Tag: softball america

Claire Davidson is on pace for the best offensive season in Duke softball history

The Blue Devils took the top spot in the Softball America rankings on Monday, and senior star Claire Davidson’s bat is a big reason why.

Duke softball, for the first time in program history, is the best team in the country.

The Blue Devils, now 33-3 on the season and 13-2 against ACC foes after sweeping North Carolina this weekend, took the top spot in the Softball America rankings on Monday morning. It’s hard to find a bigger reason why than the bat of senior star Claire Davidson.

Davidson hit two home runs in the series finale on Sunday, a solo shot in the opening inning and a three-run bomb in the fourth, to power Duke to a 6-1 victory. The senior has produced a hit in eight of her last 12 at-bats, and the two home runs on Sunday gave her six bombs and 14 RBIs in her last seven games. The torrid late-season stretch has her in some exceptional national company, as she is inside the top 20 in the nation in both homers and runs batted in, but she’s not just unrivaled among her teammates. She’s unrivaled in Duke program history as she’s on pace to break (or shatter) a handful of records.

No Blue Devil has finished a season with a slugging percentage better than .797. Davidson, through 36 games, is hovering at 1.000. Her 46 RBIs are only 10 shy of the most in Duke history despite the Blue Devils having 15 games in the regular season (and an entire postseason) left to play. Davidson’s 12 doubles would also be on pace to break the Duke record of 16 if not for teammate Aminah Vega, who has 13 already on the season.

Ana Gold set the program single-season home run record last year with 19, a mark that looked safe for most of the season, but Davidson’s two blasts on Sunday got her to 13 for the year, moving yet another school record in reach.

All of these records center around Davidson’s power, but her contact and consistency are just as good. Teammate D’Auna Jennings set a Duke record with a .462 batting average in her outstanding freshman campaign last year. Davidson is batting .459 thus far.

The senior is doing something truly special over the last two weeks, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a better athlete on campus over the past few years.

Duke’s Jala Wright fifth in Softball America’s pitcher rankings

Softball America released a ranking of the country’s top pitchers on Monday and Duke’s Jala Wright made the top five.

Softball America released a list of the top pitchers in the country on Monday, and Duke’s Jala Wright made the top five.

Through 15 appearances so far this season, Wright has an ERA of 1.00 and an 11-0 record. She has 82 strikeouts against just 42 hits and 19 walks, and she’s earned 10 runs in 70.0 innings in the circle.

From the end of February to the middle of March, Wright went five straight outings without allowing a run. She pitched 26 innings between the five games. She hasn’t given up an earned run in nine of her 15 trips to the circle this season, and she surrendered just three earned runs through her first 54 innings of work.

Wright’s best performance of the year came against Michigan State in February when she struck out 14 batters while allowing just one hit and two walks in a five-inning shutout.

Wright allowed five runs to Virginia Tech in two appearances over the weekend, just her second and third outings of the year with multiple earned runs. She still put up five strikeouts in the six innings, and Duke still won both games.

Duke softball up to second in Softball America rankings

After a sweep of Virginia Tech to take firm control of the ACC, the Blue Devils trail only Oklahoma in the Softball America rankings.

Duke rose to claim the spot as the second-best softball team in the country, according to Softball America’s newest Top 25 released on Monday.

The Blue Devils are 29-3 on the season and 10-2 against ACC opponents after a sweep of Virginia Tech this weekend. The Hokies entered the series as the last ACC team unbeaten in conference play, but the Blue Devils outscored them by a combined 13 runs, including a 14-5 win to open the series.

Duke has only lost twice since the season opener against Oklahoma. The Sooners, who have won the last three national titles, remain atop Softball America’s Top 25 with a 34-1 record so far this season.

Georgia, Oklahoma State, and Tennessee round out the top five. Texas, Stanford, LSU, Washington, and Florida finished in order from sixth through 10th.

Duke’s season keeps going against Charlotte on Wednesday before a three-game series against North Carolina beginning on Friday.

Duke softball within top five in three major polls

After a series victory over Louisville and a 26-3 start to the season, few teams are higher than the Blue Devils in national rankings.

Few programs are in a better state right now than Duke softball.

Duke is within the top five in three national polls this week, with Softball America ranking the Blue Devils as the fourth-best team in the country.

The team is fifth in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Coaches Poll and the USA Softball rankings, and D1Softball slotted the Blue Devils in at sixth.

