. Four players earned All-PAC accolades. After finishing in the top-10 in the PAC in batting average, stolen bases, and on-base percentage, freshman second baseman Mackenzie Favero notched Second Team All-PAC honors. The senior tandem of shortstop Olivia Persin and Jessica LaPorte, along with freshman third baseman Shayna Perigo, were lauded with Honorable Mention all-conference accolades. Persin batted .347 with 32 runs scored and a .429 on-base percentage; LaPorte batted .333 with 12 doubles and 24 RBIs; while Perigo batted .356 over her rookie campaign. 

The 2023 Bearcats finished 23-15 overall and 12-8 in conference play, advancing to the conference postseason for the second straight season, and seventh time since 2015. Left fielder Alex Dillner earned First Team All-PAC honors after batting .398 and leading the conference with eight home runs. LaPorte snagged All-PAC honors as a designated player, batting .320 with five home runs and 28 RBIs, while pitcher Olivia Bushore was an all-conference pick after going 7-4 with a 3.77 ERA and 58 strikeouts. Nicole earned her milestone 300th career win during the Bearcats’ spring break trip to Florida with a 9-5 win over Concordia on March 5. 

In 2022, the Bearcats finished with an overall record of 24-10 and 11-7 record in the PAC, qualifying for the PAC tournament, where they fell one game short of reaching the PAC championship game. Six Bearcats earned All-PAC honors, while first baseman Abbey Ginter and leftfielder Dillner were also named NFCA All-Region. Eight Bearcats were also named NFCA All-Scholar Athletes, with Persin earning CoSIDA Academic All-District laurels. The Bearcats were one of the top offensive teams in the region in 2022, posting a team batting average of .348. Along with advancing to the PAC semis, the Bearcats began the season with 13 straight victories, setting a program mark for longest winning streak.

Prior to the COVID-shortened 2020 and 2021 seasons, the 2019 squad finished with an overall record of 29-16, winning its second PAC championship and qualifying for the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the second time in four seasons, while the 29 wins tied a program record. Nicole was named the PAC Coach of the Year for the second time in her career, while six Bearcats earned All-PAC accolades, highlighted by pitcher Celia Knappenberger, who was named both the PAC Player of the Year and the PAC Championship Tournament MVP. The Bearcats finished the 2019 season as the PAC leader in team earned run average (2.45) and batting average (.330), with eight players batting .300 or higher. 

In 2018, Saint Vincent finished 22-10 overall and 12-5 in the PAC, qualifying for the postseason, while going a perfect 9-0 in home games. Both Alona Sleith and Shelby Noel earned NFCA All-Region honors. Sleith was also named All-ECAC, while six student-athletes were lauded as All-PAC selections, matching the most by any team in the PAC. 

Nicole helped guide the Bearcats to their third straight PAC Tournament appearance in 2017. During the season, she earned her 200th career coaching win with a victory at Thiel on April 10. Six Bearcats gained All- PAC status, while Noel picked up NFCA All-Region honors. 

The Bearcats captured their first PAC Tournament title in 2016, winning three games on Championship Saturday, including a pair of 1-0 shutout victories over Bethany College to claim the title. Under Nicole’s tutelage, the Bearcats set a single-season record 29 victories in 2016. and earned the PAC’s automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division III Championship where they earned a 2-0 upset victory over No. 1 ranked Virginia Wesleyan in the opening round. Nicole was named PAC Coach of the Year following the season, while Emert highlighted six SVC All-PAC selections, as she was named PAC Tournament MVP and PAC Player of the Year. In total, six Bearcats were named All-PAC, while Emert and Noel were both named NFCA All-Region.

In 2015, the Bearcats went 24-11, tying a program record for wins in a single season, while going 11-7 in PAC play to qualify for the conference tournament for the second time, where they advanced to the second round. Five SVC players earned All-PAC accolades, with Emert and Emily Duerr each adding NFCA All-Region honors. In 2014, SVC finished 22-14, topping the 20-win plateau for the third time in team history.

In 2012, Nicole's Bearcats went 24-16 overall and 13-5 in the PAC, winning the conference's regular-season title and earning hosting rights for the PAC Championship Tournament for the first time. She earned her 100th career win after a doubleheader sweep of Westminster on April 27, while five players earned All-PAC accolades, and the duo of Emily Lauterbach and Ally Vrcek led a pitching staff that topped the PAC with a 2.16 ERA.

Nicole was named the third head coach in program history in 2007, with the Bearcats going 10-15 in her first year at the helm. She captured her first career victory on March 27, 2007, an 11-9 home triumph over Grove City College. In her second season, 2008, the Bearcats shattered a 22-year-old program record for wins in the season, going 22-16. It marked a 12-win improvement from the previous year, the first 20-win season in team history, and the first season in which the team finished over .500 in 20 years. The Bearcats would finish with winning records in both 2010 (18-15) and 2011 (16-12), before their record-breaking 2012 campaign. 

A 2004 Saint Vincent graduate, Nicole put together a stellar playing career, capped off by a senior season in which the third baseman led the American Mideast Conference in almost every major statistical category, including batting average (.538), slugging percentage (.925), and on-base percentage (.582). She also recorded 21 doubles and drove in a team-leading 27 RBIs. She was named All-AMC after batting .415 during her junior campaign in 2003, leading the conference in doubles per game (0.6) and triples per contest (0.24), helping the Bearcats advance to the AMC playoffs. 

For her exemplary playing and coaching career, she was inducted into the Saint Vincent College Athletic Hall of Fame in October 2019, while in October 2023, she was named to the Saint Vincent College 40 Forward list, which recognized the 40 most influential women in the history of the College.

A native of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Nicole graduated with honors with a degree in psychology education. She was awarded the prestigious E. Albert DeLuca Award, given to outstanding senior athletes who display responsible and dependable leadership during their four years at the college. In 2013, she completed her Master of Science in Curriculum and Instruction from Saint Vincent. 


NICOLE (HINERMAN) KARR - YEAR-BY-YEAR

UPDATED 5/12/24