Editor’s note: This story appears in Sunday’s special section honoring retiring UA softball coach Mike Candrea.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Arizona’s Debby Day stepped on the pitching rubber, ready to throw her 91st pitch of the game.
She fired her fastball toward the plate, coming in to UCLA right hander DeDe Weiman at more than 60 mph. Weiman swung, sending the ball skipping toward All-America shortstop Julie Standering, who fielded the ball on two hops.
Standering threw easily and accurately to first baseman Julie Jones. When the ball settled in the webbing of Jones’ glove at 7:37 p.m. (CDT), the University of Arizona softball team was the national champion.
Debby Day
Arizona ended UCLA’s three-year reign at the NCAA Women’s College World Series yesterday, beating the Bruins 5-1 in a game before 1,881 at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
It is the first NCAA women’s team championship in any sport at the UA.
“You knew it was going to happen, and you want it to happen, but to make it happen is more than I could hope for,” said UA coach Mike Candrea, who was doused with ice during the on-field celebration.
Senior Suzie Lady was more succinct.
“We won,” she yelled in the parking lot after the game. “We won.”
Arizona won with the same style that lifted it to the title game: stifling pitching, solid defense and timely hits.
Day (30-8) threw a four-hitter, striking out one and walking two as her teammates played errorless ball. The timely hit was provided by Jones.
Jones, a left-hander, came to the plate in the third with two outs and the bases loaded. She hit a drive to right-center off Heather Compton (22-4), who entered the game with an ERA of 0.20, the best in the nation.
The ball fell between the outfielders, and two runs scored. Kristin Gauthier was thrown out at the plate, and Jones was credited with a triple, Arizona’s only extra-base hit of the CWS.
“She puts us on the board, and I think that developed a lot of confidence throughout the whole lineup,” Candrea said.
Arizona scored two more in the fourth, chasing Compton, and another in the fifth.
“This was our weekend,” Candrea said. “I’ve been saying that all week. We couldn’t play any better than we did the last couple of weeks.”
The Wildcats (56-16) couldn’t have played much better yesterday, as they handed UCLA (56-7) its worst loss of the year. The teams split six games during the season. Arizona won the last three, all in the last three weeks.
The margin of victory surprised one player.
“I didn’t think it would go any more than 2-0,” Day said. “After we kept scoring, it was just amazing. It was incredible.”
Jones had three of the UA’s seven hits. Compton and Lisa Fernandez combined to walk five.
UCLA won the right to play Arizona by beating Fresno State 5-1 yesterday in an elimination game that took 13 innings on a hot, humid day.
“It has to affect you somewhat,” said UCLA co-coach Sue Enquist. “To go through that Fresno game and emotionally be so high … I think it’s bound to affect us, and I think it did a little bit.”
Still, UCLA decided to stay with Compton, who pitched a complete first game.
“She was throwing so well,” Enquist said. “We always keep tabs on her and ask her how she’s feeling. She was really bringing the ball and moving it around well. She was ready to go.”
Candrea second-guessed the choice but could agree with it in part.
“I guess they felt that was their money pitcher. I would have gone with Debby Day until the dam broke,” he said.
Unlike UA’s previous four games, which all went extra innings, Candrea did not have to worry about his pitcher tiring.
Day’s first inning, however, was cause for concern.
UCLA’s Shanna Flynn hit a sharp single to lead off. She moved to second on a sacrifice and went to third on another hard-hit single, this one by Fernandez.
“She has a knack of getting herself out of trouble. I always have confidence in her,” Candrea said of Day.
“I was a little concerned,” Candrea then admitted. “My heart was pumping a little bit more than it usually does.”
Day was dominating after that. She struck out Yvonne Gutierrez and retired Missy Phillips on a popout to Standering to end the inning.
Day set the Bruins down in order in the second and third innings before yielding Fernandez’s homer to lead off the fourth. She allowed only one more hit the rest of the way.
“Those last three outs were the toughest three outs you’d ever want to go through,” Candrea said.
But Candrea would go through it again.
“Two national championships in junior college were great, but this is the greatest feeling in the world,” said Candrea, who won titles at Central Arizona in 1984 and 1985. “It’s nice to be No. 1. It’s nice to say you’re the best.”
