Pac-12 Softball Weekly Rundown - April 24, 2024 (2024)

The Pac-12 showcases three in the top-10 of the latest USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll: No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 9 UCLA, No. 19 Arizona, No. 20 California, and No. 24 Oregon. The three teams in the top-10 are tied with the Big 12 and SEC for the most among all other leagues.

The ninth-ranked Bruins, who moved into first place in the Pac-12 standings this past weekend, hosts No. 19 Arizona in their third consecutive series against a ranked Conference opponent. UCLA has won the last eight against Arizona. The Wildcats have won nine of their last 10, including the last four straight and three consecutive Pac-12 series. These two powerhouses have combined for 20 NCAA National Championships, with UCLA boasting a nation-leading 12 and Arizonas eight being the second most.

No. 8 Washington battles No. 7 Stanford in a key league series. These two teams last met in Oklahoma City at the Womens College World Series, with the Cardinal outlasting the Huskies, 1-0 behind NiJaree Canadys one-hit complete-game shutout. This weekend will be the third straight series against a ranked Pac-12 opponent for Washington.

No. 20 California heads to Arizona State for a three-game series. The Sun Devils swept the Golden Bears in Tempe, Ariz. in 2022. California walked off No. 8 Washington in the series finale on Sunday behind Tianna Bells RBI single in the seventh.

Winners of seven straight, Utah hosts Baylor on Wednesday to wrap up regular-season non-conference play before visiting Oregon State. The Beavers need two more wins to reach 20 on the year for the third time in the last four seasons.

The No. 7 Cardinal visit Saint Marys on Wednesday before wrapping up the road trip on Monday against Seattle. Oregon concludes its homestand against Northern Colorado on Sunday in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Quick Hits

• UCLAs Taylor Tinsley was named theWilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week after going 3-0 in the circle against then-No. 5 Stanford.The sophom*ore struck out 20 over 15.2 innings, including a nine-inning complete game shutout in which she fanned a career-high 15.
• Stanfords Canady paces the nation with a 0.51 ERA.
  • If Canady can maintain this mark, itll be the best ERA by a Pac-12 pitcher since UCLAs Keira Goerl , who posted a 0.48 in 2002.
• The Pac-12 continues to rank among the nations best in a variety of offensive categories, including second with 8.02 hits per game, second with 12.69 total bases per game, fourth with 5.25 runs per game and fourth with 0.98 home runs per game.
• Arizonas Regan Shockey earned her fourth Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award on Monday after hitting .455 and leading the Wildcats to a three-game sweep of Arizona State.
  • Shockey joins Trish Parks as the only Arizona players to win the award four times.
  • Shockey ranks fourth among all NCAA DI freshmen with a .420 batting average.
• Four Pac-12 players rank in the top-50 nationally in batting average: No. 5 Abby Dayton - .467, No. 15 Kai Luschar - .438, No. 19 Haley Denning - .434, No. 41 Shockey - .420.
• UCLAs Maya Brady (65) needs two more homers to pass Stephany LaRosa (66) for the second-most career home runs in Bruin history.
  • Stacey Nuveman holds the record with 90.
• Washington recorded another 30-win season, and have reached the 30-win mark in every campaign since 1993*.
  • *The Huskies were 23-2 in 2020 when the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
• Cal needs four more doubles to tie the team record for the tenth-most doubles in a season.
  • The Golden Bears are averaging 1.49 doubles per game.
• Arizona and Washington continue to lead the way defensively, ranking fourth and fifth in the country, respectively, in fielding percentage: Arizona - .981 & Washington - .980.
• Oregons Hanna Delgado returned to the diamond on Sunday for Oregons Senior Day. Delgado, who sustained a season-ending neck injury on Friday, April 12, was the starting center fielder and received a standing ovation from all in attendance this past weekend.

Rankings Rundown

• USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll : No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Washington, No. 9 UCLA, No. 19 Arizona, No. 20 California, and No. 24 Oregon.
• D1Softball : No. 5 UCLA, No. 6 Stanford, No. 11 Washington, No. 18 Arizona and No. 24 Oregon.
• Softball America : No. 7 UCLA, No. 9 Stanford, No. 12 Washington, and No. 21 Arizona.
• ESPN.com/USA Softball : No. 6 UCLA, No. 8 Stanford, No. 10 Washington, No. 20 Arizona, No. 23 Oregon and No. 25 California.
• NCAA RPI Rankings (through 4/23): No. 6 Stanford, No. 8 UCLA, No. 21 California, No. 24 Washington, No. 25 Arizona, No. 31 Oregon, No. 45 Utah, No. 79 Oregon State and No. 90 Arizona State.

