Arizona Summer Wildcat

Elated and somewhat relieved. Those are probably apt descriptions of how the Arizona softball team felt last week in Columbus, Ga., after capturing its fourth national title in six years.

For the Wildcats, who defeated No. 1-ranked Washington 6-4 in the title game, it was the sheer joy of winning the college crown coupled with the knowledge that it had been a bumpy road to get there.

"We faced a lot of adversity," Arizona head coach Mike Candrea said. "But this group of young ladies were not going to be denied."

No. 2 UA (54-9) entered the 1996 season without four All-Americans from last year's national runner-up squad. Laura Espinoza and Amy Chellevold graduated, Leah Braatz was redshirting to give birth to her first baby and Leah O'Brien was redshirting to compete this summer with the United States softball team at the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Top pitcher Nancy Evans had to take a medical redshirt to let a foot injury heal properly.

Losing four All-Americans is not exactly a formula for success, but it was one that Candrea - who called this championship his most gratifying - found to work anyway.

"It was probably not our greatest talent but our best team," he said.

In the end, it was the two remaining All-Americans who led the Wildcats to the promised land. Senior second baseman Jenny Dalton spent most of the College World Series perfecting her walk to first base - she was walked eight times in all. But for UA, she could not have picked a better time to reintroduce her home run trot. In the first inning against the Huskies, Dalton sent her 21st home run of the year out of Golden Park Stadium, and the Wildcats jumped to a 3-0 lead that stretched to 6-0 by the bottom of the fourth.

"Jenny was phenomenal," Candrea said, "and it's only fitting because she is not only a great athlete, but a great person."

Two UA throwing errors in the fourth contributed to four UW runs, and the lead closed to 6-4. Then it was junior pitcher Carrie Dolan's turn to rise to the occasion.

With no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning, Dolan was facing the Huskies' triple threat lineup of All-Americans. But she got Husky shortstop Tami Storseth to ground to third, second baseman Sara Pickering to strike out and catcher Jennifer Cline to pop out to catcher Lety Pineda.

Inning over.

Disaster averted.

But perhaps just as much as Dolan's performance helped the Wildcats, the Huskies' inexperience in the championship game may have as well. This was just the first time UW had ever advanced this far.

"Our experience definitely helped," Candrea said. "The girls were very, very focused. It was their bike, and no one was going to take it away."