Top 50 Cal Sports Moments — No. 38: Extra Motivation, 2002

As the Pac-12 Conference era comes to a close after more than a century, we count down the Top 50 moments involving Cal athletics.

THE MOMENT: No one knew it at the time, but when junior right-hander Jocelyn Forest stepped into the circle in the first inning of Cal’s second game of the 2002 Women’s College World Series the whole thing was over. She pitched three consecutive complete-game shutouts, as the Bears beat Florida State 1-0, Arizona State 3-0 and Arizona 6-0 to capture their first WCWS title, and Cal’s first NCAA women’s team title in any sport.

THE STORY: How good was Pac-10 softball in 2002? Well, the eventual national champion Bears finished fourth in the conference. But once they got to the NCAA tournament, Forest found another level and no opponent had an answer for Cal.

Forest dedicated her postseason to her sister, 26-year-old , who was killed in a domestic dispute on April 14. And she acknowledged feeling added urgency to deliver, perhaps mostly on behalf of her parents.

“In a way, there was more pressure on me because I wanted to make them proud,” said Forest after mystifying Arizona in the title game with her second straight one-hitter in the WCWS. “My parents have sacrificed so much for me over the years.”

But Diane Ninemire, at the apex of an impressive 29-year run as Cal’s head coach, said her ace was never rattled. “She didn’t let any of it affect her at all,” Ninemire said. “The whole situation inspired her.”

Forest was terrific all season, compiling a 29-12 record with a 1.11 earned run average and 379 strikeouts in 283.2 innings to land a spot on the All-America second team. 

She took it up a notch in the NCAAs, pitching every inning in eight straight victories, including five shutouts. Her ERA in four World Series games was 0.50, earning her the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player award.

Forest had beaten Arizona in Berkeley a month earlier, returning to action after taking a week off to mourn her sister’s death. Without even a practice under her belt, she fired a one-hitter at the Wildcats — the same as she would do to claim the NCAA crown on May 27.

The title game was scoreless until the seventh inning, when the Bears suddenly lit up Wildcats ace and future Olympic star Jennie Finch, scoring six times, including a three-run double by Jessica Pamanian that broke things open.

“Just being here wasn’t good enough for us,” said Forest after the title-game victory the gave the Bears a final record of 56-19. ”People underestimate us all the time . . . The only people that have ever believed in us is ourselves, and we came out here and did the job.’’

* Top 50 Moment No. 39: BCS B.S.

* Top 50 Moment No. 40:  Western Glory

Only specific acts that occurred while the team or athlete was at Cal were considered for the Top 50 list, and accomplishments spanning a season or a career were not included. 

Leslie Mitchell of the Cal Bears History Twitter site aided in the selection of the top 50 moments.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo