On This Day (May 27, 1996): The Wildcats Win Their Fourth Title in Six Years

TUCSON, Ariz. -- In 1996, a trio of first-team All-Americans -- Leah Braatz (personal), Nancy Evans (injury) and Leah O'Brien (Olympics) -- redshirted the season, leaving expectations tempered a bit for Arizona for the first time since 1991. Instead, Arizona went 58-9, winning its final 17 games of the season, including a 6-4 victory over top-ranked Washington on May 27, 1996, to win its fourth national title in six years.

May 27, 1996: #2 Arizona 6, #1 Washington 4

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Arizona	3	2	0	1	0	0	0	-	6	11	2
Washington	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	-	4	11	2

WP: Carrie Dolan (35-6) • LP: Heather Meyer (25-4)
2B: Alison Johnsen (13) • HR: Jenny Dalton (25)

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With three first-team All-Americans having to sit out the season for a trio of reasons, 1996 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Arizona ??

Instead, UA beat top-ranked Washington, 6-4, to pick up title No. 4 in six years! pic.twitter.com/lCGS7Ysyk8
— Arizona Softball (@ArizonaSoftball) May 27, 2020

For the second time, Arizona followed a season (1992 and 1995) in which it won the Pac-10 title but finished as runner-up in the College World Series... with a second-place finish in the league, but the NCAA title. Decent trade.

Arizona got hot when it counted, ending the season with a 17-game winning streak. There were numerous keys — everyone on the team.

Jenny Dalton won the Pac-10 Triple Crown, the first player to do so, with a .469 batting average, 25 home runs and an incredible 109 RBI. Leticia Pineda, put in the every-day catching role because of Leah Braatz' redshirt season, hit 14 homers and drove in 96, plus batted .404.

Dalton's season earned her the Honda Softball Award as the nation's finest player.

Carrie Dolan, carrying most of the pitching load because of Nancy Evans' medical hardship season, won a school-record 35 games against six losses, but freshman Lisa Pitt also came through with a dandy 19-3 record, too. Outfielder Alison Johnsen propelled herself to a new level with a 94-hit season and a .450 batting average. Third baseman Krista Gomez hit .400 and finished with the fourth-best career batting average in UA history, .358, plus hit the career charts in hits, RBI, runs and stolen bases, among others.

Arizona played in a regional out of the state for the first time, but used it to pull together, and hit the road for 11 days to bring back the trophy.
1996 Softball NCAA Championships

1996 ROSTER

#	Name	Year	Position	Hometown (Last School)
3	Carrie Dolan^{AA2, AC2}	Jr.	P	Los Alamitos, Calif. (Los Alamitos H.S.)
5	Tanya Farhat	Jr.	C	Tucson, Ariz. (Regis Univ.)
6	Alison Johnsen^{AA1, AC2}	So.	OF	Irvine, Calif. (Woodbridge H.S.)
7	Lety Pineda^{AA1, AC1}	So.	C	Tucson, Ariz. (Desert View H.S.)
8	Krista Gomez^{AA2, AC1}	Sr.	3B	Sylmar, Calif. (Alemany Hills H.S.)
10	Julie Reitan	So.	OF	Tucson, Ariz. (Sahuaro H.S.)
11	Lisa Pitt	Fr.	1B/P	Buena Park, Calif. (Kennedy H.S.)
13	Nancy Evans	Jr.	P/INF	Glendale, Calif. (Hoover H.S.)
16	Jenny Dalton^{AA1, AC1}	Sr.	2B	Valencia, Calif. (Glendale H.S.)
18	Tiana Hejduk	So.	1B	Cardiff, Calif. (Boston Univ.)
20	Leah O'Brien	Sr.	OF	Chino, Calif. (Don Lugo H.S.)
21	Michelle Churnock	Fr.	SS	Orange, Calif. (Foothill H.S.)
22	Andrea Doty^AC2	Jr.	OF	Midway City, Calif. (Westminster H.S.)
26	Brandi Shriver^AA2	Jr.	OF	Glendale, Ariz. (Deer Valley H.S.)
31	Leah Braatz	Jr.	C	Costa Mesa, Calif. (Estancia H.S.)
33	Heidi Bomberger	Jr.	INF	Tucson, Ariz. (Sahuaro H.S.)

HC:	Mike Candrea (11th season)
AC:	Stacy Hill (2nd season)
AC:	Amy Chellevold (1st season)

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