This year she wants it ALL

Arizona Daily Wildcat UA junior pitcher Nancy Evans delivers to a Florida batter Sunday at Lincoln Park. Evans has 11 wins so far this season for the Wildcats and has a career ERA of 1.58.

She did not win All-America honors.

And she did all of this despite suffering a broken bone in her right foot at the end of the season. The injury caused her to take a medical hardship during Arizona's national title run in 1996.

"I was waiting all last year for this season to come around," Evans said. "Probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do was stand on the sideline and watch my team play and not be able to physically help out at all. Now is my chance to come back and participate."

In 1997 Evans is back in the circle with 11 wins already under her belt. The injury, although mostly healed still causes Evans problems. It has to be wrapped before every trip to the circle, even in practice.

"My foot's not at one hundred percent, but it's doing good and it's getting better every day," Evans said. "I can compete and everything. I'm ready to play and that's all I worry about."

UA head coach Mike Candrea recruited Evans out of Hoover High School not only as one of the best pitchers in the nation, but also as a five-position player and a hitter. In high school she threw 37 no-hitters, with 1,264 strikeouts and a career ERA of 0.24.

"I knew she was a special player," Candrea said. "She was an above-average pitcher and a fine athlete."

Candrea had to make the decision to redshirt Evans after four starts in 1995. She won all four games with 25 strikeouts, but her foot wasn't healing right.

"I thought it was a good decision," Candrea said. "It's been an injury that's taken a lot longer to heal."

Combined with All-American Carrie Dolan, the Arizona pitching staff is arguably the best in the country. The difference between Dolan and Evans is night and day.

"Nancy is rise-ball, rise-ball and screwball," Dolan said. "She's going to strike a lot of people out. She's a strikeout pitcher and I'm a groundout pitcher."

The Evans rise-ball has had it's share of victims, just ask Florida. In last weekend's Hillenbrand Invitational, Evans threw a three-hitter against the Gators. In the tournament she won three games, two of which were shutouts. Evans allowed only two earned runs in 24 innings.

"Rise-ball is my favorite pitch, and it's also my best pitch," Evans said. "The games were good. I'm still building, still working on some things. I came out and got three wins and that's what my goal was."

As if facing Evans' rise-ball and screw-ball weren't bad enough, she has been working on two new pitches.

"I've been working all off-season on the drop-ball and the change-up, that I wasn't very strong in the past" Evans said. "Now's the time to work on them. It's what I like to do in these games in the beginning of the year, so that by the middle of the year I'll have them down to where I want them to be."

This season, Evans has been a force in the circle. She has 71 strikeouts in 63 innings with an ERA of 0.78.

"It matters if we win or lose," Evans said. "How many hits they get doesn't dawn on me. Of course the less hits, the less people they have on base, the less runs they can score, so that matters. But, as long as we win that's all I care about."

Evans has never been one of the vocal leaders on the team, but Candrea still considers her a leader.

"She's a quiet leader," Candrea said. "She's a fierce competitor. She's a person who can ignite a fire under the team."

The only thing left for Evans is to earn that elusive All-America nomination that eluded her in 1995.

"I just go out there and try to win each game as it comes," Evans said. "If I worry about awards at the end of the year it's going to mess me up mentally. I just concentrate on each game as it comes."