1987 Women's College World Series Team

Two years after an NCAA runner-up finish at the 1985 Women's College World Series, Nebraska made the first of two straight WCWS appearances in 1987. Led by arguably the most dominating pitching staff in school history, the Huskers set a school-record with 41 wins and posted the best winning percentage in school history at .788 (the mark was later bested by the 1998 WCWS team).

The 1987 Huskers steamrolled the Big Eight Conference to win their fourth consecutive league title. NU swept a pair of games from Utah (6-0 and 3-0 in nine innings) at the NCAA Midwest Regional to earn the trip to the Women's College World Series. In the series opener, NU increased its record to a perfect 4-0 in the first game of the WCWS with a 1-0 win over Fresno State.

Nebraska then fell to UCLA for the third time in series history, 3-0, but quickly responded with a 2-0 shutout of Central Michigan. Needing one win to advance to the championship, the Huskers would have to settle for third place as Texas A&M handed NU its final loss of the season, 4-0.

The 1987 team featured a pair of second-team All-Americans in Lori Richins and Lori Sippel. Sippel anchored the pitching staff that posted a school record 0.56 ERA. The Huskers also won 17 consecutive games from April 11 to May 20, tying the 1984 WCWS squad for the longest winning streak in school history, a mark that stood until the 2001 season.

Below is a quick look at the accomplishments of the 1987 squad, along with the team's NCAA Tournament results.

  • Finished with a 41-11 overall record
  • First team to win 40 games in a season in NU history
  • Won school's fourth consecutive Big Eight title
  • Finished with a then-school record .792 winning percentage
  • Produced two All-Americans
  • Produced four Academic All-Americans
  • Won a then-school record 17 consecutive games
  • Posted the lowest team ERA in school history (0.56)
  • Earned school's fourth WCWS berth
  • Finished in a tie for third
NCAA Midwest Regional (Lincoln, Neb.)    
Opponent Result Score
Utah Win 6-0
Utah Win 3-2 (9)

 

WCWS (Omaha, Neb.)    
Opponent Result Score
Fresno State Win 1-0
UCLA Loss 0-3
Central Michigan Win 2-0
Texas A&M Loss 0-4