# 1998 NCAA Division I softball season

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 :
| 1998 Big 12 Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 5 Nebraska ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 16–0–0 1.00048–12–0 .800 No. 11 Oklahoma ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–5–0 .70649–15–0 .766 No. 7 Texas ‍‍‍$^y$ 11–5–0 .68849–16–0 .754 No. 24 Texas Tech ‍‍‍ 10–7–0 .58845–19–0 .703 No. 4 Oklahoma State ‍‍‍$^y$ 9–7–0 .56342–19–0 .689 Kansas ‍‍‍ 7–11–0 .38928–34–0 .452 Texas A&M ‍‍‍ 6–10–1 .38232–25–2 .559 Iowa State ‍‍‍ 5–11–0 .31316–27–0 .372 Missouri ‍‍‍ 5–13–0 .27836–20–0 .643 Baylor ‍‍‍ 2–14–1 .14720–36–1 .360 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from NFCA/USA Today | 1998 Big Ten Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 6 Michigan ‍†‍‡‍$^y$ 22–1–0 .95756–7–0 .889 Northwestern ‍‍‍ 15–9–0 .62534–19–0 .642 No. 16 Minnesota ‍‍‍$^y$ 14–9–0 .60948–21–0 .696 No. 19 Iowa ‍‍‍$^y$ 14–9–0 .60938–20–0 .655 Michigan State ‍‍‍ 11–13–0 .45834–20–0 .630 Ohio State ‍‍‍ 10–14–0 .41733–23–0 .589 Penn State ‍‍‍ 8–14–0 .36421–28–1 .430 Purdue ‍‍‍ 8–16–0 .33329–30–0 .492 Wisconsin ‍‍‍ 8–16–0 .33319–31–1 .382 Indiana ‍‍‍ 7–16–0 .30413–31–1 .300 † – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 1998 Rankings from NFCA/USA Today | 1998 Pacific-10 Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L PCTW L PCT No. 2 Arizona ‍†‍‍$^y$ 27–1 .96467–4 .944 No. 3 Washington ‍‍‍$^y$ 19–9 .67952–15 .776 No. 12 Stanford ‍‍‍$^y$ 17–11 .60741–18 .695 No. 22 California ‍‍‍$^y$ 12–14 .46235–27 .565 No. 20 Oregon ‍‍‍$^y$ 10–18 .35740–31 .563 No. 15 Arizona State ‍‍‍$^y$ 9–19 .32138–27 .585 UCLA ‍‍‍ 8–18 .30818–27 .400 Oregon State ‍‍‍ 8–20 .28627–28 .491 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 1998 Rankings from NFCA/USA Today |
| 1998 Southland Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT Northwestern Louisiana ‍†‍‍$^y$ 23–3–0 .88540–18–0 .690 Nicholls State ‍‍‍ 23–4–0 .85243–16–0 .729 Texas–San Antonio ‍‍‍ 17–8–0 .68031–20–0 .608 Southeastern Louisiana ‍‍‍ 13–13–0 .50031–27–0 .534 Texas–Arlington ‍‍‍ 11–15–0 .42316–29–0 .356 Northeast Louisiana ‍‍‍ 11–16–0 .40723–37–0 .383 Southwest Texas State ‍‍‍ 10–15–0 .40015–40–0 .273 Stephen F. Austin ‍‍‍ 10–16–0 .38524–30–0 .444 McNeese State ‍‍‍ 7–17–0 .29213–34–0 .277 Sam Houston State ‍‍‍ 4–22–0 .15414–35–0 .286 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of May 20, 1998 Rankings from Coaches' Poll | 1998 Western Athletic Conference softball standings vteConfOverall TeamW L T PCTW L T PCT No. 1 Fresno State ‍†‍‍ 28–2–0 .93352–11–0 .825 No. 14 Hawaii ‍‍‍ 22–8–0 .73346–15–1 .750 Utah ‍‍‍ 19–13–0 .59436–21–0 .632 Colorado State ‍‍‍ 16–13–0 .55230–21–0 .588 San Diego State ‍‍‍ 14–17–0 .45224–35–0 .407 UNLV ‍‍‍ 13–19–0 .40621–30–0 .412 San Jose State ‍‍‍ 11–21–0 .34426–33–0 .441 Tulsa ‍‍‍ 8–22–0 .26720–36–0 .357 New Mexico ‍‍‍ 8–24–0 .25023–40–0 .365 † – Conference champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from NFCA/USA Today |

