20 Years Later
5/29/2020
It was one of those World Series that changed the game forever... They brought such an energy and such an electricity to Hall of Fame Stadium. That became the expectation and that became the norm moving forward was we were going to have packed houses and it was going to be raucous. That team really set the tone for what the game has grown and become."Beth Mowins, WCWS play-by-play voice
Undaunted
"I had a team that was absolutely fearless, and that's what was fun about it. They had zero panic in them. They were afraid of no one."Head coach Patty Gasso
From brash freshman shortstop Kelli Braitsch to stoic senior pitcher Jennifer Stewart, to one of the great individual performances in WCWS history from Lisa Carey and on down the line, the 2000 Sooners let nothing stand in their way… not even a pair of perennial powerhouses.
The Pac-10 had dominated the world of college softball, led by juggernauts UCLA and Arizona. From 1982 to 1999, the two took home the national title a combined 14 times, including a streak of 10 consecutive from 1988 to 1997. Both were back in Oklahoma City and were once again odds-on favorites.
And along comes Oklahoma blowing into town like a cool breeze and seemingly bringing half the state with them.Beth Mowins
After wins over Cal and Southern Miss in the first two games, who stood in OU's way but the Wildcats and Bruins. First, the Sooners put on a clinic, shutting down Arizona's nation-leading offense in a statement 1-0 victory. The next day, in front of a then-record crowd of 8,049 at Hall of Fame Stadium, the Sooners defeated UCLA, 3-1.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
Oklahoma became just the second non-west coast team to win a softball national championship. The title was OU's first in any women's sport, and the team's 66 wins still stand as the most in a single season in program history.
See More
The improbable story of OU's rise to softball's pinnacle.
From Hall of Fame Stadium to the White House.
One of the nation's elite programs.
The Future
A new softball facility has been approved with a proposed location at the high-visibility intersection of Jenkins and Imhoff. The new facility would double the current stadium's capacity and upgrade all team facilities to provide OU's student-athletes with a world-class experience.
It’s time. It’s needed. We’re selling things out way in advance, which is great, but how far could we go with this? How big could this sport grow? How many people would come out? I’m anxious to see that.Patty Gasso
