1996 NCAA Division I softball tournament
The 1996 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the fifteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1996, 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 1996 Women's College World Series was held in Columbus, Georgia from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the 1996 NCAA Division I softball season. This marked the last time that the Women's College World Series was held in a city other than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and previewed Golden Park's hosting of softball events for the 1996 Summer Olympics.[1] Arizona won their fourth NCAA championship by defeating Washington 6–4 in the final game. Arizona second baseman Jenny Dalton was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.[2][3]
| Teams | 32 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Arizona (4th title) |
| Runner-up | Washington (1st WCWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Mike Candrea (4th title) |
| MOP | Jenny Dalton (Arizona) |
Qualifying
Regionals
Regional No. 1
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Arizona | 85 | |||||||||||||
| Troy State | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Florida State | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Florida State | 3 | |||||||||||||
| South Florida | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona | 10 | — | ||||||||||||
| Florida State | 3 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Florida State | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Troy State | 5 | South Florida | 0 | |||||||||||
| South Florida | 6 | |||||||||||||
Arizona qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 2
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 0 | |||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan | 10 | — | ||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Notre Dame | 3 | Central Michigan | 0 | |||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 9 | |||||||||||||
Michigan qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 3
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Iowa | 85 | |||||||||||||
| UNLV | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Iowa | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 85 | |||||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Iowa | 7 | — | ||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 3 | |||||||||||||
| UNLV | 1 | Northern Illinois | 0 | |||||||||||
| Northern Illinois | 3 | |||||||||||||
Iowa qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 4
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Southwestern Louisiana | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Nicholls State | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Southwestern Louisiana | 98 | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Southwestern Louisiana | 2 | — | ||||||||||||
| Nicholls State | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Nicholls State | 2 | Nicholls State | 2 | |||||||||||
| Minnesota | 1 | |||||||||||||
Southwestern Louisiana qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 5
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 0 | |||||||||||||
| California | 1 | |||||||||||||
| California | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 1 | |||||||||||||
| California | 29 | — | ||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Fresno State | 38 | |||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 1 | Long Beach State | 2 | |||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 4 | |||||||||||||
California qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 6
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Princeton | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Boston University | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Princeton | 4 | |||||||||||||
| UMass | 0 | |||||||||||||
| UMass | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Connecticut | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Princeton | 3 | — | ||||||||||||
| Boston University | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| UMass | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Boston University | 5 | Boston University | 1 | |||||||||||
| Connecticut | 0 | |||||||||||||
Princeton qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 7
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Southwest Missouri State | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 11 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 5 | |||||||||||||
| UCLA | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Fullerton | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| UCLA | 145 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Southwest Missouri State | 1 | UCLA | 7 | |||||||||||
| UCLA | 8 | |||||||||||||
UCLA qualifies for WCWS.
Regional No. 8
| First Round | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Washington | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Washington | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Jacksonville State | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Washington | 95 | — | ||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 1 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Indiana | 86 | Indiana | 0 | |||||||||||
| Jacksonville State | 0 | |||||||||||||
Washington qualifies for WCWS.
Women's College World Series
Participants
Bracket
| Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Princeton | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | California | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Southwestern Louisiana | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | California | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington | 8 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 2 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Princeton | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Southwestern Louisiana | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Southwestern Louisiana | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Washington | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Arizona | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Michigan | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Arizona | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Arizona | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Arizona | 106 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa | 2 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Michigan | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | California | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Iowa | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Championship Game
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Jenny Dalton (2B) | 1-2 3RBIs HR 2BBs |
| Washington Huskies | Leah Francis (PH) | 1-1 RBI |
| School | Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | AB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Carrie Dolan (W) | 7.0 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 34 |
| Washington Huskies | Heather Meyer (L) | 1.2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| Washington Huskies | Eve Gaw | 5.1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 21 |
All-Tournament Team
The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team[5]
| Pos | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| P | Carrie Dolan | Arizona |
| Cheryl Longeway | Southwestern Louisiana | |
| C | Jennifer Cline | Washington |
| 1B | Traci Conrad | Michigan |
| 2B | Jenny Dalton | Arizona |
| Sara Pickering | Washington | |
| 3B | Lynn Britton | Southwestern Louisiana |
| SS | Tami Storseth | Washington |
| OF | Mindy Williams | Washington |
| Lea Twigg | Iowa | |
| Alison Johnsen | Arizona | |
| AL | Krista Gomez | Arizona |
| Michelle Churnock | Arizona | |
| Lyn Nance | Iowa |
References
- Chuck Williams (May 30, 1996). "College softball's a hit; so is Columbus". Ledger-Enquirer. Columbus, Georgia. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- 2015 WCWS Records: 1990s Brackets/Rosters/Stats (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- 2015 WCWS Records: WCWS All-Time Results (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- "1996 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 13". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- 2015 WCWS Records: All-Time Tournament Records and Results (PDF). NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2017.