The 1980 Women's College World Series (WCWS) was held in Norman, Oklahoma on May 22–25, the first time it was played at a location other than Omaha, Nebraska, where it had been held for its first 11 years. Sixteen fastpitch softball teams emerged from regional tournaments to meet in the AIAW national collegiate softball championship.
Teams The 1980 season was the first time that AIAW softball competition was split into three divisions (I, II and III) with each conducting its own championship tournament. The Division I double-elimination tournament included these teams:
Cal Poly–Pomona Cal State–Fullerton California Creighton Indiana Massachusetts New Mexico Oklahoma Oklahoma State Oregon South Carolina Southwest Missouri State Texas A&M Utah State Western Illinois Western Michigan
The Utah State Aggies, behind the pitching of Mary Lou Ramm, won its first national championship, emerging from the losers' bracket to defeat Indiana with 1–0 and 2–1 wins in the final. Ramm was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. Utah State's only loss had been to Indiana in the fourth round, forcing the Aggies to defeat top-seeded Texas A&M in order to again face the Hoosiers in the final.
Bracket
Source:
Ranking Place School WCWS Record 1st Utah State6–1 2nd Indiana4–2 3rd Texas A&M5–2 4th Western Michigan4–25th Oklahoma State2–2 Western Illinois2–27th Oregon2–2 Cal Poly–Pomona2–29th Cal State–Fullerton1–2 California1–2 Creighton1–2 Southwest Missouri State1–213th South Carolina0–2 New Mexico0–2 Massachusetts0–2 Oklahoma0–2
See also
References