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:
- Arizona
- Fresno State
- Iowa
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- South Carolina
- UCLA
- Washington
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 |