1997 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament

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1997 NCAA Division I
Softball Tournament
Teams32
Finals site
  • ASA Hall of Fame Stadium
  • Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
ChampionsArizona (5th title)
Runner-upUCLA (15th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coachMike Candrea (5th title)
MOP (Arizona)

The 1997 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament was the sixteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1997, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1997 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 22 through May 26 and marked the conclusion of the 1997 NCAA Division I softball season. The event returned to Oklahoma City after a one year hiatus, and it has remained there ever since. Arizona won their fifth NCAA championship by defeating UCLA 10–2 in the final game. Arizona pitcher was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.[1][2]

Qualifying[]

Main article: 1997 NCAA Division I softball season

Regionals[]

Regional No. 1 - held at Tucson, Arizona[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Nebraska 106  
Arizona State 1  
  Nebraska 0  
  Arizona 2  
Arizona 116
Rider 2  
  Arizona 5 —
  Nebraska 1 —
Arizona State 126  
Rider 0  
  Nebraska 2
  Arizona State 1  

Arizona qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 2 - held at Columbia, South Carolina[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Kansas 3  
South Florida 2  
  Kansas 0  
  South Carolina 1  
South Carolina 5
UNC Greensboro 0  
  South Carolina 1 —
  Kansas 0 —
South Florida 29  
UNC Greensboro 0  
  Kansas 3
  South Florida 1  

South Carolina qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 3 - held at Iowa City, Iowa[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Utah 3  
Missouri 1  
  Utah 1  
  Iowa 3  
Iowa 2
DePaul 1  
  Iowa 6 —
  DePaul 2 —
Missouri 0  
DePaul 1  
  Utah 0
  DePaul 2  

Iowa qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 4 - held at Fresno, California[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Long Beach State 3  
Cal State Northridge 0  
  Long Beach State 2  
  Fresno State 510  
Fresno State 7
California 0  
  Fresno State 9 —
  California 3 —
Cal State Northridge 2  
California 39  
  Long Beach State 1
  California 3  

Fresno State qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 5 - held at Lafayette, Louisiana[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Southwestern Louisiana 2  
Northeast Louisiana 1  
  Southwestern Louisiana 4  
  UCLA 1  
UCLA 3
Nicholls State 0  
  Southwestern Louisiana 0 0
  UCLA 95 3
Northeast Louisiana 1  
Nicholls State 0  
  UCLA 3
  Northeast Louisiana 0  

UCLA qualifies for WCWS

Regional No. 6 - held at Ann Arbor, Michigan[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Central Michigan 1  
Michigan State 0  
  Central Michigan 0  
  Michigan 3  
Michigan 1
Cleveland State 0  
  Michigan 1 4
  Central Michigan 38 0
Michigan State 6  
Cleveland State 0  
  Central Michigan 6
  Michigan State 4  

Michigan qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 7 - held at Norman, Oklahoma[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
Oklahoma State 2  
Oklahoma 0  
  Oklahoma State 2  
  Washington 5  
Washington 85
Southwest Missouri State 0  
  Washington 10 —
  Oklahoma State 9 —
Oklahoma 7  
Southwest Missouri State 2  
  Oklahoma State 5
  Oklahoma 3  

Washington qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 8 - held at Amherst, Massachusetts[]

  First Round Semi-Finals Finals
                             
UMass 2  
Boston College 0  
  UMass 0  
  Colorado State 2  
Colorado State 105
Brown 0  
  Colorado State 1 2
  UMass 3 38
Boston College 6  
Brown 2  
  UMass 4
  Boston College 1  

UMass qualifies for WCWS.

Women's College World Series[]

Participants[]

School Conference Record Head Coach WCWS Appearances†
(Including 1997 WCWS)
Arizona Pac-10 57–4 Mike Candrea 10
Fresno State Western Athletic 52–12 Margie Wright 10
Iowa Big Ten 51–7 Gayle Blevins 3
UMass Atlantic 10 37–21–1 Elaine Sortino 2
Michigan Big Ten 55–14–1 Carol Hutchins 3
South Carolina SEC 63–3 Joyce Compton 3
UCLA Pac-10 45–12 Sue Enquist 15
Washington Pac-10 48–17 Teresa Wilson 2

†: Excludes results of the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.

Results[]

Bracket[]

First round Second round Semifinals Finals
             
1 Arizona 28
8 UMass 1
1 Arizona 214
5 UCLA 0
4 Fresno State 0
5 UCLA 28
1 Arizona 0 6
4 Fresno State 3 3
8 UMass 1
4 Fresno State 2
4 Fresno State 7
3 Iowa 6
1 Arizona 105
5 UCLA 2
3 Iowa 3
6 Michigan 2
3 Iowa 1
7 Washington 5
7 Washington 6
2 South Carolina 0
7 Washington 3 0
5 UCLA 4 1
6 Michigan 1
2 South Carolina 0
6 Michigan 3
5 UCLA 7

Game Results[]

Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes
May 22 Game 1 Arizona 2 – 1 8 UMass
Game 2 UCLA 2 – 0 8 Fresno State
Game 3 Iowa 3 – 2 Michigan
Game 4 Washington 6 – 0 South Carolina
May 23 Game 5 Arizona 2 – 0 14 UCLA
Game 6 Washington 5 – 1 Iowa
May 24 Game 7 Fresno State 2 – 1 UMass UMass eliminated
Game 8 Michigan 1 – 0 South Carolina South Carolina eliminated
Game 9 Fresno State 7 – 6 Iowa Iowa eliminated
Game 10 UCLA 7 – 3 Michigan Michigan eliminated
May 25 Game 11 Fresno State 3 – 0 Arizona Fresno State forces the If Necessary Game (Game 13)
Game 12 UCLA 4 – 3 Washington UCLA forces the If Necessary Game (Game 14)
Game 13 Arizona 6 – 3 Fresno State Fresno State eliminated
Game 14 UCLA 1 – 0 Washington Washington eliminated
May 26 Championship Game Arizona 10 – 2 5 UCLA Arizona Wins 1997 WCWS

Championship Game[]

[3]

School Top Batter Stats.
Arizona Wildcats Nancy Evans (P) 1-3 3RBIs 2B BB
UCLA Bruins Julie Marshall (3B) 1-2 RBI HR
School Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
Arizona Wildcats Nancy Evans (W) 5.0 5 2 2 1 3 20 21
UCLA Bruins Christa Williams (L) 5.0 11 10 8 5 7 25 33

All-Tournament Team[]

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team.[4]

Position Player Class School
P Jamie Graves Freshman Washington
Danielle Henderson Sophomore Massachusetts
Christa Williams Freshman UCLA
C Stacey Nuveman Freshman UCLA
1B Leah O'Brien Senior Arizona
Alleah Poulson Senior UCLA
2B Nina Lindenberg Junior Fresno State
Sara Pickering Senior Washington
SS Christy Hebert Senior Iowa
3B Melissa Gentile Freshman Michigan
OF Alison Johnsen Junior Arizona
MOP Junior Arizona

References[]

  1. ^ 2015 WCWS Records: 1990s Brackets/Rosters/Stats (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  2. ^ 2015 WCWS Records: WCWS All-Time Results (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  3. ^ "1997 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 15". Ncaa.org. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  4. ^ 2015 WCWS Records: All-Time Tournament Records and Results (PDF). NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
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