The 1984 Nebraska Cornhuskers gave Head Coach Wayne Daigle his first of two consecutive trips to the Women's College World Series. The Huskers also captured the second Big Eight Conference championship in school history while finishing with a then-school-record 39 wins, six more than the previous record.
This Nebraska team had arguably the most difficult and dramatic path to Omaha. The Huskers opened the NCAA Midwest Regional with a 1-0, 11-inning victory over Missouri that proved to be a preview of things to come. NU would then prevail twice against Oklahoma State in a pair of epic contests that punched the Huskers' ticket to the WCWS.
In the first meeting, Nebraska broke a 2-2 tie with a single run in the 18th inning to earn a 3-2 victory. In the next matchup, the Huskers again used extra innings to defeat the Cowgirls by one run, this time by a score of 2-1.
At the Women's College World Series, the Huskers opened with a 2-0 shutout of Fresno State, which had eliminated NU from the first-ever WCWS in 1982. Following that victory, Nebraska dropped a 5-2 decision to Texas A&M before bouncing back with a 2-1 victory over Adelphi.
Needing one victory to earn the opportunity to play for the national championship, the Huskers finally ended up on the wrong end of an extra-inning contest, falling to UCLA, 1-0, in eight innings.
The 1984 team produced a third-place finish at the Women's College World Series, the best finish in school history until the Huskers finished as the national runner-up the following season. A key player on both teams was Denise Day, who earned All-America honors in both seasons.
Below is a quick look at the accomplishments of the 1984 squad, along with the team's NCAA Tournament results.
- Finished with a 39-11 overall record
- Won a then-school record 39 games
- Won school's second-ever Big Eight title
- Finished with a then-school record .750 winning percentage
- Produced one second-team All-American
- Produced the first three Academic All-Americans in school history
- Earned school's second WCWS berth
- Finished in a tie for third place, then the best finish in school history
| NCAA Midwest Regional (Lincoln, Neb.) | ||
| Opponent | Result | Score |
| Missouri | Win | 1-0 (11) |
| Oklahoma State | Win | 3-2 (18) |
| Oklahoma State | Win | 2-1 (14) |
| WCWS (Omaha, Neb.) | ||
| Opponent | Result | Score |
| Fresno State | Win | 2-0 |
| Texas A&M | Loss | 2-5 |
| Adelphi |
Win |
2-1 |
| UCLA | Loss | 0-1 (8) |