2008 Women's College World Series
The 2008 Women's College World Series was held May 29 through June 4, 2008 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Eight NCAA Division I college softball teams met after having advanced through a 64-team bracket to play at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The official host for the event was the University of Oklahoma.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record (Conference) | Head Coach | WCWS Appearances† (including 2008 WCWS) |
WCWS Best Finish† | WCWS W-L Record† (excluding 2008 WCWS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | SEC | 56-5 (25-3) | Pat Murphy | 5 (last: 2006) |
5th (2000, 2005) |
2-8 |
| Arizona | Pac-10 | 41-16 (13-8) | Larry Ray (acting coach) | 20 (last: 2007) |
1st (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, 2007) |
57-25 |
| Arizona St. | Pac-10 | 61-5 (18-3) | Clint Myers | 7 (last: 2007) |
3rd (1982, 2002) |
5-12 |
| Florida | SEC | 67-3 (27-1) | Tim Walton | 1 | - | 0-0 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | 51-12 (19-3) | Michael Lotief Stefni Lotief |
5 (last: 2003) |
3rd (1993) |
5-8 |
| Texas A&M | Big 12 | 54-7 (17-1) | Jo Evans | 7 (last: 2007) |
1st (1983, 1987) |
18-10 |
| Virginia Tech | ACC | 49-17 (16-5) | Scot Thomas | 1 | - | 0-0 |
| UCLA | Pac-10 | 48-6 (17-4) | Kelly Inouye-Perez | 24 (last: 2006) |
1st (1982, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2003, 2004) |
88-27 |
† Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.
Tournament Notes
- Florida and Virginia Tech were the first teams in their respective school histories to reach the WCWS in the NCAA era.
Bracket
2008 Women's College World Series bracket
Game Results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2008 | Game 1 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 3-2 | Florida | In 8th inn., ULL pitcher Ashley Brignac threw 21 straight pitches whilst having 3 balls, 2 strikes before batter got out.[1][2] |
| Game 2 | Texas A&M | 1-0 | Virginia Tech | A throwing error allowed Texas A&M to score an unearned run in the 6th inning.[3][4] | |
| Game 3 | Arizona State | 3-1 | Alabama | ASU erased a 0-1 deficit and scored 3 runs in the 7th inning.[5][6] | |
| Game 4 | UCLA | 1-0 | Arizona | Two errors in the first inning helped UCLA score their only run.[7][8] | |
| May 30, 2008 | Game 5 | Texas A&M | 2-1 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Louisiana-Lafayette tied the game in the bottom of the 6th inning; Texas A&M scored the winning run in the top of the 7th inning.[9][10] |
| Game 6 | Arizona State | 4-0 | UCLA | Arizona State scored 2 runs in both 3rd and 5th innings; UCLA had 4 hits and Arizona State had 3 hits.[11][12] | |
| May 31, 2008 | Game 7 | Florida | 2-0 | Virginia Tech | VT eliminated in 9 innings; UF scored 2 runs in top of the 9th, VT pitcher Angela Tincher missed tying WCWS record for SO in extra-inning game by 1.[13][14] |
| Game 8 | Alabama | 5-1 | Arizona | Alabama scored 4 runs in the 6th inning to knock out 2-time defending champion Arizona.[15][16] | |
| Game 9 | Florida | 2-0 | UCLA | Florida scored on a pitching error and an RBI single in the first and sixth inning, respectively, to eliminate UCLA. UCLA's class became the first in school history to not win a WCWS title.[17] | |
| Game 10 | Alabama | 3-1 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Louisiana-Lafayette eliminated; Alabama scored the winning runs in the 5th inning.[18] | |
| June 1, 2008 | Game 11 | Florida | 6-1 | Texas A&M | Florida used 3 unearned runs in the 4th inning aided by a catcher's error to break a 1-1 tie and a 2-run HR extended the lead in the 7th inning.[19] |
| Game 12 | Arizona State | 3-1 | Alabama | ASU scored on a three-run home run. ASU advances to the National Championship series, and Alabama is eliminated.[20][21] | |
| Game 13 | Texas A&M | 1-0 | Florida | Texas A&M advances to the National Championship series. Macie Morrow scored on Kelsey Spittler's triple in the top of the 9th inning.[22][23] | |
| June 2, 2008 | Finals Game 1 | Arizona State | 3-0 | Texas A&M | Arizona State had a run in the 1st, 3rd, and 5th innings. Krista Donnenwirth hit a home run.[24][25] |
