Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 1997 Arizona Wildcats

Photo courtesy Arizona Athletics

Fall practice has wrapped up around the country in Division I, which allows us to set our sights on the 2024 season that lies ahead.

Early focus will be centered on the University of Oklahoma as they begin the quest to become the first team in Division I history to win four consecutive national championships.

The Sooners tied UCLA (1988, 1989, 1990) as the only teams to ever win three consecutive titles when they defeated Florida State to claim the 2023 title.

Extra Inning Softball will be reviewing the 41 national champions that have previously hoisted the trophy.

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1997 Arizona Wildcats

The Venue: ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Head Coach: Mike Candrea

The Players (Women’s College World Series Roster): Carrie Dolan, Katie Swan, Alison Johnsen, Lety Pineda, Julie Reitan, Lisa Pitt, Lindsay Mullins, Nancy Evans, Tiana Hejduk, Leah O’Brien, Michelle Churnock, Andrea Doty, Brandi Shriver, Leah Braatz, Chrissy Gil

The Regular Season: The idea of saying Arizona has a great team is a redundant, but the 1997 Wildcats were an incredibly talented and balanced squad. Arizona rolled through the regular season with a 54-4 overall record and posted a 26-1 record in the Pac-10 Conference to finish in first place. The Wildcats were bolstered by the return of Nancy Evans (injury), Leah O’ Brien (Olympics) and Leah Braatz (injury) and also featured Carrie Dolan, Alison Johnsen, Lety Pineda, Michelle Churnock and Andrea Doty. Johnsen paced the Wildcats offense as she set a NCAA record with 132 hits and set a then Arizona record with a .536 batting average. The Wildcats hit .375 as a team and every member of the team who had at least 10 at bats posted a .300, or better, batting average. Evans and Dolan formed one of the top pitching duos in the country and threw 19 shutouts during the year. Evans finished the year with a 36-2 record and a 1.16 earned run average, while Dolan was 24-3 on the year. Evans (1st Team), O’Brien (1st Team), Braatz (1st Team), Johnsen (1st Team) and Pineda (1st Team) were each named All-American.

The Regional/Super Regional: After traveling to Tallahassee, Fla., for the 1996 NCAA Regional, Arizona returned home in 1997 as the Wildcats hosted the regional that also featured Nebraska, Arizona State and Rider. The Wildcats opened the regional with an 11-2 victory over Rider and then followed with a pair of victories over Nebraska. The Wildcats defeated the Cornhuskers 2-0 and then secured its spot at the Women’s College World Series with a 2-1 win. It marked the Wildcats 10th consecutive trip to the Women’s College World Series.

The Field at the Women’s College World Series: Arizona, Fresno State, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, South Carolina, UCLA, Washington

The Wildcats at the Women’s College World Series: Arizona opened play at the WCWS against Massachusetts and All-American and future Olympian Danielle Henderson. The Wildcats won the pitcher’s duel in eight innings on a an infield RBI single from Leah O’Brien that brought home Alison Johnsen who had doubled to lead off the inning giving the Wildcats a 2-1 win. Another pitching battle loomed in the Wildcats second game as Arizona met UCLA and Christa Williams. Nancy Evans was outstanding for the Wildcats as she went 14 innings, allowed just five hits and and struck out eight batters. Williams also went 14 innings and she struck out 10 batters. Katie Swan was the offensive hero for Arizona she delivered a two-out, two-run double in the top of the 14th inning to lift the Wildcats to the 2-0 win. Arizona suffered its first loss of the postseason in game three of the WCWS when Fresno State defeated the Wildcats 3-0. Amanda Scott held Arizona to just three hits and and Scott and Nina Lindenberg each collected two hits to lead the Bulldogs offense. With a berth in the national championship game on the line, Arizona would meet Fresno State in a rematch. Early on it looked like a repeat of the first meeting as the Bulldogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Wildcats would rally. O’Brien tied the game in the bottom of the third inning when she belted a two-run home run that scored Swan ahead of her. Fresno State quickly regained the lead with a run in the top of the fourth inning, but Arizona took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning. An RBI single from Leah Braatz plated a run to tie the game and O’Brien scored what proved to be the game-winning run on a fielder’s choice. Johnsen padded the Wildcats lead in the sixth inning when she hit a two-run home run that upped the lead to 6-3. Evans went the distance in the circle and struck out eight in picking up the win.

