1997 NCAA Division I Softball Tournament

1997 NCAA Division I
Softball Tournament
Teams 32
Finals Site
Champions Arizona (5th title)
Runner-Up UCLA(15th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach Mike Candrea (5th title)
MOP Nancy Evans 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 Nancy Evans was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.[1][2]

Regionals

Regional No. 1

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

SchoolConferenceRecordHead CoachWCWS Appearances†
(Including 1997 WCWS)
ArizonaPac-1057–4Mike Candrea10
Fresno StateWestern Athletic52–12Margie Wright10
IowaBig Ten51–7Gayle Blevins3
UMassAtlantic 1037–21–1Elaine Sortino2
MichiganBig Ten55–14–1Carol Hutchins3
South CarolinaSEC63–3Joyce Compton3
UCLAPac-1045–12Sue Enquist15
WashingtonPac-1048–17Teresa Wilson2

: 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

DateGameWinnerScoreLoserNotes
May 22Game 1Arizona2 – 1 8UMass
Game 2UCLA2 – 0 8Fresno State
Game 3Iowa3 – 2Michigan
Game 4Washington6 – 0South Carolina
May 23Game 5Arizona2 – 0 14UCLA
Game 6Washington5 – 1Iowa
May 24Game 7Fresno State2 – 1UMassUMass eliminated
Game 8Michigan1 – 0South CarolinaSouth Carolina eliminated
Game 9Fresno State7 – 6IowaIowa eliminated
Game 10UCLA7 – 3MichiganMichigan eliminated
May 25Game 11Fresno State3 – 0ArizonaFresno State forces the If Necessary Game (Game 13)
Game 12UCLA4 – 3WashingtonUCLA forces the If Necessary Game (Game 14)
Game 13Arizona6 – 3Fresno StateFresno State eliminated
Game 14UCLA1 – 0WashingtonWashington eliminated
May 26Championship GameArizona10 – 2 5UCLAArizona 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 IPHRERBBSOABBF
Arizona Wildcats Nancy Evans (W) 5.0522132021
UCLA Bruins Christa Williams (L) 5.011108572533

All-Tournament Team

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

PositionPlayerClassSchool
PJamie GravesFreshmanWashington
Danielle HendersonSophomoreMassachusetts
Christa WilliamsFreshmanUCLA
CStacey NuvemanFreshmanUCLA
1BLeah O'BrienSeniorArizona
Alleah PoulsonSeniorUCLA
2BNina LindenbergJuniorFresno State
Sara PickeringSeniorWashington
SSChristy HebertSeniorIowa
3BMelissa GentileFreshmanMichigan
OFAlison JohnsenJuniorArizona
MOPNancy EvansJuniorArizona

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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