1998 NCAA Division I softball season

1998 NCAA Division I softball season
Defending ChampionsArizona
Tournament
Women's College World Series
ChampionsFresno State (1st title)
Runners-upArizona (11th WCWS Appearance)
Winning CoachMargie Wright (1st title)
WCWS MOPAmanda Scott (Fresno State)
Seasons
← 1997
1999 →

The 1998 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I level, began in February 1998. The season progressed through the regular season, many conference tournaments and championship series, and concluded with the 1998 NCAA Division I softball tournament and 1998 Women's College World Series. The Women's College World Series, consisting of the eight remaining teams in the NCAA Tournament and held in held in Oklahoma City at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, ended on May 25, 1998.

Conference standings

1998 Big 12 Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 5 Nebraska ‍†‍‡‍y 16 – 0 – 0   1.000 48 – 12 – 0   .800
No. 11 Oklahoma ‍‍‍y 12 – 5 – 0   .706 49 – 15 – 0   .766
No. 7 Texas ‍‍‍y 11 – 5 – 0   .688 49 – 16 – 0   .754
No. 24 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 10 – 7 – 0   .588 45 – 19 – 0   .703
No. 4 Oklahoma State ‍‍‍y 9 – 7 – 0   .563 42 – 19 – 0   .689
Kansas ‍‍‍ 7 – 11 – 0   .389 28 – 34 – 0   .452
Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 6 – 10 – 1   .382 32 – 25 – 2   .559
Iowa State ‍‍‍ 5 – 11 – 0   .313 16 – 27 – 0   .372
Missouri ‍‍‍ 5 – 13 – 0   .278 36 – 20 – 0   .643
Baylor ‍‍‍ 2 – 14 – 1   .147 20 – 36 – 1   .360
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
Rankings from NFCA/USA Today[1]
1998 Big Ten Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 6 Michigan  ‍†‍‡‍y 22 – 1 – 0   .957 56 – 7 – 0   .889
Northwestern  ‍‍‍ 15 – 9 – 0   .625 34 – 19 – 0   .642
No. 16 Minnesota  ‍‍‍y 14 – 9 – 0   .609 48 – 21 – 0   .696
No. 19 Iowa  ‍‍‍y 14 – 9 – 0   .609 38 – 20 – 0   .655
Michigan State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 13 – 0   .458 34 – 20 – 0   .630
Ohio State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 14 – 0   .417 33 – 23 – 0   .589
Penn State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 14 – 0   .364 21 – 28 – 1   .430
Purdue  ‍‍‍ 8 – 16 – 0   .333 29 – 30 – 0   .492
Wisconsin  ‍‍‍ 8 – 16 – 0   .333 19 – 31 – 1   .382
Indiana ‍‍‍ 7 – 16 – 0   .304 13 – 31 – 1   .300
† – Conference champion
‡ – Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament

[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
As of June 1998[12]
Rankings from NFCA/USA Today


1998 Pacific-10 Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Arizona  ‍†‍‍y 27 – 1   .964 67 – 4   .944
No. 3 Washington  ‍‍‍y 19 – 9   .679 52 – 15   .776
No. 12 Stanford  ‍‍‍y 17 – 11   .607 41 – 18   .695
No. 22 California  ‍‍‍y 12 – 14   .462 35 – 27   .565
No. 20 Oregon  ‍‍‍y 10 – 18   .357 40 – 31   .563
No. 15 Arizona State  ‍‍‍y 9 – 19   .321 38 – 27   .585
UCLA  ‍‍‍ 8 – 18   .308 18 – 27   .400
Oregon State  ‍‍‍ 8 – 20   .286 27 – 28   .491
† – Conference champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of June 30, 1998[13]
Rankings from NFCA/USA Today
1998 Southland Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
Northwestern Louisiana  ‍†‍‍y 23 – 3 – 0   .885 40 – 18 – 0   .690
Nicholls State  ‍‍‍ 23 – 4 – 0   .852 43 – 16 – 0   .729
Texas–San Antonio  ‍‍‍ 17 – 8 – 0   .680 31 – 20 – 0   .608
Southeastern Louisiana  ‍‍‍ 13 – 13 – 0   .500 31 – 27 – 0   .534
Texas–Arlington  ‍‍‍ 11 – 15 – 0   .423 16 – 29 – 0   .356
Northeast Louisiana  ‍‍‍ 11 – 16 – 0   .407 23 – 37 – 0   .383
Southwest Texas State  ‍‍‍ 10 – 15 – 0   .400 15 – 40 – 0   .273
Stephen F. Austin  ‍‍‍ 10 – 16 – 0   .385 24 – 30 – 0   .444
McNeese State  ‍‍‍ 7 – 17 – 0   .292 13 – 34 – 0   .277
Sam Houston State  ‍‍‍ 4 – 22 – 0   .154 14 – 35 – 0   .286
† – Conference champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
As of May 20, 1998[14]
Rankings from Coaches' Poll


