Softball Welcomes 2000 College World Series Team Saturday
5/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Over the weekend, the Southern Miss softball team will host Florida Atlantic in the final weekend series of the year. On Saturday, the team will welcome the 2000 Women's College World Series team to the Softball Complex as part of the 15-year anniversary. The team will be recognized on Saturday as part of the current Southern Miss softball team's doubleheader with FAU that begins at 1:00 p.m.
Pitcher and National Player of the Year Courtney Blades will be in attendance to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
The 2000 Southern Miss softball team faced a daunting challenge; better, or at least match the unprecedented success of the 1999 team, the school's first after the program was discontinued following the 1992 season.
It would be a tough task, as the 1999 team finished with a school record 52-9 campaign, won an NCAA Regional, advanced to the Women's College World Series and finished the year with a No. 8 national ranking.
With every starter, including First-Team Louisville Slugger All-Americans Blades and Amy Berman returning, expectations were again high, especially with a No. 5 preseason national ranking.
But the season did not get off to the best of starts, as the team dropped its first four games of the year, including losses to the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the nation. But the team rebounded and used a 10-game winning streak to stabilize itself and then used a 16-game winning streak, including wins over No. 7 LSU and No. 4 Oklahoma, on its way to claiming the Ringor / Winthrop Invitational.
Standing with a 35-10 record entering the final stretch of the season, Southern Miss rolled off 24-consecutive wins, as the team allowed only 10 runs during that span, claiming two tournament titles, the Florida State Invitational and inaugural Conference USA regular-season and tournament titles, which was held in Hattiesburg at Oak Grove Optimist Park.
The Golden Eagles won three straight to claim the title, defeating Louisville, USF and then DePaul in the championship game. Blades was named Conference USA Pitcher of the Year and MVP, earning First Team All-Conference USA honors, while Chrystal Stevens and Berman also earned First Team All-League honors. In addition, Kenya Peters and Jen Ford earned Second-Team honors.
The season also saw Blades make NCAA history, as she became the all-time leader in strikeouts, fanning USF's Renee Oursler for her 1,641st strikeout, passing University of California standout Michelle Granger. She was also a three-time National Player of the Week in 2000.
Ending the regular-season with a 59-10 record, the Golden Eagles then made their second-consecutive trip down to Baton Rouge, La., to compete in an NCAA Regional. The team opened with two wins over Oregon and Hofstra, before falling to LSU in a 1-0 decision. But the Golden Eagles rebounded, eliminating Oregon to advance to the championship game, in a rematch against LSU. Blades allowed only three hits, and as Ford was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, the team was headed back to the Women's College World Series. Blades was named MVP of the NCAA Regional.
The team would earn the No. 7 seed in the Women's College World Series, but faced a tough draw in No. 2 seed Arizona in the opening game. Blades was outstanding, as she struck out 11 batters on her way to the fourth perfect game in Women's College World Series history. The team dropped its next game, falling 3-1 to eventual national champion Oklahoma, forcing the team to fight its way out of the losers' bracket. The Golden Eagles took a step in that direction, eliminating Alabama to reach the semifinals, but then fell to national champion runner-up UCLA. Blades and designated player Erin Johnson were named to the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team.
Blades earned the Honda Award for Softball Player of the Year, also earning Louisville Slugger First-Team All-American honors, while Berman earned Third-Team honors. The duo, along with Johnson, also earned First-Team All-South Region honors.
The 2000 team ended the season with a school record 63-13 mark and No. 4 national ranking, surpassing the lofty expectations that followed the 1999 season, proving that the 1999 was no fluke, while staking its claim as one of the top programs in the country.