Huskies Travel To The Desert To Face Grand Canyon And No. 4 Arizona
March 22, 2017 | Softball
THIS WEEK: ROAD TRIP TO THE DESERT
The No. 5/6 Huskies (24-3, 3-0 Pac-12) will play in two series this week as part of their Spring Break road trip. Washington will begin with a doubleheader at Grand Canyon University (25-7) in Phoenix, Ariz., on Wednesday, March 22 at 3 p.m. PT. Next up for the Dawgs is a top-ten showdown in Tucson, Ariz., when the Huskies play the No. 4/5 Arizona Wildcats (29-1, 3-0 Pac-12). The teams will play Friday (5 p.m.), Saturday (12 p.m.) and Sunday (12 p.m.). The games at Arizona will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network.
LAST TIME OUT
The No.6 Washington softball team (24-3) swept No. 21 Arizona State (19-8) in the opening weekend of Pac-12 Conference play after a 6-4 win on Saturday and posting back-to-back shutouts, 4-0 and 1-0, in a doubleheader Sunday afternoon. In Saturday's game Morganne Flores and Kirstyn Thomas led the team with three RBIs apiece. Flores led the team on Sunday with two RBIs in the first game to help the Huskies win the series. Taylor Van Zee homered late in the second game to score the game's only run and complete the sweep. Samantha Manti started both games against the Sun Devils on Sunday, tossing one complete game and notching a career high of nine strikeouts in the first game. She totaled ten strikeouts, two walks and six hits on the day. The freshman didn't allow a single run in her ten innings in the circle.
HUSKIES AT A GLANCE
>> Last Friday's 3-2 win over No. 7 Minnesota marked Coach Tarr's 500th win as Washington head coach. She finished the weekend with her 504th win.
>> Sophomore ace Taran Alvelo (13-1) threw a three-hitter against No. 7 Minnesota and didn't give up a single run and allowed only three hits over five innings. The three hits marked the fewest for Minnesota this season.
>> The Husky pitching staff currently boasts an ERA of 1.79 compared to opponents' 6.35.
>> Freshman pitcher Samantha Manti earned her fifth straight win of her young collegiate career. During the team's second game against Arizona State, she earned a career high nine strikeouts. She started back-to-back games in the double header, pitching ten innings, ten strikeouts and giving up only six hits.
>> Morganne Flores hit four home runs in five at bats in the Husky Classic. The sophomore catcher totaled for eight runs, nine hits and 12 RBIs on the weekend. Flores leads the team in home runs with eight.
>> Morganne Flores led the team in RBIs against Arizona State with five.
>> Casey Stangel and Julia DePonte each blasted a home run over the fence during the Husky Classic. Stangel is ranked second on the team for home runs with six.
>> Freshman Sis Bates currently leads the team in hits (34) and triples (4). The freshman stud currently holds a .430 batting average and a .466 on base percentage.
>> Sis Bates and Ali Aguilar will represent the United State this summer on the Junior Women's National Team (Bates) and the Women's National Team (Aguilar).
>> The team returns 15 student-athletes and five freshman in the 2017. The freshmen include: Sis Bates, Maggie Gallagher, Kaija Gibson, Samantha Manti and Alyssa Simons.
>> Key returners for the Huskies include: Ali Aguilar, Casey Stangel, Taylor Van Zee, Trysten Melhart, Kelly Burdick, Madi Schreyer, Julia DePonte, Taran Alvelo and Morganne Flores.
>> The Huskies are coming off a run in the post-season in 2016 where the team ended the season at Super Regionals against Alabama. Last season marked the program's 13th Super Regional appearance and 24th appearance in the post season overall.
>> Washington is led-off at the plate by All-American Ali Aguilar, who returns for her final season. Aguilar is currently ranked seventh in program history for most runs scored with 177, eighth for RBI's with 168 and sixth for doubles with 46. Last season, Aguilar recorded 21 home runs, the fourth most for one season in program history.
