2004 held at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on May 27-31.
Champion – UCLA Bruins (47-9)
Runner Up – California Golden Bears (53-13)
Bruins Go Back to Back for 10th Series Crown: UCLA’s Claire Sua homered and freshman Kristen Dedmon singled in two runs to lift the Bruins to their second straight Women’s College
World Series championship.
In a rematch of last year’s title game, UCLA downed California, 3-1, on Memorial Day in Oklahoma City, to collect its 10th NCAA crown. The Bruins became the first back-to-back champions since Arizona in 1996-97.
This was the 11th all-Pacific-10 Conference national championship final since 1991, the first year two Pac-10 teams appeared in the title game.
The Bears, who were making their third consecutive appearance in the championship game, opened the scoring in the top of the first inning. Lindsey James drew a walk from Bruins’ hurler Keira
Goerl and advanced to second on a Haley Woods single. Jessica Pamanian plated James on a one-hopper down the third base line that hit the bag and headed into left field to give California an early 1-0 lead.
Bears pitcher Kelly Anderson was perfect through four innings. She retired the first 12 UCLA batters she faced and recorded four strikeouts. Sua, the Bruins’ senior first baseman, swatted
Anderson’s first pitch of the fifth over the left center field fence to knot the game at 1-1. It was just Sua’s second hit of the Series, and only the 10th home run allowed by Anderson this year.
Anderson hit the next batter, Stephanie Ramos, and walked Jodie Legaspi before being relieved by Kristina Thorson. Baserunners Ramos and Legaspi also were exchanged for pinch runners Amanda Simpson and Tara Henry, who were bunted over by Emily Zaplatosch.
Dedmon, pinch hitting for Julie Hoshizaki in her only Series plate appearance, launched a shot up the middle that scored Simpson and Henry to break the tie and seal a 3-1 victory for the defending champs.
“Cal was an incredible opponent. I tip my cap to them,” said UCLA head coach Sue Enquist. “Keira (Goerl) did what she had to do to keep us in the ball game. I’m so extremely proud of this team
because they never stopped believing.”
Goerl, who no-hit California in last year’s championship game, allowed seven hits, struck out four and walked three in a complete-game effort. She closed the season at 31-7 and joins Arizona’s
Susie Parra (1993-94) and fellow Bruin Debbie Doom (1984-85) as the only pitchers to win backto-back championships.
With the losing effort, Anderson becomes the fourth pitcher in Women’s College World Series history to lose multiple title games. Anderson also fell short in last year’s championship matchup.
Diane Ninemire, head coach at California, said she was proud of the way the Bears opened the game.
“I thought that was a key thing for us to get a good start. Unfortunately, we fell behind, but my team kept fighting,” she said. “It was unfortunate that we did not get the key hit with people in scoring position. But I can’t be any prouder of this group of young ladies. They worked extremely hard throughout the year.”
The total attendance for this year’s Women’s College World Series topped out at 41,034 to break the previous mark of 38,102 established in 2001. The Bruins, who closed out the year at 47-9,
and the Bears, who finished at 53-13, played in front 5,735 fans, the second-largest crowd in Series championship-game history.
- Most Outstanding Player – Kristin Schmidt, LSU
- Batting Leader – Natasha Watley, UCLA – .440
- RBI Leader – Jessica Pamanian, California – 4
- Home Run Leader – Caitlin Benyi, UCLA – 2
- ERA Leader – Keira Goerl, UCLA – 0.85
- Strikeout Leader – Kristin Schmidt, LSU – 44
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
P – Kelly Anderson Junior California
P – Keira Goerl Senior UCLA
P – Jessica van der Linden Senior Florida State
1B – Christina Enea Junior Oklahoma
2B – Caitlin Benyi Sophomore UCLA
2B – Jessica Pamanian Junior California
SS – Lauren Lappin Sophomore Stanford
SS – Jodie Legaspi Freshman UCLA
3B – Vicky Galindo Junior California
OF – Lisa Dodd Freshman UCLA
OF – Camille Harris Sophomore LSU
SCORES
- LSU 3 Michigan 2 (13 inn.)