1998 Western Athletic Conference softball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 1 Fresno State  ‍†‍‍ 28 – 2 – 0   .933 52 – 11 – 0   .825
No. 14 Hawaii  ‍‍‍ 22 – 8 – 0   .733 46 – 15 – 1   .750
Utah  ‍‍‍ 19 – 13 – 0   .594 36 – 21 – 0   .632
Colorado State  ‍‍‍ 16 – 13 – 0   .552 30 – 21 – 0   .588
San Diego State  ‍‍‍ 14 – 17 – 0   .452 24 – 35 – 0   .407
UNLV  ‍‍‍ 13 – 19 – 0   .406 21 – 30 – 0   .412
San Jose State  ‍‍‍ 11 – 21 – 0   .344 26 – 33 – 0   .441
Tulsa  ‍‍‍ 8 – 22 – 0   .267 20 – 36 – 0   .357
New Mexico  ‍‍‍ 8 – 24 – 0   .250 23 – 40 – 0   .365
† – Conference champion
y – Invited to the NCAA tournament
Rankings from NFCA/USA Today[15][16]

Women's College World Series

The 1998 NCAA Women's College World Series took place from May 21 to May 25, 1998 in Oklahoma City.[17]

Round of 16 Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals
             
Arizona 1
Oklahoma State 0
Arizona 85
Washington 0
Washington 1
UMass 0
Arizona 5 —
Oklahoma State 0 —
Oklahoma State 6
UMass 0
Michigan 1
Oklahoma State 3
Arizona 0
Fresno State 1
Michigan 7
Texas 2
Michigan 0
Fresno State 85
Nebraska 1
Fresno State 6
Fresno State 1 6
Washington 3 1
Texas 1
Nebraska 2
Washington 3
Nebraska 1

Season leaders

Batting

Pitching

Records

Freshman class runs: 94 – Kelly Kretschman, Alabama Crimson Tide[18]

Senior class runs: 97 – Alison McCutcheon, Arizona Wildcats

Senior class hits: 117 – Alison McCutcheon, Arizona Wildcats

Team stolen bases: 368 – Alabama State Hornets

Awards

Nancy Evans, Arizona Wildcats[19][20]

YEAR W L GP GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER BB SO ERA WHIP
1998 36 2 42 37 36 20 3 241.2 160 40 34 39 255 0.98 0.82
YEAR G AB R H BA RBI HR 3B 2B TB SLG BB SO SB SBA
1998 69 191 38 70 .366 44 7 1 15 108 .565% 30 8 1 1

All America Teams

The following players were members of the All-American Teams.[21]

