Hall of Fame
The 1984 Buena Vista Softball Team is the university’s first-ever ‘team’ to be enshrined into the Hall of Fame, and it will go in alongside its pitching coach, the late Rusty Mohler. The team remains the only team sport to capture a national title when it did so it 1984. It finished the year with a 29-8-1 overall record, including a perfect 12-0 mark in conference play, giving the team its second straight IIAC championship. In those 12 league games, the Beavers allowed a total of only 15 runs and posted seven shutouts. They went through the national regionals and World Series with only one loss and captured the NCAA crown with a pair of victories over Trenton State by scores of 2-0 and 3-1. Pitcher Chanel Finzen was the IIAC Most Valuable Player that season and also a Second Team All-American. Jeannie Demers and Libby Kestal were each First Team All-American selections. The Beavers had nine All-IIAC selections (eight First Team) and head coach, Marge Willadsen, was named both the IIAC and the DIII National Coach of the Year.
Willadsen’s long-time pitching coach, Rusty Mohler, will also be inducted posthumously in conjunction with this elite softball team. Mohler was the team’s pitching coach for 26 years and was part of over 500 victories. During his long tenure, Mohler coached three pitchers who went on to be named IIAC MVP’s and earn All-American honors. Two of those hurlers were All-Americans multiple years. He conducted several pitching clinics on campus and worked with numerous area youth and high school pitchers over the years until his death in March of 2007.
