SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Sacramento State’s softball national championship team (1981), the Athletics Department will honor members of the squad prior to the first game of this Saturday’s doubleheader (May 6) against Portland State at noon.The softball squad was one of three Sacramento State teams that won national championships in 1981, joining the women’s golf and volleyball programs. The 1981 softball team finished the year with a 37-19 record, including a 7-1 mark at the 16-team national championship tournament.
Under the leadership of then head coach E.J. McConkie, the 1981 season marked the seventh-consecutive year the team had advanced to Regionals, and marked the program’s first AIAW Division II national championship. McConkie, who will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Saturday’s doubleheader, served as the Hornets’ head coach for 12 seasons (1975-86). During that time, she compiled a 300-188 record, leading Sacramento State to eight Regional appearances and the national championship.
The 1981 squad was led by the brilliance of senior pitcher Joanne English, who finished the year with a 27-12 record and was the recipient of the Broderick Award, given to the nation’s top AIAW player. The AIAW was the organization that sponsored intercollegiate women’s athletics prior to the beginning of the NCAA’s sponsorship of women’s athletics for the 1981-82 academic year.
English posted a 7-0 record and a 0.43 ERA at the 1981 national tournament, earning each of Sacramento State’s seven victories. That included pitching three seven-inning games during the final day of the tournament (including back-to-back shutouts of C.W. Post of New York to clinch the championship) after earning a 13-inning victory over Northeast Missouri State the previous evening. That amounted to 34 innings pitched during the final day and a half of competition.
The current Sacramento State team (31-20, 10-6 Pacific Coast Softball Conference) will be playing its final regular-season games this weekend when the team hosts Portland State in a four-game series. Portland State currently sits in first place in the PCSC with a 12-1 record, followed by the second-place Hornets. On Sunday, Sacramento State’s six seniors (Danielle Ackland, Nikki Cinque, Britany Crine, Joanna O’Neill, Gloria Toledo and Lindy Winkler) will be honored prior to the doubleheader for their contributions to the program.
