Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

Ashley “Duder” Iveson gained much during her four-year stay with the Jacksonville Dolphins softball team.

For one thing, a new nickname.

“They call me “Ivan” up here,” she said with a laugh from the JU campus last week.

She also picked up a few more pitches, and that’s the main reason why Iveson, the two-time Osceola News-Gazette Softball Player of the Year at St. Cloud High in 2005-06, evolved into the Dolphins’ ace this season.

She led the Dolphins into the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament at DeLand Thursday, where the No. 5 Dolphins lost to Stetson, 2-0, then defeated Campbell, 1-0, to stay alive in the double elimination tournament that concludes today.

Iveson, 16-9, 1.84 ERA, took the loss against Stetson, giving up a pair of fifth-inning homers. She struck out seven and walked three in four innings of work.

Iveson was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week for April 25 to May 1 after posting two wins and a 0.47 ERA over three games, striking out 17. Iveson’s 12-strikeout, 2-0 shutout of Kennesaw State was pivotal for the team’s playoff drive. Her 16 wins is a school record.

“It all came together,” she said. “I added a drop ball and a screwball, and that is a big part of my success; plus, I learned to trust my defense.”

Iveson, whose mother, Cathe, tagged her “Duderbear” as a child, holds St. Cloud’s single season (240) and career (667) strikeout records.

JU Coach Amanda Lehotak called Iveson “the cornerstone of the staff this year.

“I’m happy for Ashley, this award is well-deserved,” Lehotak said.

Iveson struggled through her freshman and sophomore years at JU, and that makes her appreciate this year’s success.

“I started to work on a drop ball when I got here, but not very hard, because in high school I could throw mostly a fastball and get away with it,” she said. “Here, though, missing spots is huge. If you miss a spot against these players, they’re going to jack it.”

Working with Dolphins pitching Coach Ali Higgs, Iveson dedicated herself to learning new pitches and she enjoyed the payoff.

“I threw four pitches, a fastball, curve, rise ball and changeup, when I got here, but I was passionate about learning the drop ball and screwball last year,” she said.

The results speak for themselves.

“The drop ball works so well to get the groundouts, and even the pop ups if they miss it,” she said. “The screwball is a great pitch because you need to go inside. They say if you can throw the rise ball, which I can, then you can throw the screwball. Sometimes I’ll throw the screwball and get the rise ball, and vice versa, but as long as it’s moving, it doesn’t matter.”

Iveson and her teammates feared that they missed the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament after dropping a season-ending doubleheader against Stetson May 6. Fortunately for the Dolphins, things broke right during the last weekend of the regular season and they secured one of the six spots in the tournament.

“We didn’t have a good day,” Iveson, who gave up one run in 7.1 innings of a no-decision, said. “It was pretty emotional after that game because my dad (Andy) was there and we knew that could be my last game. He hasn’t missed hardly any of my games, so that was hard.”

The future is blossoming for Iveson, who already received her degree in sports administration with a minor in exercise science.

“I’m probably going to be a grad assistant and work with the pitchers for a school next year,” she said. “I’ve heard from several universities. I want to go out of state, for some reason. I’m passionate about that. My long-term goal probably is to go into sports marketing.”

Cathe Iveson said her daughter would spend this summer in Atlanta, working for the Georgia State Games.

“She’s had a great year, and she seems very confident about what she wants to do after she graduates,” Cathe Iveson said. “She’s really done well at Jacksonville. We are very proud of her.”

Ashley Iveson said it will be difficult to leave Jacksonville after the season ends.

“The coaches have done a great job of bringing in good talent here,” she said. “They really are going to have a good season next year. I wish I could come back.”