1997 Arizona Wildcats softball

National Champion NCAA Tucson Regional champion Pac-10 champion
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	61–5 (26–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Mike Candrea (12th season)
Home stadium	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Pacific-10 Conference softball standings
v t e	Conf						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
No. 1 Arizona ‍†‍‍^y	26	–	1	–	0	.963	61	–	5	–	0	.924
No. 2 UCLA ‍‍‍^y	21	–	7	–	0	.750	49	–	14	–	0	.778
No. 4 Washington ‍‍‍^y	16	–	11	–	0	.593	50	–	19	–	0	.725
No. 11 California ‍‍‍^y	13	–	14	–	0	.481	36	–	26	–	0	.581
Stanford ‍‍‍	10	–	18	–	0	.357	31	–	27	–	0	.534
No. 23 Arizona State ‍‍‍^y	9	–	19	–	0	.321	32	–	25	–	0	.561
Oregon ‍‍‍	9	–	19	–	0	.321	24	–	35	–	0	.407
Oregon State ‍‍‍	6	–	21	–	0	.222	29	–	34	–	1	.461

† – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 31, 1997^[1] Rankings from NFCA/USA Today

The 1997 Arizona Wildcats softball team represented the University of Arizona in the 1997 NCAA Division I softball season. The Wildcats were coached by Mike Candrea, who led his twelfth season. The Wildcats finished with a record of 61–5. They played their home games at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium and competed in the Pacific-10 Conference, where they finished first with a 26–1 record.

The Wildcats were invited to the 1997 NCAA Division I softball tournament, where they swept the West Regional and then completed a run through the Women's College World Series to claim their fifth NCAA Women's College World Series Championship.^[2]

Roster

1997 Arizona Wildcats roster^[2]

Pitchers

3 – Carrie Dolan – senior
13 – Nancy Evans – junior

Catchers

7 – Lety Pineda – junior
12 – Lindsay Mullins – freshman
31 – Leah Braatz – junior

Infielders

5 – Katie Swan – freshman
6 – Alison Johnsen – junior
11 – Lisa Pitt – sophomore
18 – Tiana Hejduk – junior
20 – Leah O'Brien – senior
21 – Michelle Churnock – sophomore

Outfielders

10 – Julie Reitan – junior
22 – Andrea Doty – senior
26 – Brandi Shriver – senior
99 – Chrissy Gil – freshman

Schedule

Legend
	Arizona win
	Arizona loss
*	Non-Conference game

1997 Arizona Wildcats Softball Game Log^[2]

Regular season

February
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
Feb 7	Northwestern State*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–2	1–0
Feb 7	Northwestern State*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	18–2⁵	W 2–0
Feb 8	UIC*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–2	3–0
Feb 8	UIC*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–1	4–0
Feb 9	No. 4 Washington*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 7–3	5–0
Feb 14	vs Texas*	No. 1	Tempe, AZ	W 6–2	6–0
Feb 14	vs No. 19 Nebraska*	No. 1	Tempe, AZ	W 15– ⁵	7–0
Feb 15	vs No. 13 UNLV*	No. 1	Tempe, AZ	W 5–2	8–0
Feb 15	vs UC Santa Barbara*	No. 1	Tempe, AZ	W 10–0⁵	9–0
Feb 16	vs Utah State*	No. 1	Tempe, AZ	W 8–0⁵	10–0
Feb 22	vs Alabama*	No. 1	Lamson Park • Lafayette, LA	W 9–0⁵	11–0
Feb 22	at No. 7 Southwestern Louisiana*	No. 1	Lamson Park • Lafayette, LA	W 4–1	12–0
Feb 22	vs Baylor*	No. 1	Lamson Park • Lafayette, LA	W 6–2	13–0
Feb 23	vs Alabama*	No. 1	Lamson Park • Lafayette, LA	W 13–0	14–0
Feb 23	vs Baylor*	No. 1	Lamson Park • Lafayette, LA	W 10–0⁵	15–0

March
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
Mar 1	Kent State*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 4–0	16–0
Mar 1	DePaul*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–0	17–0
Mar 1	LSU*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–4	18–0
Mar 2	Kansas*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–1	19–0
Mar 2	Colorado State*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 9–0	20–0
Mar 2	Florida*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–0	21–0
Mar 8	No. 12 California	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 4–3	22–0	1–0
Mar 8	No. 12 California	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 4–1	23–0	2–0
Mar 9	Stanford	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–2	24–0	3–0
Mar 9	Stanford	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 6–0	25–0	4–0
Mar 20	vs Ohio State*	No. 1	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 15–6	26–0
Mar 20	vs No. 12 Oklahoma State*	No. 1	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 12–0⁵	27–0
Mar 21	vs No. 23 Hawaii*	No. 1	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 6–5	28–0
Mar 21	vs UNLV*	No. 1	Titan Softball Complex • Fullerton, CA	W 17–0⁵	29–0
Mar 22	No. 24 Cal State Northridge*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 1–0⁵	30–0
Mar 22	Oregon State*	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	L 0–3	30–1
Mar 29	at No. 3 UCLA	No. 1	Easton Stadium • Los Angeles, CA	W 4–1	31–1	5–0
Mar 29	at No. 3 UCLA	No. 1	Easton Stadium • Los Angeles, CA	L 1–5	31–2	5–1

