1996 NCAA Division I softball tournament

1996 NCAA Division I
softball tournament
Teams	32
Finals site	Golden Park; Columbus, Georgia;
Champions	Arizona (4th title)
Runner-up	Washington (1st WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Mike Candrea (4th title)
MOP	Jenny Dalton (Arizona)
	← 1995 ; NCAA Division I softball tournament; 1997 →;

The 1996 NCAA Division I softball tournament was the fifteenth annual tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA women's collegiate softball. Held during May 1996, 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 1996 Women's College World Series was held in Columbus, Georgia from May 23 through May 27 and marked the conclusion of the 1996 NCAA Division I softball season. This marked the last time that the Women's College World Series was held in a city other than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and previewed Golden Park's hosting of softball events for the 1996 Summer Olympics.^[1] Arizona won their fourth NCAA championship by defeating Washington 6–4 in the final game. Arizona second baseman Jenny Dalton was named Women's College World Series Most Outstanding Player.^[2]^[3]

Qualifying

Regionals

Regional No. 1


First Round		Semi-Finals		Finals



Arizona	8⁵

Troy State	0
		Arizona	9

		Florida State	6
Florida State	3

South Florida	1
				Arizona	10	—

				Florida State	3	—
Lower round 1		Lower final



		Florida State	6

Troy State	5	South Florida	0

South Florida	6

Arizona qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 2


First Round		Semi-Finals		Finals



South Carolina	3

Notre Dame	0
		South Carolina	0

		Michigan	1
Michigan	3

Central Michigan	1
				Michigan	10	—

				South Carolina	1	—
Lower round 1		Lower final



		South Carolina	6

Notre Dame	3	Central Michigan	0

Central Michigan	9

Michigan qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 3

First Round

Semi-Finals

Finals

Iowa

8⁵

UNLV

0

Iowa

1

Oklahoma

0

Oklahoma

8⁵

Northern Illinois

0

Iowa

7

—

Oklahoma

2

—

Lower round 1

Lower final

Oklahoma

3

UNLV

1

Northern Illinois

0

Northern Illinois

3

Iowa qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 4


First Round		Semi-Finals		Finals



Southwestern Louisiana	1

Nicholls State	0
		Southwestern Louisiana	9⁸

		Nebraska	4
Nebraska	5

Minnesota	0
				Southwestern Louisiana	2	—

				Nicholls State	1	—
Lower round 1		Lower final



		Nebraska	0

Nicholls State	2	Nicholls State	2

Minnesota	1

Southwestern Louisiana qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 5

First Round

Semi-Finals

Finals

Fresno State

5

Texas A&M

2

Fresno State

0

California

1

California

4

Long Beach State

1

California

2⁹

—

Fresno State

1

—

Lower round 1

Lower final

Fresno State

3⁸

Texas A&M

1

Long Beach State

2

Long Beach State

4

California qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 6


First Round		Semi-Finals		Finals



Princeton	1

Boston University	0
		Princeton	4

		UMass	0
UMass	1

Connecticut	0
				Princeton	3	—

				Boston University	1	—
Lower round 1		Lower final



		UMass	0

Boston University	5	Boston University	1

Connecticut	0

Princeton qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 7


First Round		Semi-Finals		Finals



Cal State Northridge	5

Southwest Missouri State	0
		Cal State Northridge	0

		Cal State Fullerton	11
Cal State Fullerton	5

UCLA	1
				Cal State Fullerton	1	2

				UCLA	14⁵	7
Lower round 1		Lower final



		Cal State Northridge	5

Southwest Missouri State	1	UCLA	7

UCLA	8

UCLA qualifies for WCWS.

Regional No. 8

First Round

Semi-Finals

Finals

Oklahoma State

2

Indiana

1

Oklahoma State

3

Washington

9

Washington

2

Jacksonville State

0

Washington

9⁵

—

Oklahoma State

1

—

Lower round 1

Lower final

Oklahoma State

3

Indiana

8⁶

Indiana

0

Jacksonville State

0

Washington qualifies for WCWS.

Women's College World Series

Participants

Bracket

Round of 16			Quarterfinals			Semifinals				Finals

1	Washington	7

8	Princeton	1
			1	Washington	9

			5	California	7
4	Southwestern Louisiana	0

5	California	2
						1	Washington	8	—

						3	UCLA	2	—
8	Princeton	0

4	Southwestern Louisiana	7
			3	UCLA	3

			4	Southwestern Louisiana	2



										1	Washington	4

										2	Arizona	6
3	UCLA	2

6	Michigan	0
			3	UCLA	0

			2	Arizona	4
2	Arizona	5

7	Iowa	2
						2	Arizona	10⁶	—

						7	Iowa	2	—
6	Michigan	2

7	Iowa	3
			5	California	0

			7	Iowa	1

Championship Game

^[4]

School	Top Batter	Stats.
Arizona Wildcats	Jenny Dalton (2B)	1-2 3RBIs HR 2BBs
Washington Huskies	Leah Francis (PH)	1-1 RBI

School	Pitcher	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	AB
Arizona Wildcats	Carrie Dolan (W)	7.0	11	4	3	0	4	34
Washington Huskies	Heather Meyer (L)	1.2	6	5	5	1	0	11
Washington Huskies	Eve Gaw	5.1	5	1	1	3	1	21

All-Tournament Team

The following players were named to the All-Tournament Team^[5]

Pos	Name	School
P	Carrie Dolan	Arizona
P	Cheryl Longeway	Southwestern Louisiana
C	Jennifer Cline	Washington
1B	Traci Conrad	Michigan
2B	Jenny Dalton	Arizona
2B	Sara Pickering	Washington
3B	Lynn Britton	Southwestern Louisiana
SS	Tami Storseth	Washington
OF	Mindy Williams	Washington
	Lea Twigg	Iowa
	Alison Johnsen	Arizona
AL	Krista Gomez	Arizona
	Michelle Churnock	Arizona
	Lyn Nance	Iowa

References

^ Chuck Williams (May 30, 1996). "College softball's a hit; so is Columbus". Ledger-Enquirer. Columbus, Georgia. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
^ 2015 WCWS Records: 1990s Brackets/Rosters/Stats (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
^ 2015 WCWS Records: WCWS All-Time Results (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
^ "1996 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 13". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
^ 2015 WCWS Records: All-Time Tournament Records and Results (PDF). NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

[1] Chuck Williams (May 30, 1996). "College softball's a hit; so is Columbus". Ledger-Enquirer. Columbus, Georgia. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

[2] 2015 WCWS Records: 1990s Brackets/Rosters/Stats (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

[3] 2015 WCWS Records: WCWS All-Time Results (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved July 18, 2017.

[4] "1996 Women's Division I Softball College World Series Game 13". Ncaa.org. Retrieved June 8, 2018.

[5] 2015 WCWS Records: All-Time Tournament Records and Results (PDF). NCAA. p. 3. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

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1996 NCAA Division I softball tournament

Contents

Qualifying

Regionals

Regional No. 1

Regional No. 2

Regional No. 3

Regional No. 4

Regional No. 5

Regional No. 6

Regional No. 7

Regional No. 8

Women's College World Series

Participants

Bracket

Championship Game

All-Tournament Team

See also

References

Teams	32
Finals site	Golden Park Columbus, Georgia
Champions	Arizona (4th title)
Runner-up	Washington (1st WCWS Appearance)
Winning coach	Mike Candrea (4th title)
MOP	Jenny Dalton (Arizona)
← 1995 NCAA Division I softball tournament 1997 →