1983 Streator Softball Team Accomplishments ● Won 1983 IHSA State Title
under the leadership of coach A.T. Mogill ● Remains the only state title in school history, one of only two girls team state championships in area history ● Finished the season 30-2; topped two-time defending state champion Quincy Notre Dame 2-1 in state semifinals and beat Rich Central 6-2 in the state title game
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By Andy Tavegia
I
t’s hard to imagine a team with 10 returning letterwinners that won a regional title the year before fooling anyone. But in the case of the 1983 Streator softball team, that’s exactly what happened in a way. They fooled one important group of girls – themselves. When that legendary season began, they will tell you there were no huge expectations. No pressure created with talks of conference, regional, sectional or even a state title. There was one expectation – have fun. And that naiveite may have been the biggest reason as to why this particular group of friends surprised everyone – even themselves – by going 30-2 and winning it all. “Honestly, I think it’s because we didn’t know any better,” said Zami (Mogill) Hay, the star junior pitcher on that squad. “We had no pressure, no monkey on our back. We didn’t know anything about state tournaments or championships or any of that stuff. We were just a bunch of friends playing ball. It was super organic.” It isn’t as if these Lady Bulldogs were blind. They knew they would be good. After all, they had all the parts of something fun. You had the star pitcher in Mogill, someone who individually was inducted into the NewsTribune’s Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame last year and later broke several records as a star at Eastern Illinois University.
WHERE are they NOW
26 June 2022 | Illinois Valley Sports Hall of Fame | A NewsTribune Publication