April
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
Apr 4	No. 5 Washington	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 3–2	32–2	6–1
Apr 4	No. 5 Washington	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–2	33–2	7–1
Apr 6	at No. 2 Fresno State*	No. 1	Bulldog Diamond • Fresno, CA	L 2–5	33–3
Apr 6	at No. 2 Fresno State*	No. 1	Bulldog Diamond • Fresno, CA	L 5–6	33–4
Apr 9	at No. 10 Arizona State	No. 2	Tempe, AZ	W 5–1	34–4	8–1
Apr 9	at No. 10 Arizona State	No. 2	Tempe, AZ	W 10–1	35–4	9–1
Apr 12	at Oregon	No. 2	Howe Field • Eugene, OR	W 5–0	36–4	10–1
Apr 12	at Oregon	No. 2	Howe Field • Eugene, OR	W 12–1	37–4	11–1
Apr 13	at Oregon State	No. 2	Corvallis, OR	W 6–2⁶	38–4	12–1
Apr 18	No. 4 UCLA	No. 2	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–0	39–4	13–1
Apr 18	No. 4 UCLA	No. 2	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 10–6	40–4	14–1
Apr 19	No. 23 Cal State Northridge*	No. 2	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 4–3	41–4
Apr 19	No. 23 Cal State Northridge*	No. 2	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 16–6⁵	42–4
Apr 23	No. 12 Arizona State	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 8–4	43–4	15–1
Apr 23	No. 12 Arizona State	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–2	44–4	16–1
Apr 26	at No. 24 California	No. 1	Levine-Fricke Field • Berkeley, CA	W 10–4	45–4	17–1
Apr 26	at No. 24 California	No. 1	Levine-Fricke Field • Berkeley, CA	W 11–0	46–4	18–1
Apr 27	at Stanford	No. 1	Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium • Stanford, CA	W 5–1	47–4	19–1
Apr 27	at Stanford	No. 1	Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium • Stanford, CA	W 3–0	48–4	20–1

May
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Pac-10 record
May 2	Oregon	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 5–3	49–4	21–1
May 2	Oregon	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 9–1	50–4	22–1
May 3	Oregon State	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–1⁵	51–4	23–1
May 3	Oregon State	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–1⁵	52–4	24–1
May 10	at No. 6 Washington	No. 1	Husky Softball Stadium • Seattle, WA	W 9–1	53–4	25–1
May 10	at No. 6 Washington	No. 1	Husky Softball Stadium • Seattle, WA	W 4–3	54–4	26–1

Post-season

NCAA Tucson Regional
Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	NCAAT record
May 16	Rider	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 11–2	55–4	1–0
May 17	Nebraska	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 2–0	56–4	2–0
May 18	Nebraska	No. 1	Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium • Tucson, AZ	W 5–1	57–4	3–0

NCAA Women's College World Series
Date	Opponent	Rank (Seed)	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	WCWS Record
May 22	(8) UMass	No. 1 (1)	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 2–1⁸	58–4	1–0
May 23	(5) UCLA	No. 1 (1)	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 2–0¹⁴	59–4	2–0
May 25	(4) Fresno State	No. 1 (1)	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	L 0–3	59–5	2–1
May 25	(4) Fresno State	No. 1 (1)	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 6–2	60–5	3–1
May 26	(5) UCLA	No. 1 (1)	ASA Hall of Fame Stadium • Oklahoma City, OK	W 10–2⁵	61–5	4–1

Ranking movements

Main article: 1997 NCAA Division I softball rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Final
NFCA/USA Today	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	1	1	1	1

References

^ 2018 Softball Media Guide. Pac-12 Conference. p. 52. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c 2019 Softball Media Guide (PDF). Arizona Wildcats. Retrieved February 2, 2020.

v t e Arizona Wildcats softball
Venues	UA Softball Field (1974–1992) Mike Candrea Field at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium (1993–present)
People	Head coaches
Seasons	1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
National Championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics

NCAA Division I softball champions

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
1997: Arizona
1998: Fresno State
1999: UCLA
2000: Oklahoma
2001: Arizona
2002: California
2003: UCLA
2004: UCLA
2005: Michigan
2006: Arizona
2007: Arizona
2008: Arizona State
2009: Washington
2010: UCLA
2011: Arizona State
2012: Alabama
2013: Oklahoma
2014: Florida
2015: Florida
2016: Oklahoma
2017: Oklahoma
2018: Florida State
2019: UCLA
2020: No tournament
2021: Oklahoma
2022: Oklahoma
2023: Oklahoma