| June 3, 2008 | Finals Game 2 | Arizona State | 11-0 | Texas A&M | Arizona State scored 7 runs in the 7th inning to make the game an 11 run game, blanking the Aggies and taking home the national championship trophy.[26] |
Championship Game
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona St. | Kaitlin Cochran (CF) | 1-2 3RBIs HR 2BBs SB |
| Texas A&M | Megan Gibson (P) | 1-2 2B BB SB |
| School | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona St. | Katie Burkhart | 7.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 25 | 26 |
| Texas A&M | Megan Gibson | 7.0 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 3 | 5 | 31 | 35 |
Final standings
| Place | School | WCWS Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Arizona State | 5-0 |
| 2nd | Texas A&M | 3-3 |
| 3rd | Florida | 3-2 |
| Alabama | 2-2 | |
| 5th | UCLA | 1-2 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | 1-2 | |
| 7th | Arizona | 0-2 |
| Virginia Tech | 0-2 |
All Tournament Team
The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team:[27]
- Francesca Enea, Florida
- Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
- Stacey Nelson, Florida
- Holly Tankersley, La.-Lafayette
- Angela Tincher, Virginia Tech
- Megan Gibson, Texas A&M
- Jami Lobpries, Texas A&M
- Kaitlin Cochran, Arizona State
- Krista Donnenwirth, Arizona State
- Lesley Rogers, Arizona State
- Jackie Vasquez, Arizona State
- Katie Burkhart, Arizona State (Most Outstanding Player)
WCWS records tied or broken
- 6,240 Session 1 (Games 1 and 2) total attendance — WCWS record[28]
- 8,230 Session 3 (Games 5 and 6) total attendance — WCWS record[29]
- In Game 11, Florida left fielder Francesca Enea hit two home runs to allow her team to defeat Texas A&M 6–1. She tied the WCWS record for the most home runs in a game in the NCAA era that was set by UCLA's Yvonne Gutierrez in 1992 and tied by Arizona's Lindsey Collins in 1999 and UCLA's Andrea Harrison in 2010.[30]
- Arizona State's 11-0 victory over Texas A&M was the largest margin of victory in a NCAA championship clinching game.[31]
WCWS Leaders
Team
Individual
Post-Series Notes
- At the conclusion of their run in the series, Florida compiled a 70–5 overall record, becoming the first NCAA team to record 70 wins.[32]
- The 2008 WCWS marked the first time that Arizona did not return to the championship game/series while defending one of their eight national championships.
The Tournament
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See also
2008 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament
References
- ^ "Ragin' Cajuns stun top-seeded Florida 3-2".
- ^ "Gators upset on eighth-inning homer".
- ^ "Slip-up sinks Hokies".
- ^ "Errant throw allows Texas A&M to edge Hokies".
- ^ "Women's College World Series: Late Arizona State rally bedevils Tide".
- ^ "ASU softball rallies to win opener".
- ^ "Softball: Unusual call goes against Cats".
- ^ "UCLA beats defending champion Arizona, 1-0".
- ^ "Aggies take advantage of error again".
- ^ "Cajuns stalled: UL drops game to Texas A&M".
- ^ "Bruins' strategy backfires vs. Devils".
- ^ "UCLA strategy thwarted".
- ^ "Virginia Tech can't capitalize on error, loses to Florida in CWS".
- ^ "Tincher ends career without title, but with lasting legacy".
- ^ "Alabama Softball Defeats Arizona, 5-1".
- ^ "'Bama bounces Arizona Wildcats from softball tournament".
- ^ "Arizona, UCLA out of Women's College World Series".
- ^ "WOMEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES: Alabama advances to semifinals".
- ^ "WCWS: Florida Forces If-Game, Defeats Texas A&M 6-1".
- ^ "Tide run ends with 3-1 loss to Arizona State".
- ^ "ASU softball advances to World Series final".
- ^ "Women's College World Series Blog: Game 5 vs. Texas A&M".
- ^ "Once unheralded recruit, Lobpries comes up big for Texas A&M".
- ^ "Texas A&M falls to Arizona State 3-0 in softball World Series opener".
- ^ "Freshman delivers in ASU victory".
- ^ "Arizona State wins NCAA softball title in rout".[dead link]
- ^ "Tincher named to WCWS All-Tournament Team".
- ^ "UA softball team loses in 1st round of WCWS after delay".
- ^ "WCWS Notebook: Getting 'Pearl'sonal".
- ^ "Women's College World Series Notebook". 2008-06-02.
- ^ Sun Devils - NCAA champs!
- ^ Gators' NCAA run ends