The day Arizona flew to Oklahoma City for the 1997 Women’s College World Series, Wildcat coach Mike Candrea dismissed pitcher Carrie Dolan from the team for a disciplinary issue.
Dolan had gone 24-3 that season and a school-record 35-6 a year earlier. What team survives that?
In an instant, the nation’s No. 1 team became vulnerable and then some. It meant that junior Nancy Evans would likely have to pitch every game — every inning — at the WCWS. And it didn’t get any easier when Evans pitched 22 innings in the first two games, an eight-inning triumph over UMass and a 14-inning survival over No. 2 UCLA.
She then had to pitch 14 innings in a Sunday survival series against Fresno State, in which Arizona lost the first game to the Bulldogs but won the second to advance to the championship game against UCLA.
“Nancy told me she’d get stronger with each game,’’ Candrea said. “I believe her. She’s so damn competitive.
“When Fresno jumped ahead of us, I thought ‘oh, boy.’ Nancy has hit the wall. Then what does she do? She bounces back and was better than ever.’’
A day later, Arizona won the national championship, beating the rival Bruins 10-2 in a five inning, mercy-rule blowout. Evans had pitched 40 innings, setting the school record for wins in the rout of UCLA.
The ’97 WCWS didn’t follow script for Arizona. The Wildcats went to Oklahoma City as the nation’s mightiest offensive team. Junior outfielder Alison Johnsen hit an NCAA-high .534 in the regular season, which remains a UA record. Senior first baseman Leah O’Brien, a 1996 Olympian, hit .467 and joined Johnsen as a first-team All-American. Catcher Leah Braatz hit .367 with 21 home runs and junior third baseman Lety Pineda hit .356 with 16 homers.
Nancy Evans was the UA’s entire pitching staff at the 1997 WCWS, throwing all 40 innings over five games.
The Wildcats, who finished 61-5, hit an NCAA-high .375 as a team and scored exactly 500 runs to lead the nation. Not many talked about the 1-2 pitching punch of Evans and Dolan.
But when things got tough in OKC, it was all about Evans and pitching. Evans finished the season 36-2 and was MVP of the WCWS.
Said Candrea, whose team won its fifth NCAA championship in seven years: “That title was by far the toughest. By far. By far.’’
The ’97 Wildcats didn’t sneak in the back door. They began the season on a 30-game winning streak, lost two games to Fresno State and another to UCLA, and then rolled off 26 consecutive wins until losing to Fresno State in Oklahoma City.
Alison Johnsen slides around UCLA catcher Stacey Nuveman for a UA run during the 1997 WCWS in Oklahoma City.
Arizona went 26-1 in the Pac-10, swept the regionals and couldn’t have felt better about its chances to win the WCWS — until Dolan was dismissed from the team two days before the opener in OKC.
It was then that Evans took charge.
“Nancy has been a little bit overlooked because we average six or seven runs a game,’’ said Candrea. “But Nancy is special. She’s starting to get her due.’’
There was another outside variable that was a factor at the ’97 World Series. UCLA had beaten the Wildcats in the finals of the 1995 WCWS but it was later discovered that the Bruins used an ineligible pitcher, Australia Olympic star, Tanya Harding. The NCAA ruled UCLA ineligible for the 1997 postseason but the Bruins appealed, and their postseason ban was delayed until 1998.
“This is sweet revenge,’’ said Johnson.
Nancy Evans, left, and Lisa Pitt embrace after winning the 1997 Women's College World Series Championship game against UCLA 10-2. Evans was named Most Outstanding Player.
The ’97 championship game was the last O’Brien played at Arizona. She remains one of the most dominant players in the history of the NCAA tournament. She went 31 for 55 (.564) across four WCWS trips, finishing with a 15-game hitting streak, including two hits in the title victory.
Unfortunately, not all turned out so happily for the ’97 Wildcats. A month after the championship win, senior outfielder Julie Reitan of Sahuaro High School, who hit .318 as the club’s starting left fielder, died of diabetes and a low blood sugar disorder at her Tucson apartment. She was 21.
Most of her teammates and coaches attended a memorial service for her at McKale Center.
