Many of the game’s greatest pitchers have come through the circle in Oklahoma City. Legends like Lisa Fernandez and Michele Smith played on the dirt at the Women’s College World Series during their careers, but the eight participating teams in the 2008 edition of the WCWS might have fielded the greatest group of pitchers to ever play in the same championship tournament.
PAC-12 mainstays UCLA and Arizona headlined the field that year, and each were led by a true ace in the circle. For the Bruins, it was Anjelica Selden leading the way. Selden set the Bruins’ program record for strikeouts and is second in program history in wins and innings pitched. She was a three-time All-American and earned All-Pac 10 honors during each season of her career.
Senior Taryne Mowatt helmed the Arizona staff. A year removed from one of the greatest individual performances in Women’s College World Series history, Mowatt had been named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2007. Also an All-American selection in ’07, Mowatt set individual marks for wins, strikeouts, and innings pitched, all of which still stand as conference records.
Both Florida and Virginia Tech were making their programs’ inaugural appearances in the World Series, and each team had a legend in the circle, leading the way. For Virginia Tech, that pitcher was Angela Tincher. Tincher’s career strikeouts nearly reached the 1,500 mark and stand in the top ten all-time; a three-time All-American, she was twice named the ACC’s Pitcher of the Year, and added the league’s Player of the Year award, as well, in 2006.
Stacey Nelson led the Gators’ pitching staff. Then a junior and in the third year of her legendary career in the Swamp, Nelson was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year that season, and earned the award again a year later in 2009. A three-time All-American selection, she ended her career in the top ten in nine statistical categories in the all-time record book, with more than a dozen Florida program pitching records to her credit.
Louisiana-Lafayette’s Ashley Brignac was the Sun Belt Conference’s Pitcher of the Year in 2008 and 2011. She was an all-region and all-conference selection in ’08, leading the Cajuns in seven categories. She posted 31 wins on the year and collected three no-hitters and thirteen shutouts on the year. Brignac earned 94 wins during her career, finishing with 862 career strikeouts.
The SEC Player of the Year in 2010 and 2011, Dunne led Alabama to a trio of WCWS appearances and was a 4-time All-American during her career. She was the SEC’s Freshman of the Year in 2008 and ultimately finished her career as the program leader in strikeouts, shutouts, and no-hitters.
Megan Gibson led the Texas A&M Aggies to a runner-up finish in the ’08 series, earned three All-American honors during her career, and was the first player in Big 12 conference history to be named Player and Pitcher of the Year in the same season. Gibson set five program records on offense during her playing career, and finished her career with 88 wins in the circle.
And then there was Katie Burkhart. The legendary southpaw collected 41 wins as a senior in 2008, leading the Sun Devils to the national championship and being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Burkhart set five Sun Devil program records during her tenure in Tempe, including for career wins and strikeouts. With nearly 1,700 strikeouts to her credit, in 2016, Burkhart was the first-ever Sun Devil softballer to have her jersey retired, when her #7 was inducted into the team’s Wall of Honor.
Do you doubt the “greatest group” superlative? Let’s crunch some numbers. The octet of pitching aces, across the entirety of their careers, combined for:
- 10,403 career strikeouts
- 882 career wins
- 19 All-American awards
Include Megan Langenfeld of UCLA; Stephanie Brombacher of Florida; and Amanda Scarborough of Texas A&M and the numbers move to just shy of 12,000 strikeouts and more than 1,100 career victories.
