Beth Keylon played three outstanding seasons on the Tennessee Tech softball team, and during her career she was the most dominant player and pitcher in the Ohio Valley Conference.

She piled up numerous records and honors, including Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season, leading Tech to 85 total wins and the first OVC championship.

After one season at Louisiana Tech, the Chattanooga native transferred to Tennessee Tech and helped turn the Golden Eagles into an OVC champion with her record-breaking pitching and clutch hitting.

In her debut season as a sophomore, she smashed the school record and became the first 20-game winner in program history with a 21-10 record. She threw two no-hitters including the team’s first perfect game. She posted a 1.15 earned run average with 200 strikeouts and 10 shutouts as the Golden Eagles went 28-12. Her record of 200 strikeouts in a season stood for 12 years until it was broken in 2004.

In 1993, she continued to win, posting 14 victories to lead Tech to a 26-19 record. She had a 2.10 ERA with 157 strikeouts and four shutouts. She also led the Golden Eagles at the plate, batting a team-high .379. Her offensive numbers included 12 doubles, two triples, and 32 RBI, all of which led the team.

It was during her senior season that Keylon finally earned some recognition for her performances, as the OVC sponsored softball for the first time and the hard-throwing ace guided TTU to a perfect 17-0 regular season record and the league’s first conference championship under coach Bobby Holloway. Tech was 31-16 overall, with Keylon as the team captain.

Keylon started and won 17 games (17-8), posting 17 complete games, and broke her own school record with a razor-thin 1.09 ERA. In 172 innings she struck out 249 batters and claimed six shutouts. She was a vital part of Tech’s offense, as well, batting .371 to finish second in the league batting race to teammate Stacy Hughes. For her stellar individual performance, she earned OVC Pitcher of the Year and all-OVC honors, and was also named conference Player of the Year. Tech recognized her success by naming her Female Athlete of the Year in 1993-94.

When she graduated, Keylon had established school records for most career victories (52), most strikeouts (506), most innings pitched (554), and lowest earned run average (1.46). At the time of her induction, she was also listed fifth in career batting average (.352) and tenth in RBI.

In 2004, when the team established a Wall of Honor at the TTU softball field, Keylon was one of the first three names selected for inclusion along with coach Bobby Holloway and teammate Andrea Roark.