Athletic Hall of Fame
1984 Softball Team
The Cougars’ 1984 softball team under head coach Conrad Aumann was CUC’s first women’s team to qualify for an NCAA III regional in the post-Title IX era.
The Cougars started the season with a 3-4 mark before embarking on a 14-game winning streak, including outscoring the opposition 125-12 in that span and winning nine times by shutout. Three of the shutout wins came consecutively against Carthage, Elmhurst and North Central, enabling the Cougars to win the Chicago Metro Conference tournament. Concordia also won the Northern Illinois Intercollegiate Conference title with a 10-2 record. However, the dream season ended with regional losses to Wisconsin-Whitewater and Illinois Benedictine, putting the Cougars’ final record at 17-6.
The pitching staff compiled a 1.12 ERA for the 23 games, led by Kathy Van Ooteghem’s 15-4 record and 0.59 earned-run average over 120 innings. Offensively, the Cougars were led by Van Ooteghem’s .435 batting average, 37 hits and 26 runs scored, and outfielder Beth Schumacher’s .403 with 29 hits. Pitcher/outfielder Leslie Yancy batted .368 and led the Cougars with 27 runs batted in. First baseman Kris Schroeder (.391), second baseman Jill Shimek (.375), shortstop Lynn Korff (.375) and outfielder Candy Trusheim (.371) also added pop to the Cougars’ lineup as they finished the season with a composite batting average of .362.
