nebraska’s women’s college world series teams
1982
1985
» fifth place (tied)
» participation vacated by the ncaa committee on infractions
The 1982 season marked softball’s first year as an NCAA sport and the inaugural Women’s
College World Series was held at Seymour Smith Field in Omaha. A field of 16 teams competed
in regional play, with the eight winners advancing to the World Series. Head Coach Nancy
Plantz made sure the hometown Huskers would be a part of the inaugural event, as she
guided her team to a 33-14 record and Nebraska’s first-ever Big Eight championship. After
taking 2-of-3 games from Missouri in the Mideast Regional, NU finished 1-2 in Omaha to
tie for fifth place.
In 1985, Nebraska advanced to the Women’s College World Series title game before
finishing runner-up to UCLA. The Huskers breezed to the title game behind the arm of Lori
Sippel, as Nebraska outscored its first three opponents 13-1. In the championship game,
3,180 fans watched as Janet Pinneau recorded a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the
ninth inning to give UCLA the title. In the World Series opener, Sippel tossed the fourth
no-hitter in World Series history against Louisiana Tech. Despite her no-hitter, Sippel did not
earn a spot on the all-tournament team, but the Huskers had four players who did, including
Ginger Cannon who had a tournament-best five RBIs. In the regular season, Nebraska
finished 38-11 and won its second straight Big Eight championship. NU’s appearance in
the 1985 postseason was later vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
NCAA Midwest Regional (Lincoln, Neb.)
Missouri
W, 1-0 (11)
L, 0-1
Missouri
Missouri
W, 4-1
World Series (Omaha, Neb.)
Creighton
W, 3-2
L, 0-2
Arizona State
Fresno State
L, 0-1
NCAA Midwest Regional (Lincoln, Neb.)
L, 1-4
Kansas
Kansas
W, 6-1
W, 2-0
Kansas
World Series (Omaha, Neb.)
Louisiana Tech
W, 6-0
W, 2-0
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal State Fullerton
W, 5-1
UCLA
L, 0-3
L, 1-2 (9)
UCLA
1987
1984
» third place (tied)
» third place (tied)
After missing the 1983 event, the Huskers finished in a third-place tie at the 1984 Women’s
College World Series. Wayne Daigle guided Nebraska to a 39-13 record and a Big Eight
championship, setting a school record for victories that would stand until 1987. The Huskers’
path to Omaha was not easy, as NU needed 18 and 14 innings to post one-run victories over
conference foe Oklahoma State in the Mideast Regional. At the World Series, NU posted
a 2-2 record. The Husker offense posted a World Series-high .248 average, but Nebraska’s
1.22 ERA was nearly one run higher than the ERA of any of the other seven teams. Denice
Feldhaus, Ann Schroeder and Peg Richardson were named to the all-tournament team as
Richardson (.500) and Schroeder (.455) were the top two hitters at the World Series.
In the event’s final appearance in Omaha, Ron Wolforth led his first Husker team to the
Women’s College World Series in 1987. Led by sec ۙ ]X[H[ P[Y\