Natural Born Leader

Ian Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat Senior All-American pitcher Nancy Evans warms up with Assistant Coach Stacy Hill before yesterdayâs practice. Evans, the teamâs leader on and off the field, hopes to take the Wildcats to a third straight national title.

She has recorded 88 wins, 34 of which have been shutouts, against only six losses while establishing an NCAA-best career ERA of 1.40. She has struck out nearly 500 batters, which is three times the number of hitters she has walked. She is six games shy of starting her 100th game as a Wildcat pitcher.

And Evans can hit too, evident by her career .331 average and 132 RBI.

With all those stats one would imagine a great deal of pressure rests on the shoulders of the 22-year-old, Southern California native.

"There's no pressure at all on me," said Evans with a grin. "It doesn't matter if I have to pitch every game or every other game or whatever. It helps too that coach (Mike Candrea) doesn't let us see our stats during the year so we can focus on the game."

The decision to hide the stats from his players is one of many that, Evans said, shows what a tremendous influence Candrea is both on and off the field.

"He has had a huge impact on my life," Evans said. "He has taken my ability to the next level and has been there for me in both good times and bad. He's been a second dad to me."

When Evans made her recruiting trip to Arizona in 1993 with her parents, she said she had an overall feeling that Candrea was the kind of person she wanted to play for. Through talking with the coach and several of the players at the time, the decision to come to Arizona was an easy one, despite her turning down a scholarship offer from one of Arizona's top rivals.

"After my trip to Arizona I canceled a trip to UCLA scheduled for the next weekend," Evans said. "There was no doubt I wanted to be at Arizona. But UCLA was pretty mad."

Candrea said he knew from the start Evans could perform at the collegiate level and is most impressed by the progress she has made in her time at Arizona.

"Nancy has really matured since she got here," Candrea said. "She is a natural leader by example and her work ethic is outstanding. She has become not just a good player but one who can dominate a game."

Senior center fielder Alison McCutcheon said Evans is the perfect link between the players and Candrea.

"I think Nancy and coach are on the same wavelength a lot of the time," McCutcheon said. "We learn from Nancy as well as coach because she relates so well to all of us."

Throughout all her success, including being a member of three national championship teams, Evans has had to persevere through several difficult situations.

The death of teammate and close friend Julie Reitan last summer has taken a lot out of Evans and the entire Arizona team, including the freshmen who never really knew Reitan except for the many stories they have heard about her.

"None of us have gotten over her not being with us," Evans said. "It still doesn't feel like she is really gone. It is all so hard to accept."

Another obstacle Evans faced occurred at the end of the 1995 season when she pitched with a broken bone in her right foot.

She took a medical hardship season six games into the '96 campaign because the rehabilitation had not gone as well as she had hoped.

During the time she sat out, Evans battled with her confidence level, wondering if she would make it back to her former playing level.

Through slow progress and considerable encouragement from Candrea and CATS Mental Trainer Jeff Janssen, Evans fought back and has performed as well, if not better than before.

"Coming back from the injury took a lot of patience," Evans said. "They (Candrea and Janssen) told me I wasn't going to stop playing and I had to stay strong.

"My confidence was shaky but they helped me pull it all together."

Janssen said Evans' struggle was typical of athletes who suffer injuries.

"When an athlete gets hurt they feel like they fall behind everybody else and can't get back to their old form," Janssen said. "Nancy thought it was the worst thing in the world (to get hurt) but looking back I think she can see it from a different perspective.

"She used the adversity to help her have a great season last year."

Last season's performance earned Evans All-America honors for the first time in her career. She also was named a member of the Pacific 10 Conference and Region first teams.

Her four wins in five starts in last year's College World Series, including a 14-inning, 2-0 shutout of UCLA in the tournament's second game, earned her the Most Valuable Player award. Plus, it guided the team to its second national title in a row and fifth in the last seven years.

Still, Evans is a little bitter her team has not received more recognition, especially making the trip to the White House to meet the president.

"It's hard to take especially when we do the exact same thing as another team at our school," said Evans referring to the men's basketball team's National Championship and October appearance at the White House. "It may be the only opportunity we get to do something like that, but I guess winning five out of seven titles just isn't good enough."

Maybe three in a row and six out of eight will finally do the trick for the Wildcats and their natural born leader.