2003 Women's College World Series
The 2003 Women's College World Series was held from May 22 until May 26, 2003, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This was Oklahoma City's 13th time to host the WCWS since first hosting the tournament in 1990.
Having advanced through a 32-team bracket, eight NCAA Division I college softball teams met at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium to decide the 2003 Softball National Championship:
- Arizona
- Alabama
- California
- Louisiana-Lafayette
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- UCLA
- Washington
Of these eight teams, six* of them had to win their respective regional tournaments on the road in order to advance to Oklahoma City: Alabama, California, Louisiana-Lafayette, Oklahoma, UCLA, and Washington.
The Championship Game featured UCLA and California. This would be their 1st meeting in a Championship game, and California's second consecutive trip to softball's promised land. Unfortunately for California, this trip would end with UCLA claiming their 8th National Title (Not counting their vacated 1995 National Title or any titles won prior to 1982).
UCLA pitcher Keira Goerl was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
*: UCLA played their regional tournament games on the home field of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Participants
| School | Conference | Record | Head Coach | WCWS Appearances† (Including 2003 WCWS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Pac-10 | 56-7 | Mike Candrea | 16 |
| Alabama | SEC | 49-21 | Patrick Murphy | 2 |
| California | Pac-10 | 49-20 | Diane Ninemire | 9 |
| Louisiana-Lafayette | Sun Belt | 47-11 | Michael Lotief | 4 |
| Oklahoma | Big 12 | 47-14 | Patty Gasso | 4 |
| Texas | Big 12 | 47-9 | Connie Clark | 2 |
| UCLA | Pac-10 | 53-7 | Sue Enquist | 20* |
| Washington | Pac-10 | 47-16-1 | Teresa Wilson | 6 |
*: Excludes UCLA's vacated 1995 WCWS participation.
†: Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.
Bracket
2003 Women's College World Series Bracket
| First round | Second round | Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Alabama | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Washington | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Oklahoma | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Washington | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Arizona | 1* | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | California | 2* | 4^ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Alabama | 3* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Oklahoma | 6* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Oklahoma | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | California | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | California | 0* | † | † | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 1* | † | † | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Texas | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Texas | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | California | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | California | 7* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 3* | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Texas | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 3 | 2^ | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Louisiana-Lafayette | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | UCLA | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Washington | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
*: Denotes extra inning or run-ruled games (See Game Results below)
^: Denotes visiting team for that particular game (See Game Results below)
†: The Championship Series wasn't implemented until the 2005 WCWS
Game Results
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/22/2003 | Game 01 | Arizona | 3 - 2 | Alabama | |
| Game 02 | Washington | 3 - 1 | Oklahoma | ||
| Game 03 | Texas | 3 - 2 | Louisiana-Lafayette | ||
| Game 04 | California | 7 - 3 | UCLA | 10 Innings | |
| 5/23/2003 | Game 05 | Arizona | 2 - 1 | Washington | |
| Game 06 | Texas | 1 - 0 | California | ||
| 5/24/2003 | Game 07 | Oklahoma | 6 - 3 | Alabama | 9 Innings Alabama eliminated |
| Game 08 | UCLA | 5 - 1 | Louisiana-Lafayette | Louisiana-Lafayette eliminated | |
| Game 09 | California | 5 - 2 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma eliminated | |
| Game 10 | UCLA | 2 - 1 | Washington | Washington eliminated | |
| 5/25/2003 | Game 11 | California | 2 - 1 | Arizona | 12 Innings. California forces the If Necessary Game (Game 13), and will be designated as the visiting team for that game. |
| Game 12 | UCLA | 3 - 0 | Texas | UCLA forces the If Necessary Game (Game 14), and will be designated as the visiting team for that game. | |
| Game 13 | California | 4 - 1 | Arizona | Arizona eliminated | |
| Game 14 | UCLA | 2 - 1 | Texas | Texas eliminated | |
| 5/26/2003 | Championship Game | UCLA | 1 - 0 | California | 9 Innings UCLA Wins 2003 WCWS |
Championship Game
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins | Toria Auelua (DP) | 2-4 RBI K |
| California Golden Bears | Veronica Nelson (1B) | 3BBs |
| School | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins | Keira Goerl | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 32 |
| California Golden Bears | Kelly Anderson | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 31 | 37 |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team:
| Position | Player | Class | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | Kelly Anderson | Sophomore | California |
| Alicia Hollowell | Freshman | Arizona | |
| Cat Osterman | Sophomore | Texas | |
| 1st Base | Veronica Nelson | Senior | California |
| Shortstop | Lovie Jung | Senior | Arizona |
| Chelsea Spencer | Sophomore | California | |
| Natasha Watley | Senior | UCLA | |
| 3rd Base | Vicky Galindo | Sophomore | California |
| Tairia Mims | Senior | UCLA | |
| Outfield | Tamara Poppe | Junior | Texas |
| Designated Player | Jennifer Stump | Senior | Oklahoma |
| Most Outstanding Player | Keira Goerl | Junior | UCLA |