>> Juniors Julia DePonte and Taylor Van Zee also return to the lineup as power hitters for the Dawgs. Last season Van Zee totaled 16 doubles and DePonte recorded four triples.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
In 2016 the team was 26-4 heading into the second week of conference play. The team opened 2016 with a series against Arizona State in Seattle where they each took one win in the series. Washington won the first game, 8-7 and lost the second game, 9-7. The third game was cancelled due to rain.
COACH TARR TO THE USA WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
USA Softball announced Monday the complete coaching staff for the USA Softball Women's National Team and Washington head coach, Heather Tarr's name was on that list. Tarr and four other current NCAA collegiate coaches were selected from the USA Softball WNT Coaching Pool and will lead the members of the 2017 Women's National Team as they compete around the country this summer.
GET THE DUB
The Huskies currently boast a 1,012-411-2 all-time record with a 307-241 conference record. The team has appeared in 24 NCAA Tournaments in its 25 years, including 13 Super Regionals and one National Championship.
LAST TIME FACING A TOP-TEN TEAM
Last time the Huskies faced a top-ten ranked team was during the Husky Classic when they faced No. 7 Minnesota. Washington went 2-0 against the top-ten ranked team, defeating them 3-2 and 9-0 in nine innings.
INSIDE THE SERIES
Washington is currently 4-0 against Grand canyon University. The last time the teams met was in 2016 in Phoenix, Ariz. when the Huskies swept a double header, 8-4 and 13-6.
Washington is 31-65 all-time vs. Arizona, but the Huskies won the series in 2016 in Seattle, 2-1. Neither Arizona nor Washington has swept the three-game series since 2010.
A CLOSER LOOK: GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY
The Lopes debuted at No. 60 in the Ratings Percentage Index after tallying a 25-7 record during the first six weeks of the season. GCU debuted in the top 75 in the RPI rankings for the second straight season. With 52 doubles on the season, the Lopes offensive firepower has been most visible in the doubles category with 33.
A CLOSER LOOK: ARIZONA
Arizona is off to its best 30-game start (29-1) since 2004 and ranked No. 5 in the country, its highest ranking at least six weeks into any season since 2010. Through 30 games this season, the Wildcats are outscoring their opponents 240-32. Their offense has hit more home runs (NCAA-most 44) than their opponents have total runs (32). UA has over 100 more hits (272) than its opponent has total bases (160).
PLAYER AWARDS
Pre-Season
Ali Aguilar- USA Softball Top Watchlist
Week 1
Taran Alvelo- NFCA Pitcher of the Week
Taran Alvelo- ESPNW Player of the Week
Taran Alvelo- Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week
Week 4
Ali Aguilar- Senior CLASS Top 30 Candidate
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM
Washington softball boasted their highest cumulative GPA last quarter with a 3.34 team cumulative GPA. Eight of the team's 20 student-athletes earned a spot on the Dean's List after earning a 3.5 quarter GPA or higher. Junior Trysten Melhart received a 4.0.
IN THE COMMUNITY
During the team's off days members of the Washington Husky Softball program spend time at the Seattle Children's Hospital. There they play with the patients who are there long-term in the hospital's play and craft area.
While in Puerto Vallarta for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge the team and staff were bussed to a local elementary school. While there the team and coaches taught the childeren ages from kindergarten to eighth grade softball drills and fundamentals.
HUSKIES ON THE AIR
This season the Huskies will have 21 games on television between three networks, ESPN3, the Pac-12 Network and the SEC Network. The Huskies' season opener versus Auburn on Feb. 9 will be aired on ESPN3. Their two game series at Alabama will be on the SEC Network. 18 of Washington's 21 conference games will be featured on the Pac-12 Network including the series against Arizona, UCLA, California, Oregon State and Utah.
UP NEXT
Next week the Huskies will return home for a three-game series agaisnt No. 16 UCLA. The teams will begin the series on Friday, March 31 at 6 p.m. The following two games will be on Saturday, April 1 at 4 p.m. PT and Sunday, April 2 at 5 p.m. PT. All three games will be aired live on the Pac-12 Network.