The National Championship Game: For the fifth time in seven years, Arizona and UCLA would meet to determine a national champion. Nancy Evans and Christa Williams, who each threw all 14 innings in their meeting earlier in the WCWS, would square off again. This time Arizona jumped out to a big early lead and never looked back as the Wildcats posted a 10-2 win over the Bruins. Alison Johnsen, Katie Swan, Leah O’Brien and Brandi Shriver all had two hits for the Wildcats, while Evans drove in three runs. Evans picked up the win in the circle for Arizona as she went 5.0 innings and struck out three batters. Evans got the Wildcats off and running in the first inning as she hit a two-run double that scored Johnsen and Swan. Arizona took advantage of some wildness by Williams and a defensive miscue by the Bruins to score four runs in the top of the second inning and push the lead to 6-0. Leah Braatz and Evans drew bases-loaded walks and Lety Pineda reached on an error that permitted two more runs to score. The Wildcats put the game away with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. O’Brien plated two runs with a single and Swan later scored on a wild pitch and Pineda hit an RBI single to increase the lead to 10-2. Evans closed out the Bruins in the bottom of the fifth inning securing Arizona’s fifth national championship. O’Brien, Johnsen and Evans were named to the WCWS All-Tournament team and Evans was selected as the Most Outstanding Player.

Women’s College World Series Scores: Arizona 2, Massachusetts 1 (8); UCLA 2, Fresno St. 0 (8); Iowa 3, Michigan 2; Washington 6, South Carolina 0; Arizona 2, UCLA 0 (14); Washington 5, Iowa 1; Fresno St. 2, Massachusetts 1; Michigan 1, South Carolina 0; Fresno St. 7, Iowa 6; UCLA 7, Michigan 3; Fresno St. 3, Arizona 0; UCLA 4, Washington 3; Arizona 6, Fresno St. 3; UCLA 1, Washington 0; Championship: Arizona 10, UCLA 2 (5)

The Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team: Leah O’Brien, 1b, Arizona, Alleah Poulson, 1b, UCLA, Nina Lindenberg, 2b, Fresno St., Sara Pickering, 2b, Washington, Melissa Gentile, 3b, Michigan, Christy Herbert, ss, Iowa, Alison Johnsen, of, Arizona, Stacey Nuveman, c, UCLA, Nancy Evans, p, Arizona, Jamie Graves, p, Washington, Danielle Henderson, p, Massachusetts, Christa Williams, p, UCLA

The Women’s College World Series Most Outstanding Player: Nancy Evans, p, Arizona

Stat to Remember from the 1997 Women’s College World Series: Leah O’Brien had one the best Women’s College World Series careers in history. She led the Wildcats to three national championships and a runner-up finish. Arizona was 16-3 at the WCWS with O’Brien in the lineup and she was named to the all-tournament team three times. She had a career .563 batting average (31-for-55) and drove in 19 runs. She also scored 12 runs and had four doubles and two home runs. O’Brien led the WCWS in batting in 1994, 1995 and 1997 and hit an astounding .750 in 1994.

Women’s College World Series
1982 – UCLA
1983 – Texas A&M
1984 – UCLA
1985 – UCLA
1986 – Cal State Fullerton
1987 – Texas A&M
1988 – UCLA
1989 – UCLA
1990 – UCLA
1991 – Arizona
1992 – UCLA
1993 – Arizona
1994 – Arizona
1995 – UCLA
1996 – Arizona

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