- UCLA 8 Stanford 2
- Oklahoma 6 Washington 2
- California 4 Florida State 2
- UCLA 2 LSU 0
- California 2 Oklahoma 1 (8 inn.)
- Stanford 5 Michigan 4 – Michigan eliminated
- Florida State 2 Washington 0 – Washington eliminated
- Stanford 3 Oklahoma 2 – Oklahoma eliminated
- LSU 2 Florida State 1 – Florida State eliminated
- UCLA 3 Stanford 1 (12 inn.) – Stanford eliminated
- LSU 4 California 1
- California 4 LSU 1 – LSU eliminated
- UCLA 3 California 1 – California eliminated
FINAL STANDINGS
1. UCLA Bruins (4-0)
2. California Golden Bears (3-1)
3. LSU Tigers (3-2)
4. Stanford Cardinal (2-2)
5t. Oklahoma Sooners (1-2)
5t. Florida State Seminoles (1-2)
7t. Washington Huskies (0-2)
7t. Michigan Wolverines (0-2)
2004 UCLA Bruins
REGIONALS
Ann Arbor Regional
- Oregon State 7 Bowling Green 0
- Tennessee 10 Illinois-Chicago 0 (5 inn.)
- Notre Dame 8 DePaul 6
- Michigan 6 Canisius 3
- Illinois-Chicago 2 Bowling Green 1 (8 inn.) – Bowling Green eliminated
- DePaul 8 Canisius 0 (5 inn.) – DePaul eliminated
- Oregon State 4 Tennessee 0
- Michigan 1 Notre Dame 0
- Illinois-Chicago 2 Notre Dame 1 – Notre Dame eliminated
- Tennessee 4 DePaul 0 – DePaul eliminated
- Michigan 3 Oregon State 0
- Illinois-Chicago 6 Tennessee 5 – Tennessee eliminated
- Oregon State 6 Illinois-Chicago 5 – Illinois-Chicago eliminated
- Oregon State 1 Michigan 0
- Michigan 5 Oregon State 2 – Oregon State eliminated
Michigan qualifies for the WCWS, 4-0.
Athens Regional
- Georgia Tech 1 UMass 0
- Georgia 10 Eastern Kentucky 0 (5 inn.)
- Michigan State 5 Texas A&M 1
- Washington 4 Chattanooga 1
- UMass 4 Eastern Kentucky 1 – Eastern Kentucky eliminated
- Texas A&M 6 Chattanooga 0 – Chattanooga eliminated
- Georgia Tech 3 Georgia 2
- Washington 12 Michigan State 8
- Michigan State 13 UMass 2 (6 inn.) UMass eliminated
- Georgia 5 Texas A&M 1 – Texas A&M eliminated
- Washington 2 Georgia Tech 0
- Georgia 9 Michigan State 1 (5 inn.) – Michigan State eliminated
- Georgia 9 Georgia Tech 1 – Georgia Tech eliminated
- Washington 3 Georgia 1 – Georgia eliminated
Washington qualifies for the WCWS, 4-0.
Lincoln Regional
- Creighton 6 Florida Atlantic 2
- Nebraska 6 Lehigh 0
- Mississippi State 2 Iowa 1 (8 inn.)
- California 4 Maine 0
- Florida Atlantic 3 Lehigh 0 – Lehigh eliminated
- Iowa 2 Maine 0 – Maine eliminated
- Nebraska 2 Creighton 0
- California 2 Mississippi State 1
- Florida Atlantic 1 Mississippi State – Mississippi State
- Creighton 8 Iowa 4 (10 inn.) – Iowa eliminated
- California 2 Nebraska 0
- Creighton 1 Florida Atlantic 0 – Florida Atlantic
- Nebraska 3 Creighton 1 – Creighton eliminated
- California 2 Nebraska 0 – Nebraska eliminated
California qualifies for the WCWS, 4-0.
Los Angeles Regional
- Cornell 2 Long Beach State 1
- Alabama 4 Central Michigan 2
- Louisville 1 Missouri 0 (8 inn.)
- UCLA 8 Mississippi Valley State 0 (5 inn.)
