SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball

Last updated
SIU Edwardsville Cougars
SIUE Cougars logo.svg
Founded1974
University Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Athletic directorDerrick Brown (interim)
Head coachBen Sorden (2nd season season)
Conference OVC
Location Edwardsville, IL
Home stadiumCougar Field
aka Cougar Stadium (Capacity: 800+)
Nickname Cougars
ColorsRed and white [1]
   
NCAA Tournament champions
D II: 2007
NCAA WCWS appearances
D II: 2006, 2007
AIAW WCWS appearances
D II: 1980, 1982
NCAA Tournament appearances
D I: 2014
D II: 1985, 1988, 1990, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
Conference Tournament championships
OVC: 2014
GLVC: 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008
Regular Season Conference championships
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. [2]

Contents

History

Sources: [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Through 2018, the SIUE softball team had 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 [8] and two invitations to the NCAA Division II Softball Championship tournament while competing as a Division II independent.

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 playoffs, 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. [9] 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. [10] 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. [11]

In late July 2018, Sandy Montgomery suddenly announced her early retirement. [12] Assistant coach Jessica Jones was named as interim head coach for the 2019 season. [13]

On August 24, 2022, Coach Ben Sorden was named the new Cougars head softball coach. [14]

Records by year

Statistics overview
SeasonCoachOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
SIU Edwardsville (Division II Independent [3] )(1975–1985)
1975Cindy Jones 10–9
1976Cindy Jones 4–11
1977Cindy Jones 16–9
1978Cindy Jones 15–10
1979Cindy Jones 15–16
1980Cindy Jones 36–20AIAW DII WCWS (t-9th)
1981Cindy Jones 30–14
1982Cindy Jones 39–20AIAW DII WCWS National Runner-up
1983Cindy Jones 33–17
1984Cindy Jones 38–8
1985Cindy Jones 40–13NCAA Regional
1986Cindy Jones 25–22
1987Cindy Jones 36–19
1988Cindy Jones 39–13NCAA Regional
Cindy Jones:376–201 .652
1989Sandy Montgomery 35–24–1
1990Sandy Montgomery 34–13NCAA Regional
1991Sandy Montgomery 35–16
1992Sandy Montgomery 22–21
1993Sandy Montgomery 23–24
1994Sandy Montgomery 18–25–1
1995Sandy Montgomery 24–19
SIU Edwardsville (Great Lakes Valley Conference (Div. II) [4] )(1996–2008)
1996Sandy Montgomery 34–1712–62nd
1997Sandy Montgomery 39–1323–01st Southwest
1998Sandy Montgomery 33–2322–51st SouthwestNCAA Regional
1999Sandy Montgomery 33–1713–31st
2000Sandy Montgomery 39–1916–6t-3rdNCAA Regional
2001Sandy Montgomery 41–1717–52ndNCAA Regional
2002Sandy Montgomery 51–1217–21stNCAA Regional
2003Sandy Montgomery 44–1117–31stNCAA Regional
2004Sandy Montgomery 35–1915–53rdNCAA Regional
2005Sandy Montgomery 41–1515–33rdNCAA Regional
2006Sandy Montgomery 52–1116–41st Div. II WCWS
2007Sandy Montgomery 49–819–5t-1stNCAA Div. II Champion
2008Sandy Montgomery 49–1119–52ndNCAA Regional
SIU Edwardsville (Division I Independent [3] )(2009–2010)
2009Sandy Montgomery 40–10
2010Sandy Montgomery 27–24
SIU Edwardsville (Ohio Valley Conference [5] )(2011–current)
2011Sandy Montgomery 28–3019–114th
2012Sandy Montgomery 23–2913–168th
2013Sandy Montgomery 35–1317–52nd West
2014 Sandy Montgomery 30–2319–51st West NCAA Regional
2015 Sandy Montgomery 43–1620–61st
2016 Sandy Montgomery 28–2615–114th
2017 Sandy Montgomery 41–1313–3t-2nd
2018 Sandy Montgomery 25–2114–85th
Sandy Montgomery:1,051–540–2 .660336–108 .757
2019 Jessica Jones 16–288–148th
Jessica Jones:16–28 .8528–14 .364
Total:1,415–743–2 .656336–108

      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 were named Division II All–Americans: [15]

In 2017, Haley Chambers-Book became the Cougars' first Division I All-American.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball</span> College basketball team

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team</span> American college softball season

The 2014 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2014 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cougars, led by twenty-sixth year head coach Sandy Montgomery, played their home games at Cougar Field as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team</span> American college softball season

The 2007 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2007 NCAA Division II softball season. The Cougars, led by nineteenth year head coach Sandy Montgomery, played their home games at Cougar Field on the SIUE campus as a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). They finished the season as the NCAA Division II National Champions. In July 2017, the team was elected to the SIUE Athletics Hall of Fame.