## 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.
| Round of 16 | Round of 16 | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Finals | Finals | Finals |
| Arizona | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| Oklahoma State | 0 | Arizona | 8$^5$ | | | | | | | |
| | | Washington | 0 | | | | | | | |
| Washington | 1 | Washington | 0 | | | | | | | |
| UMass | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| UMass | 0 | | | Arizona | 5 | — | | | | |
| | | | | Oklahoma State | 0 | — | | | | |
| Oklahoma State | 6 | | | | | | Oklahoma State | 0 | — | | | |
| UMass | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| UMass | 0 | Michigan | 1 | | | | | | | |
| | | Oklahoma State | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | Arizona | 0 |
| | | | | | | | | | Fresno State | 1 |
| Michigan | 7 | | | | | | | | | | Fresno State | 1 |
| Texas | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| Texas | 2 | Michigan | 0 | | | | | | | |
| | | Fresno State | 8$^5$ | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska | 1 | Fresno State | 8$^5$ | | | | | | | |
| Fresno State | 6 | | | | | | | | | |
| Fresno State | 6 | | | Fresno State | 1 | 6 | | | | |
| | | | | Washington | 3 | 1 | | | | |
| Texas | 1 | | | | | | Washington | 3 | 1 | | | |
| Nebraska | 2 | | | | | | | | | |
| Nebraska | 2 | Washington | 3 | | | | | | | |
| | | Nebraska | 1 | | | | | | | |

## Season leaders

Batting
* Batting average: .519 – Tanisha Kemp, Morgan State Bears
* RBIs: 100 – Leah Braatz, Arizona Wildcats
* Home runs: 25 – Kelly Kretschman, Alabama Crimson Tide & Leah Braatz, Arizona Wildcats
Pitching
* Wins: 40-9 – Jenny Voss, Nebraska Cornhuskers
* ERA: 0.42 (8 ER/132.0 IP) – Liza Brown, DePaul Blue Demons
* Strikeouts: 430 – Danielle Henderson, UMass Minutewomen

## Records

Freshman class runs: 94 – Kelly Kretschman, Alabama Crimson Tide
Senior class runs: 97 – Alison McCutcheon, Arizona Wildcats
Senior class hits: 117 – Alison McCutcheon, Arizona Wildcats
Team stolen bases: 368 – Alabama State Hornets

## Awards

* Honda Sports Award Softball:
Nancy Evans, Arizona Wildcats
| 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.
First Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Jenny Voss | SO. | Nebraska Cornhuskers |
| P | Nancy Evans | SR. | Arizona Wildcats |
| P | 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 |
| OF | Laura Berg | SR. | Fresno State Bulldogs |
| OF | 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 |
| AT-L | Nikki Cockrell | JR. | Texas Longhorns |
| AT-L | Jamie Foutch | JR. | Oklahoma State Cowgirls |
| AT-L | Amanda Scott | SO. | Fresno State Bulldogs |
| AT-L | Leticia Pineda | SR. | Arizona Wildcats |
Second Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Jennifer Spediacci | SO. | Washington Huskies |
| P | Danielle Henderson | JR. | UMass Minutewomen |
| P | 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 |
| OF | Tia Morenz | SR. | Hawaii Rainbow Wahine |
| OF | 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 |
| AT-L | Sandy Rhea | SR. | Utah Utes |
| AT-L | Becky Witt | FR. | Fresno State Bulldogs |
| AT-L | Jodi Reeves | SO. | Texas Longhorns |
| AT-L | Monica Triner | JR. | USF Bulls |
Third Team
| Position | Player | Class | School |
| P | Becky Blevins | JR. | Stanford Cardinal |
| P | Lana Moran | SO. | Oklahoma Sooners |
| P | 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 |
| OF | Wendy Harrison | SO. | Missouri Tigers |
| OF | Jody Dean | JR. | UNI Panthers |
| DP | Marcy Crouch | JR. | Stanford Cardinal |
| UT | Samantha Iuli | SO. | UIC Flames |
| AT-L | Monica Armendarez | SR. | Indiana Hoosiers |
| AT-L | Liza Brown | JR. | DePaul Blue Demons |
| AT-L | Eve Gaw | SR. | Washington Huskies |
| AT-L | Desarie Knipfer | SR. | Cal Poly Mustangs |
| AT-L | Steph Midthun | JR. | Minnesota Golden Gophers |