- Long Beach State 3 Central Michigan 2 (9 inn.) – Central Michigan eliminated
- Mississippi Valley State 4 Missouri 3 – Missouri eliminated
- Alabama 10 Cornell 0 (5 inn.)
- UCLA 2 Louisville 0
- Long Beach State 3 Louisville 2 – Louisville eliminated
- Mississippi Valley State 6 Cornell 3 – Cornell eliminated
- UCLA 5 Alabama 2 (9 inn.)
- Long Beach State 5 Mississippi Valley State 0 – Mississippi Valley State eliminated
- Alabama 7 Long Beach State 6 – Long Beach State eliminated
- UCLA 7 Alabama 0 – Alabama eliminated
UCLA qualifies for the WCWS, 4-0.
Stanford Regional
- Southern Illinois 2 Fresno State 0
- Hofstra 1 Auburn 0 (9 inn.)
- Pacific 10 Southern Miss 2 (6 inn.)
- Stanford 1 Utah 0
- Fresno State 3 Auburn 1 (10 inn.) – Auburn eliminated
- Southern Miss 13 Utah 5 – Utah eliminated
- Hofstra 1 Southern Illinois 0 (12 inn.)
- Stanford 7 Pacific 2
- Pacific 6 Fresno State 1 – Fresno State eliminated
- Southern Illinois 4 Southern Miss 1 – Southern Miss eliminated
- Stanford 7 Hofstra 1
- Southern Illinois 1 Pacific 0 – Pacific eliminated
- Hofstra 3 Southern Illinois 1 – Southern Illinois eliminated
- Hofstra 1 Stanford 0
- Stanford 3 Hofstra 1 – Hofstra eliminated
Stanford qualifies for the WCWS, 4-1.
Tallahassee Regional
- South Florida 2 Ohio State 0
- Oregon 1 Bethune-Cookman 0
- Cal State Northridge 2 Florida 1
- Florida State 4 LIU Brooklyn 0
- Ohio State 2 Bethune-Cookman 0 (10 inn.) – Bethune-Cookman eliminated
- Florida 4 LIU Brooklyn 0 – LIU Brooklyn eliminated
- Oregon 12 South Florida 0 (5 inn.)
- Florida State 1 Cal State Northridge 0
- Cal State Northridge 4 Ohio State 2 – Ohio State eliminated
- South Florida 8 Florida 1 – Florida eliminated
- Florida State 5 Oregon 4 (12 inn.)
- South Florida 7 Cal State Northridge 3 – eliminated
- Oregon 2 South Florida 1 – South Florida eliminated
- Oregon 1 Florida State 0
- Florida State 2 Oregon 0 – Oregon eliminated
Florida State qualifies for the WCWS, 4-1.
Tucson Regional
- Northwestern 8 UC Santa Barbara 1
- Oklahoma 5 Temple 0
- Louisiana-Lafayette 1 South Carolina 0
- Arizona 2 Centenary 1
- Temple UC Santa Barbara 0 – Santa Barbara eliminated
- South Carolina 8 Centenary 3 – Centenary eliminated
- Oklahoma 8 Northwestern 0 (6 inn.)
- Arizona 4 Louisiana-Lafayette 0
- Louisiana-Lafayette 8 Temple 1 – Temple eliminated
- Oklahoma 3 Arizona 2
- Northwestern 5 South Carolina 3 – South Carolina eliminated
- Louisiana-Lafayette 3 Northwestern 0 – Northwestern eliminated
- Louisiana-Lafayette 5 Arizona 0 – Arizona eliminated
- Louisiana-Lafayette 12 Oklahoma 4
- Oklahoma 15 Louisiana-Lafayette 0 (5 inn.) – Louisiana-Lafayette eliminated
Nebraska qualifies for the WCWS, 4-0.
Waco Regional
- Baylor 1 North Carolina 0 (16 inn.)
