| Teams | 32 |
|---|---|
| Finals site | |
| Champions | Arizona (5th title) |
| Runner-up | UCLA (15th WCWS Appearance) |
| Winning coach | Mike Candrea (5th title) |
| MOP | Nancy Evans (Arizona) |
The1997NCAA Division I softball tournament was the sixteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion ofNCAA women'scollegiate softball. Held during May 1997, thirty-twoDivision I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in adouble elimination format. The1997 Women's College World Series was held inOklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 22 through May 26 and marked the conclusion of the1997 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 defeatingUCLA 10–2 in the final game. Arizona pitcherNancy Evans was namedWomen's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.[1][2]
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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
| 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.
| 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.
| 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.
| 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 thepre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date | Game | Winner | Score | Loser | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 22 | Game 1 | Arizona | 2 – 18 | UMass | |
| Game 2 | UCLA | 2 – 08 | Fresno State | ||
| Game 3 | Iowa | 3 – 2 | Michigan | ||
| Game 4 | Washington | 6 – 0 | South Carolina | ||
| May 23 | Game 5 | Arizona | 2 – 014 | 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 – 25 | UCLA | Arizona Wins 1997 WCWS |
| School | Top Batter | Stats. |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Wildcats | Nancy Evans (P) | 1-3 3RBIs2BBB |
| UCLA Bruins | Julie Marshall (3B) | 1-2RBIHR |
| 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 |
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 |