1997 Women's College World Series

The 1997 Women's College World Series was held from May 22 until May 26, 1997, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This was Oklahoma City's 7th time to host the WCWS since first hosting the tournament in 1990 (The 1996 WCWS was held in Columbus, Georgia, where the Arizona Wildcats claimed their 4th National Title with a win over Pac-10 rival Washington).

Having advanced through a 32-team bracket, eight NCAA Division I college softball teams met at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium to decide the 1997 Softball National Championship:

Of these eight teams, UCLA and Washington had to win their respective regional tournaments on the road in order to advance to Oklahoma City.

The Championship Game featured Arizona and UCLA. This would be their 5th meeting in a Championship game and would end with Arizona claiming their 5th National Title.

Arizona pitcher Nancy Evans was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

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
Massachusetts 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

1997 Women's College World Series Bracket

  First round Second round Semifinals Finals
                                           
1  Arizona 2*  
8  Massachusetts 1*  
  1  Arizona 2*  
  5  UCLA 0*  
4  Fresno State 0*
5  UCLA 2*  
  1  Arizona 0 6  
  4  Fresno State 3 3  
8  Massachusetts 1  
4  Fresno State 2  
  4  Fresno State 7
  3  Iowa 6  
  1  Arizona 10* † †
  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  

*: Denotes extra inning or run-ruled games (See Game Results below)
†: The Championship Series wasn't implemented until the 2005 WCWS

Game Results

Date Game Winner Score Loser Notes
5/22/1997 Game 01 Arizona 2 - 1 Massachusetts 8 Innings
Game 02 UCLA 2 - 0 Fresno State 8 Innings
Game 03 Iowa 3 - 2 Michigan
Game 04 Washington 6 - 0 South Carolina
5/23/1997 Game 05 Arizona 2 - 0 UCLA 14 Innings
Game 06 Washington 5 - 1 Iowa
5/24/1997 Game 07 Fresno State 2 - 1 Massachusetts Massachusetts eliminated
Game 08 Michigan 1 - 0 South Carolina South Carolina eliminated
Game 09 Fresno State 7 - 6 Iowa Iowa eliminated
Game 10 UCLA 7 - 3 Michigan Michigan eliminated
5/25/1997 Game 11 Fresno State 3 - 0 Arizona Fresno State forces the If Necessary Game (Game 13)
Game 12 UCLA 4 - 3 Washington Washington 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
5/26/1997 Championship Game Arizona 10 - 2 UCLA 5 Innings (Run-rule)
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 5.0 5 2 2 1 3 20 21
UCLA Bruins Christa Williams 5.0 11 10 8 5 7 25 33

All-Tournament Team

The following players were members of the All-Tournament Team:

Position Player Class School
Pitcher Jamie Graves Freshman Washington
Danielle Henderson Sophomore Massachusetts
Christa Williams Freshman UCLA
1st Base Leah O'Brien Senior Arizona
Alleah Poulson Senior UCLA
2nd Base Nina Lindenberg Junior Fresno State
Sara Pickering Senior Washington
Shortstop Christy Hebert Senior Iowa
3rd Base Melissa Gentile Freshman Michigan
Outfield Alison Johnsen Junior Arizona
Catcher Stacey Nuveman Freshman UCLA
Most Outstanding Player Nancy Evans Junior Arizona

References

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