- Illinois 3 UTSA 0
- Seton Hall 4 Houston 2
- LSU 4 Texas A&M-Corpus
- North Carolina 4 UTSA 0 – UTSA eliminated
- Houston 1 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0 – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi eliminated
- Baylor 5 Illinois 0
- LSU 3 Seton Hall 0
- Seton Hall 1 North Carolina 0 (12 inn.) – Seton Hall eliminated
- Illinois 3 Houston 2 – Houston eliminated
- LSU 7 Baylor 3 (10 inn.)
- Illinois 2 Seton Hall 0 – Seton Hall eliminated
- Illinois 4 Baylor 0 – Baylor eliminated
- LSU 4 Illinois 1 – Illinois eliminated
LSU qualifies for the WCWS, 4-0.
REGULAR SEASON INFORMATION
- Honda Sports Award – Jessica van der Linden, Florida State (29-8, 0.59 ERA, 387 K, .401 BA, 4 HR, 55 RBI)
- USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year – Jessica van der Linden, Florida State (29-8, 0.59 ERA, 387 K, .401 BA, 4 HR, 55 RBI)
ALL-AMERICAN FIRST TEAM
P – Monica Abbott FR. Tennessee Lady Vols
P – Dana Sorensen SR. Stanford Cardinal
P – Alicia Hollowell SO. Arizona Wildcats
C – Kristen Rivera JR. Washington Huskies
1B – Kim Wendland JR. Georgia Bulldogs
2B – Caitlin Benyi SO. UCLA Bruins
3B – Vicky Galindo JR. California Golden Bears
SS – Christina Clark SO. Fresno State Bulldogs
OF – Nicole Barber SR. Georgia Bulldogs
OF – Iyhia McMichael JR. Mississippi State Bulldogs
OF – Caitlin Lowe FR. Arizona Wildcats
DP – Wendy Allen SR. Arizona Wildcats
UTIL – Jessica van der Linden SR. FSU Seminoles
AL – Gina Carbonatto FR. Pacific Tigers
AL – Autumn Champion SO. Arizona Wildcats
AL – Brooke Mitchell JR. ULL Ragin’ Cajuns
AL – Heather Scaglione JR. Oklahoma State Cowgirls
ALL-AMERICAN SECOND TEAM
P – Keira Goerl SR. UCLA Bruins
P – Casey Hunter JR. FSU Seminoles
P – Kristina Thorson SO. California Golden Bears
C – Jessica Allister SR. Stanford Cardinal
1B – Vanessa Iapala SO. Oregon State Beavers
2B – Veronica Wootson FR. FSU Seminoles
3B – Phelan Wright SR. Arizona State Sun Devils
SS – Jessica Merchant JR. Michigan Wolverines
OF – Kaleo Eldredge JR. California Golden Bears
OF – LaDonia Hughes SR. LSU Tigers
OF – Kristen Zaleski SR. Texas State Bobcats
DP – Holly Groves SR. USF Bulls
UTIL – Jessica Beech SR. Michigan State Spartans
AL – Peaches James SR. Nebraska Cornhuskers
AL – Lauren Lappin SO. Stanford Cardinal
AL – Nicole Motycka JR. Michigan Wolverines
AL – Kristin Schmidt SR. LSU Tigers
ALL-AMERICAN THIRD TEAM
P – Jessica Kapchinski SR. Texas A&M Aggies
P – Kristen Keyes SR. Auburn Tigers
P – Jessica Sallinger JR. Georgia Tech Yellowjackets
C – Sara Dean JR. Auburn Tigers
1B – Saskia Roberson JR. DePaul Blue Demons
2B – Tiffany Haas SO. Michigan Wolverines
3B – Sara Larquier SO. Virginia Cavaliers
SS – Lauren May JR. Cornell Big Red
OF – Christen Bedwell SR. CSUN Matadors
OF – Megan Ciolli JR. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
OF – Leslie Klein FR. LSU Tigers
DP – Amanda Rivera SR. UIC Flames
UTIL – Sarah Martz SR. DePaul Blue Demons
AL – Leigh Ann Ellis SR. USF Bulls
AL – Dominique Lastrapes FR. Washington Huskies
AL – Jackie McClain SR. Alabama Crimson Tide
AL – Megan Meyer JR. Seton Hall Pirates
AL – Chelsea Spencer JR. California Golden Bears
