The 1980's were a golden decade for the Softball program. During the decade the Bulldogs made seven appearances in the postseason and advanced to the College World Series three times (final four teams) and the AIAW final four once.

In 1980, the Bulldogs made the first postseason appearance in program history. Mary Jo Murray, the second coach in program history, was in her second season. After a quick 4-1 start to the regular season the Bulldogs would finish the regular season 11-16. But at the MAIAW State Tournament the team found its stride and won the tournament--downing Central Missouri State twice for the title. 

With that victory, the Bulldogs advanced to the AIAW Region 6 Championship--where they finished fourth. At the Regional Tournament the Bulldogs opened with a loss to Central Missouri State in their third straight matchup. But the Bulldogs bounced back with wins over St. Mary's (Kan.) 6-5 and Wayne State (Neb.) 12-0 before bowing out to Emporia State.  

In 1981, once again the Bulldogs won the MAIAW title and finished first in the AIAW regional tournament. NMSU would finish fourth in the AIAW tournament, the highest level of competition that year. In the semi finals against Cal-State Sacramento, the two teams were deadlocked at zero going into the 13th. But CSSU got a two run triple to bring in the only runs of the game. The Bulldogs finished with a 34-18 overall record.

The first year for NCAA competition was in 1982, and the Bulldogs made the College World Series. In the 13th inning against Nebraska-Omaha, Joni Williams came through with a game winning RBI that scored Renee Waddill to seal a trip to the first ever NCAA CWS. The Bulldogs had the fourth seed heading into the tournament and opened against Sam Houston State University, falling 1-0. Sacred Heart downed the Bulldogs in the second game 6-3. The Bulldogs finished the season with a 24-17 record.

In 1983 the Bulldogs won their first MIAA title but fell short in the regional as they lost to Stephen F. Austin to finish third.

After a one year hiatus from the postseason in 1984, the Bulldogs stormed back in 1985 as they took their second MIAA crown and finished second in the regional--once again falling to Stephen F. Austin.

In 1986 the Bulldogs won their third MIAA crown and their third midwest region title and advanced to the Final Four for the second time. Bloomsberg (Pa.) and Cal-St. Northridge got the better of the Bulldogs 1-0 and 2-1, giving the Bulldogs a fourth place finish.

The Bulldogs got back to the postseason in 1988 the Bulldogs finished third in the MIAA, but earned a regional at large bid and made the most of it with a 2-1 win over Florida Southern to advance to the NCAA Final Four once more. Cal-State Bakersfield and Cal-State Northridge both got the better of the Bulldogs--giving Truman their third fourth place finish at the NCAA's. 

From 1983-86, Trish Kongable made her mark as one of the best pitchers in program history with an ERA of 0.67; which is still a Truman record. Her 49 career wins were a program record when she graduated, which since has been broken. During the 1986 season, her ERA was 0.25, which is the best single season ERA in program history.

She leads a list of players that were named to national teams during the decade:

1981 - Tracy Rowan - OF - AIAW First Team

1982 - Frankie DeMouth - 1B - NCAA First Team

1983 - Renee Harper - C - NCAA Second Team ; Brenda Jefferson - P - NCAA Second Team ; Carol McFee - OF - NCAA First Team

1986 - Kongable - P - NCAA Second Team

1988 - Deb Wino - P - NCAA First Team