Chelsea Spencer waited for her turn to bat while Arizona made a pitching change in the seventh inning of the 2002 national championship game at the Women's College World Series. Leading, 5-0, California found itself on the verge of winning an NCAA title. As the Golden Bear's future head coach approached the plate, somebody caught her attention.
 
Her teammate, Mikella Pedretti, held up one hand from the dugout while pointing at her ring finger, mouthing, "We get rings!"
 
Spencer stepped into the batter's box with a smile on her face thanks to the unexpected surprise. Cal's then-freshman shortstop smacked an RBI double – plating the Bears' sixth and final run of the inning – and putting the cherry on top of the 6-0 historic victory.
 
Not only the first national championship in program history, the Bears flew home with the first women's team NCAA championship in school history.
 
"We didn't realize we were the first at that time, but we felt like we represented the university well," Spencer said. "I felt like our team and our class competed so hard for our school. I'm so proud to be a part of the bigger picture of what Cal softball is."
 
Spencer was one of nine freshmen and 10 newcomers on a team that made its fourth consecutive trip to the WCWS.
 
Candace Harper, Cal's senior third baseman and team captain, expected nothing less than a fourth-straight trip to Oklahoma City at the beginning of the 2002 campaign. She and fellow senior team captain and ace pitcher Jocelyn Forrest set the tone at the start of the season.
 
"That team was just full of grit," Harper said. "We never gave up. It still doesn't seem real to me 18 years later. There's something about being a Cal Bear. There's this heart, this passion and we had this chip on our shoulder but we didn't know how it got there. Everything fell into place at the right time."
 
After starting 4-4, the Bears rattled off an 11-game winning streak before finishing the campaign with a record of 56-19, which, at the time, were the most wins in program history.
 
The youthful Bears showed what they were capable of when tragedy struck Forrest. Cal's leader left the team temporarily during the regular season when her sister was tragically killed by her husband. With heavy hearts, Cal hosted defending national champion and top-ranked Arizona at Levine-Fricke Field. Two days after her sister's funeral, Forrest returned, struck out 15 Wildcats and one-hit Arizona, 2-1.
 
Diane Ninemire, the winningest coach in school history and a member of the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame, recalls that weekend as the turning point when she felt her Bears were capable of accomplishing something special.
 
Feeling confident heading into the postseason, the Bears watched the NCAA selection show together. However, the excited student-athletes were soon looking at another road block in their path to a title.
 
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against the United States occurred the previous fall, there were travel restrictions nationwide. As a result, for many NCAA Championships that year, local teams were often grouped together. The Bears found themselves in a very challenging regional against fellow ranked foes – Stanford, Fresno State, Pacific and Cal State Fullerton.
 
An unfortunate circumstance had no chance in diminishing this team's morale, though.
 
"It was a World Series within itself," Spencer said. "We decided then that we were going to win it. We were mad. We were a good team and got sent to that stacked regional, but it set us up for success in the next round."
 
The determined Bears mowed down the competition at the NCAA Regional in Fresno, defeating Fresno State, Stanford and Cal State Fullerton twice to return to the WCWS.
 
The nucleus of Cal's success centered in the circle with Forrest. She completed her senior year with a 29-12 record and a 1.11 ERA. Named the Most Outstanding Player of the WCWS, Forrest posted a 4-0 record with a 0.50 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 28.0 innings of work.
 
"She had tremendous focus," Ninemire said. "She had an angel on her shoulder, as we used to say. She was motivated and inspired to not walk off the field without a championship. She wanted to do it in her sister's memory. We all stuck together through those tough times in order to accomplish that goal."
 
Cal defeated Oklahoma in the opener of the WCWS, 4-2. The victory marked the only game in the WCWS that Cal surrendered any runs.
 
Following wins over Florida State and Arizona State, the stage was set for a battle against Arizona. Two of the best pitchers in the nation went toe-to-toe in Forrest and Jennie Finch of the Wildcats.
 
"We beat Arizona earlier in the year so we were pretty confident," Harper said. "We had no fear going into that game. We had nothing to lose because everybody thought Arizona was going to win. We were the underdogs. There was no pressure and we liked our chances."
 
Harper's confidence foreshadowed the end result as Forrest threw a one-hitter and Cal scored six runs in the seventh inning to become champions.
 
"It took everyone on that team, no matter if they started or came in as a pinch runner, everybody had a role and everybody played their role well," Ninemire said. "It was a special time, and especially for Jocelyn, everybody was so relieved to have her season end in such a positive way."
 
The moment brought a sense of relief for Harper. Her previous three collegiate seasons ended in defeat in the same stadium. With no aspirations of playing professionally, her softball career culminated as a champion with the rest of her teammates.
 
"There's not many people who can say they won the last game they played," she said. "When the game was over, we're standing on the line receiving the trophy and it's just so surreal like, wow did that really happen? It felt so good. You put your whole life into this sport, and this was the end of the road for me. It felt very fulfilling to go out that way."
 
Harper also remembers sharing the long-awaited moment of hoisting a trophy with Forrest.
 
"I remember the look on Jocelyn's face," she said. "She poured her heart and soul into the playoffs. She was so filled with joy and relief in that moment, and I feel so fortunate to have spent my four years with her. She's an incredible athlete and person."
 
The Bears returned to the series Oklahoma City the next three seasons, cementing their standing as a top national program with a seven-year run of advancing to the WCWS.
 
This past May, Spencer came home to her alma mater as the head coach of the program she played for so proudly.
 
"It was an amazing season," Spencer said. "We went through triumphs, errors and adversity. We all still talk, and we're talking a little bit more 18 years later. It's amazing the lifelong friends that you make and the experiences that you share with others. I'm so happy to be a part of it and continue to be a part of it now. It doesn't stop here. I hope to fulfill the continuation of the great tradition of Cal softball."
 
During her coaching tenure in Berkeley, Cal fans would love nothing more than for Spencer to add another championship ring on her hand.