The Blue Devils dispatched Louisville in a three-game road series over the weekend, losing Saturday’s game in eight innings but taking the Friday and Sunday contests.

The wins moved Duke to 26-3 on the season with a 7-2 record in conference play, and national polls are confident the Blue Devils will make national noise come the postseason.

The Blue Devils, the consensus best team in the ACC, resume their season with a three-game series against Virginia Tech, the last team without a loss in conference play. The series starts on Thursday.

Sooners Still On Top: Updated look at the top 25 softball power rankings after Week 2

Updated look at college softball power rankings after week 2.

Week 2 of the softball season is in the books. And while the action in Clearwater, Florida, getting halted due to weather left much to be desired, it was another fantastic week on the diamond.

There were a number of impressive performances across the country and we’re beginning to see the top teams separate themselves.

Oklahoma may be in a tier of its own because of what it has done over the last three-plus years, but teams such as Texas and Georgia have been impressive as well.

On the flip side, powerhouse programs UCLA and Florida State have had slow starts.

The SEC is beginning to establish itself as the premiere softball conference. Mississippi State and Kentucky have picked up big nonconference wins this season. In D1Softball’s latest top 25, 11 SEC programs are represented. That’s not even including Oklahoma and Texas who will officially be joining the SEC in July.

The Red River Rivals have been on a tear to start the season and look to be on a collision course for the Big 12 title in their final years.

Here’s a look at the latest D1Softball top 25 and where those teams rank in the Softball America power rankings.

Updated to include USA TODAY Sports NFCA Coaches Poll and USA Softball/ESPN Poll.

More: 3 Stars from the Sooners 5-0 weekend in Lake Charles

Blue Devils softball remains a top-five team in the eyes of Softball America

After eight straight wins including multiple mercy-rule margins, the Blue Devils held on to the No. 5 spot in the Softball America rankings.

Duke softball remained a top-five team in the latest Softball America rankings released on Monday.

The Blue Devils have won eight straight games to reinforce the site’s preseason faith in them, now sitting at 8-1 on the year with four games decided by mercy rule in less than seven innings.

Oklahoma, who has won the past three national titles, remained No. 1 as the Sooners sit on every national ranking. Texas, Georgia, and Washington also came in above Duke in the rankings.

The rest of the Softball America top 10 includes LSU, Tennessee, Missouri, Clemson, and Stanford.

Duke played four games in the FIU Invitational over the weekend and swept them by a combined score of 26-1. The Blue Devils surrendered one run to Rutgers in the first game of the weekend before tossing three straight shutouts against FIU and Army.

Jala Wright, who was named ACC Pitcher of the Week after opening weekend, currently sports a 0.79 ERA through four appearances this season. She finished off a complete game one-hitter against Nebraska, and she has given up six hits against 19 strikeouts so far this season.

On the offensive side, junior Ana Gold leads the team with three home runs and 14 RBIs, the latter total matched by senior Claire Davidson and sophomore Aminah Vega.

Duke takes the field again in a home tournament this weekend, the Duke Invitational, beginning with a Friday game against Villanova.

Maddie Penta earns preseason All-America honor by Softball America

The preseason honors keep rolling in for Auburn’s ace.

The preseason honors keep rolling in for Auburn junior RHP [autotag]Maddie Penta[/autotag].

Penta has earned several preseason accolades such as preseason All-SEC, D1 Softball’s top 100 players, and is on the watchlist for USA Softball’s Player of the Year award. Now, she can include “Preseason All-American” to her docket.

Softball America released its preseason All-American team on Monday and included Penta on its first team. Penta joins the likes of Nebraska‘s Jordy Bahl, Oklahoma‘s Kelly Maxwell, and Stanford’s NiJaree Canady as preseason first-team All-American pitchers.

The Softball America preseason All-American team is loaded with SEC talent, as five players from the conference occupy the first team while six more are a part of the second team. Penta is joined by Tennessee‘s McKenna Gibson and Kiki Maloy, as well as Florida‘s Skylar Wallace, Georgia‘s Jayda Kearney, and Kentucky‘s Erin Coffell by earning a first-team nod.

Penta enters her fourth season as an Auburn pitcher with 677 strikeouts, 60 wins, and an ERA of 1.75 in 503.2 total innings pitched.

