1997 NCAA Division I
softball tournament

Teams	32
Finals site	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Champions	Arizona (5th title)
Runner-up	UCLA (15th WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Mike Candrea (5th title)
MOP	Nancy Evans ( Arizona)
← 1996  NCAA Division I softball tournament 1998 →

The 1997 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the sixteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1997, thirty-two Division I college softball teams contested the championship. The tournament featured eight regionals of four teams, each in a double elimination format. The 1997 Women's College World Series was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma from May 22 through May 26 and marked the conclusion of the 1997 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 defeating UCLA 10–2 in the final game. Arizona pitcher Nancy Evans was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player. ^{[1] [2]}

Qualifying

Regionals

Regional No. 1 - held at Tucson, Arizona

Arizona qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 2 - held at Columbia, South Carolina

South Carolina qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 3 - held at Iowa City, Iowa

Iowa qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 4 - held at Fresno, California

Fresno State qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 5 - held at Lafayette, Louisiana

UCLA qualifies for WCWS

Regional No. 6 - held at Ann Arbor, Michigan

Michigan qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 7 - held at Norman, Oklahoma

Washington qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 8 - held at Amherst, Massachusetts

UMass qualifies for WCWS.

Women's College World Series

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
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 the pre-NCAA Women's College World Series of 1969 through 1981.

Results

Bracket

	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

Game results

Date	Game	Winner	Score	Loser	Notes
May 22	Game 1	Arizona	2 – 1 8	UMass
	Game 2	UCLA	2 – 0 8	Fresno State
	Game 3	Iowa	3 – 2	Michigan
	Game 4	Washington	6 – 0	South Carolina
May 23	Game 5	Arizona	2 – 0 14	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 – 2 5	UCLA	Arizona Wins 1997 WCWS

Championship Game

^[3]

School	Top Batter	Stats.
Arizona Wildcats	Nancy Evans (P)	1-3 3 RBIs 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 (W)	5.0	5	2	2	1	3	20	21
UCLA Bruins	Christa Williams (L)	5.0	11	10	8	5	7	25	33

All-Tournament Team

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

References