At the age of 10, Jo-Lynn Cimino had her first pitching lesson with longtime family friend Joe Musante. Many years later, Musante related how, when he first began teaching Jo-Lynn, he thought, "How can I ever tell her that softball isn’t for her?"
But the Guilford, Conn. native worked hard and developed into a solid pitcher for Guilford High School. Musante became the head coach at UNH and recruited Jo-Lynn to play for the Chargers. From there, Cimino fashioned All-American numbers and came back from a potentially career-ending injury to finish as one of UNH’s all-time best softball players.
Cimino is the first All-American in UNH softball history, and was a four-time First Team All-Conference and two-time All-Region selection as a pitcher for the Chargers. She posted a 66-29 record in the circle and helped guide the team to its first-ever NCAA softball appearances in 1995 and 1996.
As a sophomore in 1995, Jo-Lynn went 20-8 with a 1.02 ERA en route to her All-America honor, and was NECC Player of the Year and an All-Northeast Region selection. That season, she set what was then an NCAA Division II record with eight straight shutouts and still holds the sixth-longest scoreless innings streak in Division II history (61 straight). The 1995 team finished with a school-record 40 wins.
In the summer of ‘95, Cimino developed pain in her pitching hand and missed the entire 1996 season. Having worked her whole life for the opportunity to play college softball, Jo-Lynn decided to have surgery that summer. She came back to pitch for the Chargers in 1997 and 1998, and UNH was 159-64-1 (.712) overall during her tenure with the team.
Cimino's school record 614 strikeouts and 111 appearances held until 2010, with both still ranked second in program history. She is also third in career wins (66), fourth in innings pitched (624.1) and third in earned run average (1.26).Â
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