Lisa (RAIO) KEMME
pitched for the Lady Eagles from 1988-
1991. She is the holder of nearly every Winthrop career and
season pitching record (as seen on pages 30-31). During her
collegiate career, she led the Lady Eagles to three Big South Con-
ference Championships. She also posted wins over such national
powers as Florida State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech
and Wichita State.
In the summer of 2003, Kemme was inducted into the Big
South Conference Hall of Fame. In August of 2004 she was in-
ducted into the inaugural Winthrop Hall of Fame.
Kemme was a four-time All-Big South Conference honoree and
was the Big South Player of the Year and Big South Tournament
MVP in 1989, 1990, and 1991. During the summers, she pitched
for the Redan Bandits and led them to two national titles while be-
ing named an All-American in 1989 and Most Valuable Player in
the ASA National Tournament in 1989 and 1990.
“As a player, Lisa was one of the hardest workers I have ever
met,” said coach Mark Cooke. “She was the most mentally com-
posed pitcher I have ever seen. She always controlled every
game and never gave up. I never had to coach Lisa, I simply
watched her work.”
Upon completion of her college career, she has opened the
Pitcher’s Mound in Atlanta, GA. She is currently teaching the
art of fastpitch pitching to over 100 young girls from all over the
Southeast. She is recognized as the premier pitching coach on
the East Coast.
“The highest tribute I ever saw a player get was in the 1990
Big South Conference championship game. The Coastal Carolina
coach Jess Dannelly called time out in the bottom of the seventh
and went from the third base coaching box to the pitcher’s mound.
I came running out of the dugout to explode at him for talking to
my pitcher,” said Cooke. “As I reached the first base line, I heard
coach Dannelly tell Lisa that she had just pitched two of the most
beautiful games he had ever seen and he knew he would not
get the chance to tell her after the game, so he wanted to tell her
before the celebration.”
She is the mother of Stella Rose Raio, born Oct. 29, 2003.
Lisa Kemme was inducted to the Big South
Conference Hall of Fame in the summer
of 2003 and the Winthrop inaugural Hall of
Fame in the summer of 2004.
Hall Of Famer Lisa (Raio) Kemme
