SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball

SIU Edwardsville Cougars
2015 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team

University Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Conference OVC
Location Edwardsville, IL
Head Coach Sandy Montgomery (26th year)
Home Stadium Cougar Field
aka Cougar Stadium
(Capacity: 800+)
Nickname Cougars
Colors Red and White

             

National Championships
D II: 2007
WCWS Appearances
D II: 2006, 2007
AIAW D II: 1982
NCAA Tournament Appearances
D I: 2014
D II: 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
AIAW DII: 1980, 1982
Conference Tournament Champions
OVC: 2014
GLVC: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008
Conference Champions
OVC: 2015
OVC West Div.: 2014
GLVC: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007
GLVC SW Div.:1997, 1998

The SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in NCAA Division I college softball. They compete as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. SIUE plays its home games at Cougar Field, located in the southwest corner of the campus.[1]

History

Sources:[2][3][4][5][6]

The SIUE softball team has had only two head coaches in its history.

The program was begun by Cindy Jones in 1974-75. In fourteen seasons, Jones' teams were 376-201, with two trips to the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women Division II National Tournament and two invitations to the NCAA Division II tournament while competing as a Division II independent.

Current coach Sandy Montgomery took over the Cougars in 1989, with SIUE continuing as an independent and earning its third invitation to the Division II playoffs before joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) in 1996. In thirteen seasons as members of the GLVC, the Cougars won or shared seven regular season division or conference titles and five conference tournament championships. They earned ten trips to the NCAA Division II playoofs, including two spots in the Division II College World Series, and won the NCAA Division II National Softball Championship in 2007.

In 2008-09, SIUE athletics began the transition into Division I, and the Cougars joined the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in 2011.

On April 9, 2014, the Cougars defeated the Saint Louis Billikens 4–1 at SLU. The win was Coach Sandy Montgomery's 900th coaching win, making her the 39th coach in NCAA softball history to reach that milestone.[7] Coach Montgomery's record since assuming the reins in 1989 through the end of the 2014 regular season is 914–462–2.

On May 10, 2014, the softball Cougars became the first SIUE team to win an OVC championship in any sport. Rain and thunderstorms shortened the tournament, played at University Field at Jacksonville State, with the losers bracket being cancelled, while the 2nd seeded Cougars and the 4th seeded Murray State Racers were the last two undefeated teams. The Cougars scored early, with four home runs in the first two innings, and defeated the Racers 12–1, with the game halted after 6 innings by the mercy rule.[8] The squad also became the first SIUE team to qualify for an NCAA Division I tournament since the 1982 men's soccer team, when that sport had been the university's only Division I program before the school's transition to Division I for all sports began in 2008.[9]

Record By Year

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
SIU Edwardsville (Division II Independent[2]) (1975–1985)
1975 Cindy Jones 10-9
1976 Cindy Jones 4-11
1977 Cindy Jones 16-9
1978 Cindy Jones 15-10
1979 Cindy Jones 15-16
1980 Cindy Jones 36-20 AIAW DII Tournament
1981 Cindy Jones 30-14
1982 Cindy Jones 39-20 AIAW DII National Runnerup
1983 Cindy Jones 33-17
1984 Cindy Jones 38-8
1985 Cindy Jones 40-13 NCAA Regional
1986 Cindy Jones 25-22
1987 Cindy Jones 36-19
1988 Cindy Jones 39-13 NCAA Regional
Cindy Jones: 376–201 .652
1989 Sandy Montgomery 35-24-1
1990 Sandy Montgomery 34-13 NCAA Regional
1991 Sandy Montgomery 35-16
1992 Sandy Montgomery 22-21
1993 Sandy Montgomery 23-24
1994 Sandy Montgomery 18-25-1
1995 Sandy Montgomery 24-19
SIU Edwardsville (Great Lakes Valley Conference (Div. II)[3]) (1996–2008)
1996 Sandy Montgomery 34-17 12-6 2nd
1997 Sandy Montgomery 39-13 23-0 1st Southwest
1998 Sandy Montgomery 33-23 22-5 1st Southwest NCAA Regional
1999 Sandy Montgomery 33-17 13-3 1st
2000 Sandy Montgomery 39-19 16-6 t-3rd NCAA Regional
2001 Sandy Montgomery 41-17 17-5 2nd NCAA Regional
2002 Sandy Montgomery 51-12 17-2 1st NCAA Regional
2003 Sandy Montgomery 44-11 17-3 1st NCAA Regional
2004 Sandy Montgomery 35-19 15-5 3rd NCAA Regional
2005 Sandy Montgomery 41-15 15-3 3rd NCAA Regional
2006 Sandy Montgomery 52-11 16-4 1st Div. II WCWS
2007 Sandy Montgomery 49-8 19-5 t-1st NCAA Div. II Champion
2008 Sandy Montgomery 49-11 19-5 2nd NCAA Regional
SIU Edwardsville (Division I Independent[2]) (2009–2010)
2009 Sandy Montgomery 40-10
2010 Sandy Montgomery 27-24
SIU Edwardsville (Ohio Valley Conference[4]) (2011–current)
2011 Sandy Montgomery 28-30 19-11 4th
2012 Sandy Montgomery 23-29 13-16 8th
2013 Sandy Montgomery 35-13 17-5 2nd West
2014 Sandy Montgomery 30–23 19–5 1st West NCAA Regional
2015 Sandy Montgomery 43–16 20–6 1st
Sandy Montgomery: 957–480–2 .666 309-95 .765
Total: 1,333-681-2 .662

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

All–Americans

Through the years, fifteen Cougar softball players have been named All–Americans:[10]

  • 1981 - Denise Schaake
  • 1982 - Amy Frey
  • 1984 - Kathy Byrne
  • 1988 - Laura McCune
  • 1991 - Michele Cleeton
  • 2000 - Erin Newman
  • 2000 - Katie Waldo
  • 2001 - Valerie McCoy
  • 2001 - Erin Newman
  • 2002 - Valerie McCoy
  • 2003 - Jenny Esker
  • 2003 - Holly Neuerburg

References

  1. "OVC Member Institutions". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "SIUE Softball Archives". SIUE Cougars. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "GLVC Softball Archive". Great Lakes Valley Conference. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  4. 1 2 "OVC Softball Records" (PDF). Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  5. "Division II Softball Championship History". NCAA. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  6. "AlestleLive Sports Blog". The Alestle. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  7. "Sandy Montgomery Notches 900th Win In Illustrious 26 Year Career". NCAA. April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  8. "Rain ousts EIU; SIUE wins OVC softball title". Journal-Gazette & Times-Courier. May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  9. "Cougars rout Murray State for OVC Tourney title". The Telegraph. May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  10. "SIUE Softball All-Americans". SIUE Cougars. Retrieved August 16, 2014.

External links

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