Conference Notebook

• Arizona : The Wildcats have six ranked wins this season, five of which have come against Pac-12 teams. Aissa Silva has recorded wins in each of those five games, and has a Pac-12-leading 20 this season which ranks her t-sixth in NCAA DI.
• Arizona State : Sara Kinch knocked her second grand slam of the season this past weekend, giving Arizona State three on the year. Its the fourth straight campaign a Sun Devil has multiple grand slams in the same season (2023 - Jazmine Hill (2), 2022 - Jazmyn Rollin & Makenna Harper (2 each), 2021 - Denae Chatman (2)).
• California : Cals league-leading 61 homers are the fourth most in program history. The Golden Bears, who led the Pac-12 with 74 long balls a season ago, are 15-0 this year when hitting two or more home runs in a game.
• Oregon : Luschar is one of three players nationally with over 60 hits and 24 stolen bases, while also averaging at least 1.00 run per game (also Nevadas Chelie Senini and Virginia Techs Emma Ritter). The league leader in steals, Luschar needs one more to tie Danica Mercado (2017) for the tenth-most in a season in Duck history.
• Oregon State : Catcher Abby Doerr has thrown out seven would-be base stealers this season, which is the second most in the league. Doerr now has 13 caught steals in her career (three in three seasons at Alabama, 10 with Oregon State).
• Stanford: The Cardinal has hit 41 home runs so far this season, its most homers since 2013 and the seventh-most all-time. Stanford is slugging .523 in Pac-12 play which is the third-highest mark in the Conference.
• UCLA :Three Pac-12 pitchers boast a sub-2.00 ERA, and two play for the Bruins. Kaitlyn Terry ranks second with a 1.97 ERA while Tinsley sports a 1.99 ERA. The duo also both rank in the top five in strikeouts: Tinsley - 3rd, 139 & Terry - 5th, 103.
• Utah : Dennings triple in Sundays doubleheader this past weekend was the 300th of her career, making her the first Utah player to reach the 300-hit plateau. Denning also scored for the 198th time in her career to set a new program record. Dennins career batting average of .395 is on pace to be a Utah record.
• Washington : The Huskies have homered in 11 straight games, and hit 25 home runs over that span. Washington has a league-leading 32 home runs in Pac-12 play, with Alana Johnson hitting a team-high eight and Brooke Nelson having seven.

Watch List

• 11 Pac-12 players are on USA Softballs Top 50 "Watch List" for Player of the Year: Maya Brady , UCLA; NiJaree Canady , STAN; Megan Grant , UCLA; Stevie Hansen , ORE; Taryn Kern , STAN; Mariah Lopez , UTAH; Ruby Meylan , WASH; Sharlize Palacios , UCLA; Carlie Scupin , ARIZ; Allie Skaggs , ARIZ; Jordan Woolery , UCLA.

Additions & Returners

• Every Pac-12 program was ranked in the top-45 of Extra Inning Softballs 2023 team recruiting rankings : No. 7 Washington, No. 8 UCLA, No. 9 Arizona, No. 13 Oregon, No. 31 Stanford, No. 33 Arizona State, No. 34 California, No. 44 Oregon State, No. 45 Utah.
• The Pac-12 returns 12 First-Team All-Conference members from a season ago: Tatum Anzaldo (CAL); Aliya Belarde (UTAH), Brady (UCLA), NiJaree Canady , (STAN), Abby Dayton (UTAH), Megan Grant (UCLA), Dakota Kennedy (ARIZ), Mariah Lopez (UTAH), River Mahler (STAN), Ruby Meylan (WASH), Allie Skaggs (ARIZ) and Jordan Woolery (UCLA).
• Six 2023 NFCA All-Americans will suit up for Pac-12 teams this year: Brady, Grant, Taryn Kern , Lopez, Woolery & Meylan.
  • Stanford added 2023 NFCA Second Team All-American Kern this offseason, who transferred in from Indiana.

PowHER of the PAC

• All nine Pac-12 softball programs are led by female head coaches.
• Six of nine are leading their alma maters: Jessica Allister , STAN; Amy Hogue , UTAH; Kelly Inouye-Perez , UCLA; Caitlin Lowe , ARIZ; Chelsea Spencer , CAL; Heather Tarr , WASH.

Preseason Coaches Poll

• Stanford received seven first-place votes and 63 total points to finish atop the 2024 preseason coaches poll for the first time in Pac-12 history. Reigning regular-season champion UCLA was second with 54 points, while Utah came in third with 49 points and one first-place vote. Washington grabbed the remaining first-place vote and 45 points to finish fourth. 2023 Pac-12 Player of the Year and Batting Champion Brady of UCLA headlined the 20-member Preseason All-Pac-12 Team.

2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament

• Stanfords Boyd & Jill Smith Family Stadium will host the 2024 Pac-12 Softball Tournament, which takes place from May 8-11. The four-day event will begin with a play-in game between the eighth and ninth-place teams in the regular-season standings on Wednesday. That winner will advance to an eight-team, single-elimination bracket with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship being contested on the following three days. The winner of the Pac-12 Softball Tournament will receive the Conferences automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Historically Speaking

• The nations most successful softball conference, Pac-12 programs have combined to win 24 of the 41 NCAA softball championships all-time, 17 more than the next closest league, and all nine Pac-12 teams have made appearances in the Womens College World Series. Of the 13 different programs to have won an NCAA softball championship, five are from the Pac-12: UCLA (12), Arizona (8), Arizona State (2), California (1) and Washington (1). The Pac-12 sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, with three teams advancing to the Womens College World Series, the most of any other conference.

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