Missouri to Honor 1997 Big 12 Softball Championship Team
10/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Oct. 16, 2006
Columbia, Mo. - The University of Missouri Department of Athletics will host a 10-year reunion for the Tigers' 1997 Big 12 Softball Championship team this homecoming weekend. Fourteen members of the original 17-member squad will be recognized, Saturday, Oct. 21, during Missouri's football game against Kansas State at 1 p.m. (CT) on Faurot Field.
Reunion festivities will begin Friday, Oct. 20, as the 1997 team gathers at D. Rowes for an evening reception from 6-8 p.m. Following the reception, the Tiger champions will walk alongside the Varsity M Homecoming float at the annual 8 a.m. Saturday morning parade beginning at the corner of Conley and 6th street. After a tour of the athletic facilities, the team will take part in the Varsity M Tailgate prior to the 1 p.m. kick.
The first and only Missouri team to earn Big 12 regular season and championship titles, the 1997 softball squad won a Mizzou record-tying 47 games, finished 12th in the nation, set Missouri's highest batting average (.318) and was graced with the program's first first team National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-American, Barb Wright. Three Tigers earned NFCA All-Midwest Region honors with five named to the All-Big 12 Conference team. In recognition of the standout season, then-Missouri Head Coach Jay Miller was awarded Coach of the Year honors while Wright was recognized as Player of the Year and Tournament MVP.
With a 15-3 in league play, Missouri owned an .833 winning percentage and was 47-16 (.746) overall. To date, six members of the 1997 team hold a total of 22 top-10 records in various Missouri season batting, fielding and pitching records. A senior shortsop in 1997, Mary Babb crushed 16 home runs in her final campaign, a record that stood for eight years before being bested by one homer from Micaela Minner in 2005.
For more information regarding the 1997 Missouri Softball Championship reunion, please contact Sarah Baumgartner at 573-882-5188.
