1997 NCAA Division I softball tournament
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]
| Teams | 32 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Arizona (5th title) |
| Runner-up | UCLA (15th WCWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Mike Candrea (5th title) |
| MOP | Nancy Evans (Arizona) |
Qualifying
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 126 | Arizona State | 1 | |||||||||||
| Rider | 0 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Kansas | 3 | |||||||||||||
| South Florida | 29 | South Florida | 1 | |||||||||||
| UNC Greensboro | 0 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Utah | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Missouri | 0 | DePaul | 2 | |||||||||||
| DePaul | 1 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Long Beach State | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Cal State Northridge | 2 | California | 3 | |||||||||||
| California | 39 | |||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| UCLA | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Northeast Louisiana | 1 | Northeast Louisiana | 0 | |||||||||||
| Nicholls State | 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 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Central Michigan | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 6 | Michigan State | 4 | |||||||||||
| Cleveland State | 0 | |||||||||||||
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 | — | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma State | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Oklahoma | 7 | Oklahoma | 3 | |||||||||||
| Southwest Missouri State | 2 | |||||||||||||
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 | ||||||||||||
| Lower round 1 | Lower final | |||||||||||||
| UMass | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Boston College | 6 | Boston College | 1 | |||||||||||
| Brown | 2 | |||||||||||||
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.
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
| 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 | Nancy Evans | Junior | Arizona |
References
- 2015 WCWS Records: 1990s Brackets/Rosters/Stats (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- 2015 WCWS Records: WCWS All-Time Results (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
- "1997 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 15". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
- 2015 WCWS Records: All-Time Tournament Records and Results (PDF). NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
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