Looking Back at the NCAA Champions: 2007 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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2007 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): Cyndi Duran, Sarah Akamine, Adrienne Acton, Jill Malina,  K’Lee Arredondo, Taryne Mowatt, Danielle Rodriguez, Chelsie Mesa, Callista Balko, Samantha Hoffman, Lisa Odom, Lauren Erb, Laine Roth, Caitlin Lowe, Kristie Fox, Jenae Leles, Sam Banister

The Regular Season: After winning the national championship in 2006, Arizona entered the 2007 season knowing it would have to replace All-American pitcher Alicia Hollowell in order to make another run at a title. What the Wildcats received was one of the top individual pitching performances in school history from Taryne Mowatt. It was a season filled with challenges, but the Wildcats endured behind the pitching of Mowatt and the offense from Caitlin Lowe, Chelsie Mesa and Kristie Fox. Arizona finished the regular season with a 39-12-1 record and finished first in the Pac-10 Conference with a 15-5-1 record. The Wildcats longest winning streak of the regular season was just seven games, but Arizona also never lost more than two games in a row. Mowatt made 60 appearances during the season and posted a 42-12 record with a 1.46 earned run average. She pitched a school record 370.0 innings and struck out 522 batters. Lowe paced the offense with a .414 batting average and added 49 stolen bases and 57 runs scored. Mesa hit .354 with nine homers and 57 RBIs and Fox posted a .342 average and hit 15 home runs and drove in 63 runs. Mowatt and Lowe each were named first team All-American following the season.

The Regional: Arizona hosted the NCAA Tucson Regional and were joined by Howard, Mississippi State and Pacific. The Wildcats opened regional play against Howard and Taryne Mowatt fired a no-hitter against the Bison leading the Wildcats to a 9-0 victory. Kristie Fox and Jenae Leles homered to lead the Arizona offense. The Wildcats faced Mississippi State in game two of the regional and used a late offensive outburst to back the pitching of Mowatt in an 8-0 win. Mowatt posted her second straight shutout as she allowed four hits and struck out five batters. Scoreless into the fifth inning, Chelsie Mesa hit a two-run triple to get things rolling for the Wildcats as they added another run in the fifth, a run in the sixth and four more in the seventh inning. Arizona secured a spot in the Super Regional as Mowatt pitched her third straight shutout as the Wildcats defeated Pacific 7-0. Mowatt allowed just one hit and struck out seven and K’Lee Arredondo and Laine Roth each hit home runs to power the offense.

The Super Regional: Arizona stayed at home for the Super Regional as the Wildcats hosted Cal State Fullerton in Tucson, Ariz. Game one saw the Wildcats stage a comeback to post an 11-6 victory. The Titans erupted for five runs in the first inning against Taryne Mowatt, but the All-American would settle into the game after the first. The Arizona comeback began in the fourth inning when Callista Balko hit a three-run home run to cut the deficit to 5-3. The Wildcats took the lead for good in the fifth inning with Laine Roth ripped a three-run homer putting Arizona ahead 6-5. The Wildcats offense continued to churn in the sixth inning as they tacked on five more runs, highlighted by a two-run double from Kristie Fox and a two-run homer by Jenae Leles, to take an 11-5 lead. Cal State Fullerton scored a run in the top of the seventh inning, but Mowatt retired the side without further damage to secure the win. Game two featured a pitching battle between Mowatt and Candice Baker, but Arizona edged the Titans 2-1 to earn a trip back to the Women’s College World Series. Arizona got all of its scoring in the third inning when Adrienne Acton hit a two-run single giving the Wildcats a 2-0 lead. Cal State Fullerton trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the fourth inning, but Mowatt kept the Titans off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.

The Field at the Women’s College World Series: Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, DePaul, Northwestern, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Washington

The Wildcats at the Women’s College World Series: Arizona opened WCWS play against Baylor and would need nine innings to post a 2-1 victory. The Wildcats scored first in the fourth inning when Laine Roth produced an RBI groundout that scored Kristie Fox giving Arizona a 1-0 lead. Baylor tied the game at 1-1 in the fifth inning, but Fox would be the hero in the bottom of the ninth inning as she led off the frame with a home run to leftfield giving the Wildcats a 2-1 victory. Tennessee, and All-American Monica Abbott, was the opponent in the Wildcats second game of the WCWS. Abbott allowed six hits and struck out 16 batters and the Lady Vols scored a run in the sixth inning on an error to post a 1-0 victory. With their backs against the wall, Mowatt began an incredible stretch of pitching performances with a two-hit shutout in a 3-0 win over DePaul. Caitlin Lowe hit a two-run double in the fifth inning and Chelsie Mesa added an RBI single in the seventh inning. Mowatt outdueled Danielle Lawrie and Washington in the Wildcats next game on the way to a 2-0 win. Mowatt struck out eight batters and worked around five walks, while the Wildcats got a two-run double from Sam Banister to notch the win. With a trip to the championship finals on the line, Arizona would meet Washington in a rematch and the Wildcats once again emerged victorious. Mowatt allowed four hits and just one run while striking out nine and the Wildcats offense provided plenty of support in an 8-1 win. Arizona produced 12 hits, led by Janae Leles who went 2-for-2 with four RBIs and Mesa who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

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