The 1982

AIAW The Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) was founded in 1971 to govern collegiate women's athletics in the United States and to administer national championships (see AIAW Champions). It evolved out of the Commission on Interc ...

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

was held from May 20 through May 25 in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, b ...

. The final two games were postponed by rain for two days. Twelve Division I college softball teams met in what was to become the last AIAW softball tournament of that organization's history. After playing their way through the regular season and regional tournaments (and for Oklahoma State, a conference tournament), the 12 advancing teams met for the AIAW Division I college softball championship. Days later, Oklahoma State went on to participate also in the NCAA WCWS tournament in Omaha. In 1982, the Division I softball tournaments of both the AIAW and the NCAA were called "Women's College World Series." That moniker has been used for the annual topmost-level collegiate women's softball tournaments since the first one in 1969. Historian Bill Plummer III wrote, "With their 77-8 season record, Texas A&M could have been a contender in Omaha − maybe even the top seed − against perennial softball powers like UCLA and Fresno State. The Aggies had been invited to the NCAA's first national tournament, but chose not to go. A&M coach Bob Brock had high respect for the eleven-year-old AIAW, even as the NCAA began to overshadow it. Out of a sense of loyalty to the AIAW, Brock said, his school chose the 1982 Norman championship over the NCAA's first in Omaha."

Teams

The

double-elimination tournament A double-elimination tournament is a type of elimination tournament competition in which a participant ceases to be eligible to win the tournament's championship upon having lost ''two'' games or matches. It stands in contrast to a single-elimina ...

included these teams: * California * Central Michigan * Michigan * Ohio State * Oklahoma * Oklahoma State * Univ. of Rhode Island * Southwest Missouri State * Texas A&M * U.S. International Univ. * Utah * Western Illinois Texas A&M, Utah, Michigan and California were the top four seeds. Top-seeded Texas A&M lost its opener in an 8-inning

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

by USIU pitcher Jenny Stallard. But the Aggies battled back through the losers' bracket to claim the title by defeating Oklahoma State, who was unbeaten in the tournament to that point, twice in the championship final. In the deciding "if-necessary" game, the Aggies went to bat in the last regulation inning trailing the Cowgirls by one run. A double and an outfield error scored the tying run for A&M, who went on to score twice in the extra inning for the 5-3 victory. Texas A&M compiled a record of 7-1 in the tournament to become the first Texas A&M women's varsity team to win a national championship.

Bracket

:* perfect game

Ranking

References

{{AIAW Women's College World Series 1982 AIAW Division I softball season Women's College World Series

Women's sports in Oklahoma

Teams

Bracket

Ranking

See also

References