First Team

Position Player Class School
P Jenny Voss SO. Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nancy Evans SR. Arizona Wildcats
Christa Williams SO. Texas Longhorns
C Leah Braatz SR. Arizona Wildcats
1B Traci Conrad JR. Michigan Wolverines
2B Nina Lindenberg SR. Fresno State Bulldogs
3B Toni Mascarenas FR. Arizona Wildcats
SS Ali Viola SR. Nebraska Cornhuskers
OF Alison McCutcheon SR. Arizona Wildcats
Laura Berg SR. Fresno State Bulldogs
Lauren Bauer FR. Arizona Wildcats
DP Brandy Arthur SR. North Carolina Tar Heels
UT Sara Griffin SR. Michigan Wolverines
AT-L Shannon Beeler JR. Minnesota Golden Gophers
Nikki Cockrell JR. Texas Longhorns
Jamie Foutch JR. Oklahoma State Cowgirls
Amanda Scott SO. Fresno State Bulldogs
Leticia Pineda SR. Arizona Wildcats

Second Team

Position Player Class School
P Jennifer Spediacci SO. Washington Huskies
Danielle Henderson JR. UMass Minutewomen
Jamie Graves SO. Washington Huskies
C Melissa Gentile SR. Michigan Wolverines
1B Kim Gutridge SR. UMass Minutewomen
2B Yvette Healy JR. DePaul Blue Demons
3B Isonette Polonius JR. East Carolina Pirates
SS Kelly Kretschman FR. Alabama Crimson Tide
OF Sandy Butler FR. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Tia Morenz SR. Hawaii Rainbow Wahine
Kellyn Tate SR. Michigan Wolverines
DP Christie McCoy SR. Nebraska Cornhuskers
UT Tarrah Beyster SO. Oregon State Beavers
AT-L Debbie Bilbao SR. Iowa Hawkeyes
Sandy Rhea SR. Utah Utes
Becky Witt FR. Fresno State Bulldogs
Jodi Reeves SO. Texas Longhorns
Monica Triner JR. USF Bulls

Third Team

Position Player Class School
P Becky Blevins JR. Stanford Cardinal
Lana Moran SO. Oklahoma Sooners
Chelsey Sakizzie SR. Florida Gators
C Julie Crandall SR. UNLV Rebels
1B Chelo Lopez SR. CSUN Matadors
2B Jodi Otten SR. LSU Tigers
3B Heather Stella JR. Illinois State Redbirds
SS Rosie Leutzinger SO. Washington Huskies
OF Michele Acosta JR. Stanford Cardinal
Wendy Harrison SO. Missouri Tigers
Jody Dean JR. UNI Panthers
DP Marcy Crouch JR. Stanford Cardinal
UT Samantha Iuli SO. UIC Flames
AT-L Monica Armendarez SR. Indiana Hoosiers
Liza Brown JR. DePaul Blue Demons
Eve Gaw SR. Washington Huskies
Desarie Knipfer SR. Cal Poly Mustangs
Steph Midthun JR. Minnesota Golden Gophers

References

  1. ^ "2019-2020 Big 12 Conference Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 196–197. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. ^ 1998 IND Season
  3. ^ 1998 IA Season
  4. ^ 1998 MICH Season
  5. ^ 1998 MSU Season
  6. ^ 1998 MINN Season
  7. ^ 1998 NOR Season
  8. ^ 1998 OSU Season
  9. ^ 1998 PSU Season
  10. ^ 1998 PUR Season
  11. ^ 1998 WIS Season
  12. ^ "Big Ten Softball Standings" (PDF). BigTen.org. Big Ten Conference. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  13. ^ 2020 Softball Media Guide. Pac-12 Conference. p. 52. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  14. ^ "Southland Softball" (PDF). Southland Conference. p. 14. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "Week 13". NFCA. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  16. ^ 2021 Western Athletic Conference Record Book (PDF). Western Athletic Conference. p. 32. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  17. ^ "1998 Women's College World Series". Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  18. ^ "Division I Softball Records" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  19. ^ "PAST HONDA SPORTS AWARD WINNERS FOR SOFTBALL". Collegiatewomensportsawards.com. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  20. ^ "Final 1998 Women's Softball Statistics Report" (PDF). Ncaa.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  21. ^ "1998 NSCA Division I All-America Teams". Nfca.org. Retrieved August 2, 2020.