2014 Nebraska Softball Media Guide | Page 51

huskers rank 10th in world series appearances 1988 2002 » fifth place (tied) » fifth place (tied) The NCAA Tournament field expanded to 20 teams in 1988, but that did not stop the Nebraska Cornhuskers from advancing to the program’s second consecutive Women’s College World Series, and NU’s fifth appearance in the first seven years of the event. The Huskers captured their fifth consecutive Big Eight championship during the regular season and traveled outside of Nebraska for the World Series, which was contested in Sunnyvale, Calif. Nebraska posted a 1-2 showing in Sunnyvale, finishing in a tie for fifth place. Lori Sippel posted an individual best 0.00 ERA to lead Nebraska to a World Series-low 0.30 team ERA. Despite the strong pitching performances, outfielder Margie Ogrodowicz was the Huskers’ lone all-tournament selection. Nebraska advanced to the Women’s College World Series out of a 48-team field for the first time in 2002. The 2002 Cornhuskers are also the only one of NU’s seven World Series teams to advance to the event by winning a regional away from Lincoln. In the regular season, Nebraska posted its third straight 50-win season, finishing with a 50-14 record. The Huskers breezed through the Iowa City Regional, before losing two tough one-run games in Oklahoma City. Seventh-seeded Nebraska fell to No. 2 Arizona in the opener, before defeating sixth-seeded Michigan. The Huskers were then eliminated by No. 8 Florida State. In a pitching dominated event, Nebraska’s .191 average ranked third, while the Huskers‘ 1.40 ERA ranked sixth. NCAA Regional (Lincoln, Neb.) Iowa State W, 5-2 L, 2-3 Creighton Creighton W, 7-2 Creighton W, 4-1 NCAA Regional (Iowa City, Iowa) Illinois-Chicago W, 1-0 W, 3-0 at Iowa Oregon State W, 7-0 Notre Dame W, 5-3 World Series (Sunnyvale, Calif.) L, 0-3 Cal Poly Pomona Adelphi W, 5-1 Fresno State L, 0-1 (9) World Series (Oklahoma City, Okla.) L, 0-1 Arizona Michigan W, 1-0 Florida State L, 3-4 2013 1998 » fifth place (tied) » seventh place (tied) Head Coach Rhonda Revelle, who was a starter on NU’s 1982 inaugural Women’s College World Series team, returned her alma mater to the championship event in 1998, the final season that featured a 32-team field. The Huskers established a school-record .800 winning percentage, finishing with a 48-12 record. NU swept both the regular season and postseason Big 12 titles, finishing a perfect 20-0, including the only undefeated regular season in conference history. Led by three first- or second-team All-Americans, Nebraska tied for fifth place at the World Series in Oklahoma City. A potent Husker offense hit just .086 in the event, but Ali Viola slugged a home run in her final career at bat, marking Nebraska’s second home run in 25 all-time World Series games. The 2013 Huskers, who began the year unranked, made history by becoming Nebraska’s first team to advance to the WCWS out of a 64-team field. Following a successful regular season, NU earned the No. 14 national seed and was selected to host an NCAA Regional. The Huskers swept through the NCAA Lincoln Regional, outscoring their opponents 21-6 to advance to the first NCAA Super Regional in school history. The Huskers then went 2-1 at No. 3 Oregon in Head Coach Rhonda Revelle’s hometown to punch their ticket to Oklahoma City. At the World Series, Nebraska suffered a pair of heartbreaking one-run, extra-inning losses to Washington and Florida. The Huskers’ classic with the Gators went 15 innings after Nebraska rallied from a three-run deficit in the bottom of the seventh. NCAA Regional (Lincoln, Neb.) Coastal Carolina W, 7-0 Iowa W, 1-0 Oregon W, 9-7 NCAA Regional (Lincoln, Neb.) Northern Iowa W, 4-0 Stanford W, 7-1 Stanford W, 10-5 World Series (Oklahoma City, Okla.) Fresno State L, 1-6 Texas W, 2-1 Washington L, 1-3 NCAA Super Regional (Eugene, Ore.) at Oregon W, 5-2 at Oregon L, 3-4 (11) at Oregon W, 4-2 World Series (Oklahoma City, Okla.) Washington L, 3-4 (8) Florida L, 8-9 (15) 49