The 1988 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the seventh annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1988, twenty Division I college softball teams contested the championship, an expansion of four teams from the previous year. The tournament featured eight regionals of either two or three teams. The regions of two teams consisted of a simple best-of-three series whereas the regions of three teams consisted of a double elimination tournament of four or five games. The 1988 Women's College World Series was held in Sunnyvale, California from May 25 through May 29 and marked the conclusion of the 1988 NCAA Division I softball season. UCLA won the championship by defeating Fresno State 3–0 in the final game.
The 1988 event was the first WCWS played in Sunnyvale.
Qualifying
Regionals
At-large Regional TeamG1G2G3–Fresno State035–California3802
Fresno State qualifies for WCWS, 2–1
Central Regional
First elimination round Creighton 3, Iowa State 2 Nebraska 5, Iowa State 2 Creighton 3, Nebraska 2
Second elimination round TeamG1G2–Nebraska74–Creighton21
Nebraska qualifies for WCWS, 3–1
Mideast Regional
First elimination round South Carolina 1, Minnesota 0 Arizona 5, Minnesota 0 South Carolina 1, Arizona 0
Second elimination round TeamG1G2–Arizona14–South Carolina03
Arizona qualifies for WCWS, 3–1
Midwest Regional
First elimination round Northern Illinois 4, Bowling Green 3 Illinois State 2, Bowling Green 1 (10 innings) Illinois State 1, Northern Illinois 0
Second elimination round TeamG1G2–Northern Illinois32–Illinois State10
Northern Illinois qualifies for WCWS, 3–1
Northeast Regional TeamG1G2G3–Adelphi60110–Oklahoma State250
Adelphi qualifies for WCWS, 2–1
Northwest Regional TeamG1G2G3–UCLA32—–Cal State Fullerton00—
UCLA qualifies for WCWS, 2–0
South Regional
First elimination round Texas A&M 1, Florida State 0 Louisiana Tech 6, Florida State 1 Texas A&M 2, Louisiana Tech 0
Second elimination round TeamG1G2–Texas A&M01 8–Louisiana Tech40
Texas A&M qualifies for WCWS, 3–1
West Regional TeamG1G2G3–Cal Poly Pomona22—–Long Beach State01—
Cal Poly Pomona qualifies for WCWS, 2–0
Women's College World Series
Participants
Arizona
Fresno State
UCLA
Game results
Bracket
Game log Date Game Winning team Score Losing team Notes May 20 Game 1 UCLA 1–0 Game 2 Fresno State 3–0 May 21 Game 3 Arizona 1–0 Game 4 3–0 May 22 Game 5 3–0 Northern Illinois eliminated Game 6 5–1 Adelphi eliminated Game 7 UCLA 6–1 Fresno State Game 8 Arizona 4–1 May 23 Game 9 Fresno State 1–09 Nebraska eliminated Game 10 1–0 Texas A&M eliminated Game 11 UCLA 5–0 Arizona Game 12 Fresno State 4–0 Arizona Arizona eliminated Game 13 UCLA 4–1 Cal Poly Pomona eliminated May 24 Game 14 Fresno State 2–1 UCLA Game 15 UCLA 3–0 Fresno State UCLA wins WCWS
Championship Game
School Top Batter Stats. UCLA Bruins Janice Parks (3B) 2-2 2RBIs 2B BB Fresno State Bulldogs RaeAnn Pifferini (LF) 2-4
School Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO AB BF UCLA Bruins Lisa Longaker (W) 7.0 6 0 0 3 3 27 30 Fresno State Bulldogs Carie Dever (L) 7.0 9 3 2 1 3 24 29
All-Tournament Team The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team Pos Name School P Carie Dever Fresno St. Lisa Longaker UCLA C Stacy Sunny UCLA 1B Kerry Dienelt UCLA 2B Missy Phillips UCLA 3B Julie Standering Arizona SS Heidi Lievens Arizona OF Shanna Flynn UCLA Margie Ogrodowicz Nebraska RaeAnn Pifferini Fresno State AL Gena Strang Fresno State Karin Richter Fresno State
See also 1988 NCAA Division II softball tournament 1988 NCAA Division III softball tournament 1988 NAIA softball tournament 1988 NCAA Division I baseball tournament
References