The NCAA News - News and Features

May 11, 1998

Division I Women's Softball

Top-ranked Arizona aims for third straight I women's softball crown

Event: 1998 Division I Women's Softball Championship.

Overview: Two-time defending champion and top-ranked Arizona will go for its third straight title in Oklahoma City. Senior catcher Leah Braatz leads the nation with 22 home runs for the season. Pitcher Nancy Evans leads the 51-3 Wildcats with a 26-1 record, a 1.22 earned-run average and 201 strikeouts in 172 innings pitched. Center fielder Alison McCutcheon set an NCAA career hits record last month with her 373rd .... Also in the title hunt is Michigan, which has lost just four games this year. Junior Traci Conrad leads the team with a .459 batting average. Catcher/third baseman Melissa Gentile's 10 home runs is tops for the team, and pitcher Sara Griffin is undefeated this season with a 27-0 record. The two-time all-American has won 98 career games .... Nebraska was undefeated in Big 12 Conference regular-season play. Ali Viola's grand slam against Oklahoma captured the title. Sophomore pitcher Jenny Voss leads the nation in wins with 32. Senior Christie McCoy became the ninth player in NCAA history to hit three homers in a single game .... Oklahoma would like to take top honors in its home state. Freshman shortstop Lisa Carey leads the Sooners in hitting with a .326 average. Carey has three home runs and 19 runs batted in this season. Freshman catcher Ashli Barrett is hitting .303 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. Freshman Lakisha Washington has stolen 27 bases in 29 attempts. Oklahoma's .974 fielding percentage is the second highest in the nation .... Texas looks to snap a 10-year title drought. Longhorns pitcher Christa Williams is ranked second in the country in both ERA and strikeouts. Shortstop Jodi Reeves leads the team in batting with a .408 average. Second baseman Nikki Cockrell is hitting .385 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs .... Washington features three top pitchers in Jennifer Spediacci, Eve Gaw and Jamie Graves, who have combined for an 0.93 ERA.

Field: Thirty-two teams. Eight teams are seeded, and one is placed at each of the eight regional sites. Four teams play at each of the regional sites in a double-elimination tournament. The Women's College World Series will include the eight regional winners.

Dates and sites: Regionals will be May 15-17 on the campuses of the competing institutions. Oklahoma will host the Women's College World Series May 21-25 at the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.

Television coverage: The semifinals will be televised live on ESPN2 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, May 24. The second game will air 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The championship game will be televised on ESPN2 at 2 p.m. Eastern time, May 25.

Information/results: The NCAA Fax-on-Demand System telephone number is 770/399-3060, passcode 1915. Only Women's College World Series games will be posted; the request number for schedule and results is 5155. Request numbers for complete statistics from Game Nos. 1-15 are 5156 through 5170. Results also will be available on the World Wide Web at www.ncaa.org. Regional scores and pairings will appear in the May 25 issue of The NCAA News. Championship results will appear in the June 1 issue.