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The 2015 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) during the 2015 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cougars, led by twenty-seventh year head coach Sandy Montgomery, played their home games at Cougar Field on the SIUE campus as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

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Sandy Montgomery is an American softball coach. In 29 years as the head coach of SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball (1989–present), she has more than 1000 career wins, more than any other coach in SIUE history in any sport, male or female. As of May 13, 2017, Montgomery had a career record of 1026 wins, 519 losses, and 2 ties, for a .664 winning percentage. She led the Cougars to the Division II NCAA softball championship in 2007. In 2014, Montgomery passed the 900 win mark while leading the Cougars to their first Division I NCAA Division I softball tournament. Montgomery is the longest-tenured head coach at SIUE and the Associate AD for Alumni Relations in the SIUE athletic department. In addition to coaching softball, she began the SIUE volleyball program in 1995 and coached for its first four years, guiding it to a record of 83–54 and its first appearance in the NCAA Division II tournament in 1998. After leading the softball Cougars to the regular season title, Montgomery was named the 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year. Montgomery's players earned her 1000th career victory in a 4–2 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders in the "Under Armour Showcase" in Clearwater, Florida on March 10, 2017. She became only the 32nd head coach in all divisions to top the 1,000 win mark.

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The 2016–17 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by second year head coach Jon Harris, played their home games at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 6–24, 1–15 in OVC play to finish in last place in the West Division. They failed to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

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The 2017 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) during the 2017 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cougars, led by twenty-ninth year head coach Sandy Montgomery, play their home games at Cougar Field on the SIUE campus as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team</span> American college softball season

The 2016 SIU Edwardsville Cougars softball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) during the 2016 NCAA Division I softball season. The Cougars, led by twenty-eighth year head coach Sandy Montgomery, played their home games at Cougar Field on the SIUE campus as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017–18 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2017–18 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by third year head coach Jon Harris, played their home games at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 9–21, 5–13 in OVC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. Due to Southeast Missouri State being ineligible for postseason play due to APR violations, the Cougars received the No. 8 seed in the OVC tournament where they lost in the first round to Tennessee Tech.

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The 2024 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's soccer team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2024 NCAA Division I men's soccer season, the school's 58th season. The Cougars are coached by Cale Wassermann. The team plays their home games on Bob Guelker Field at the Ralph Korte Stadium as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). The Cougars are the defending OVC regular season and tournament champions.

References

  1. ↑ "Ohio Valley Conference Style Guide" (PDF). June 20, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  2. ↑ "OVC Member Institutions". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "SIUE Softball Archives". SIUE Cougars. Retrieved July 8, 2013.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. 1 2 "GLVC Softball Archive". Great Lakes Valley Conference. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "OVC Softball Records" (PDF). Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Division II Softball Championship History". NCAA. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  7. ↑ "AlestleLive Sports Blog". The Alestle. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  8. ↑ "1979-80 Winter & Spring Championship Results" (PDF). NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP NEWSLETTER. Washington, DC: ASSOCIATION FOR INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS FOR WOMEN. Summer 1980. p. 17 (p 143 of PDF). Retrieved 2017-02-20.
  9. ↑ "Sandy Montgomery Notches 900th Win In Illustrious 26 Year Career". NCAA. April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Rain ousts EIU; SIUE wins OVC softball title". Journal-Gazette & Times-Courier. May 11, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Cougars rout Murray State for OVC Tourney title". The Telegraph. May 11, 2014. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 17, 2014.
  12. ↑ "COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Montgomery retires after 30 seasons, 1,051 victories as SIUE coach". The Telegraph. July 27, 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "SIUE Announces 2018 Fall Softball Schedule". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  14. ↑ "SIUE Softball Names Sorden as New Head Coach". SIUE. Retrieved 2022-10-28.
  15. ↑ "SIUE Softball All-Americans". SIUE Cougars. Retrieved August 16, 2014.[ permanent dead link ]
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