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LSU cracks the top 15 in preseason Softball America poll

Coming off a disappointing postseason exit in 2023, LSU softball and 13th-year coach Beth Torina will return to the field next month to begin a 2024 season that features fairly high expectations. The preseason polls reflect that. In the Softball …

Coming off a disappointing postseason exit in 2023, LSU softball and 13th-year coach [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag] will return to the field next month to begin a 2024 season that features fairly high expectations.

The preseason polls reflect that. In the Softball America rankings entering the season, LSU ranks No. 12. The Tigers return 18 letter winners in 2024, six of which were All-SEC selections a year ago.

They also return an All-American pitcher in [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] and the two-time reigning Gold Glove winner in [autotag]Ciara Briggs[/autotag].

LSU finished the 2023 season 42-17, earning the No. 10 national seed while hosting a regional in Baton Rouge. After winning the first two matchups at the regional, it dropped two in a row to Louisiana in the regional final, ending its season.

The Tigers will begin the season at home against Nicholls on Feb. 8 as they look to reach the super regionals for the first time since 2021 and the Women’s College World Series for the first time since 2017.

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Grace Lyons named Defensive Player of the Year by Softball America

Oklahoma Sooners shortstop Grace Lyons named Softball America’s Defensive Player of the Year.

The Oklahoma Sooners have had the luxury of the two best defensive players in the game on the field at the same time over the last three seasons. [autotag]Jayda Coleman[/autotag] and [autotag]Grace Lyons[/autotag] were incredible for the Sooners again in 2023.

Coleman was named D1Softball’s Defensive Player of the Year, and now it’s Lyons’ turn to earn an award. The Sooners’ captain and shortstop was named Defensive Player of the Year by Softball America for her efforts in 2023.

Lyons, who had a stellar career at shortstop for the Sooners, posted a career-best .978 fielding percentage in 2023. She had just three errors in 134 chances during her final season of college softball.

Oklahoma’s captain, who was a five-year starter at shortstop for the Sooners, won the Rawlings Gold Glove award at her position this spring. She is Oklahoma’s first Gold Glove recipient in the two-year history of the award. – Softball America

The Sooners had the best pitching staff in the game in 2023, marked by their NCAA-low ERA of 0.96. Jordy Bahl, Nicole May, Alex Storako, and Kierston Deal were fantastic in their own right, and a big reason for their success was the play of their defense behind them.

The Sooners had the best fielding percentage in the country, with Lyons and Coleman leading the way.

Heading into the offseason with their third straight national championship, the Sooners have a big hole to fill at shortstop with the graduation of Grace Lyons. She’s been a game-changing presence at short for the Sooners during her five-year tenure. Her leadership, ability at the plate, and defensive prowess will be truly missed when Oklahoma opens the 2024 season.

Pair of Oklahoma Sooners among Softball America’s freshmen to watch for 2023

Pair of Oklahoma Sooners’ freshmen among Softball America’s players to watch for the 2023 season.

What [autotag]Patty Gasso[/autotag] has created in Norman is nothing short of extraordinary. Not only do they have an incredible lineup returning to defend their back-to-back national championships, but they brought in an incredible recruiting class as well.

The Sooners have one of the best pitchers in the game with [autotag]Jordy Bahl[/autotag]. They also have a pair of pitchers that were third-team preseason All-American selections in [autotag]Nicole May[/autotag] and [autotag]Alex Storako[/autotag]. Then they added the No. 1 player in the country, left-hander [autotag]Kierston Deal[/autotag].

Deal and Jocelyn Erickson were mentioned by Softball America’s Breanna Bryant as true freshmen to watch for the 2023 season.

Deal is a left-handed pitcher for Oklahoma. She was originally committed to the University of South Carolina, but decided to decommit during her recruiting process. Deal had a very successful high school and travel ball career. She was named the Gatorade North Carolina Softball Player of the Year as a senior after posting a 23-3 record with a 0.79 ERA and 305 strikeouts in 150.1 innings pitched. – Bryant, Softball America

The Sooners have a tremendous rotation even if they don’t utilize Deal much in 2023. However, she’ll get opportunities to contribute, which will not only serve her well in the future but take some of the workload off of the shoulders of the Sooners’ top three pitchers. Throwing from the left side gives Gasso and assistant head coach Jennifer Rocha the ability to play matchups if they want to.

Like Deal can be for the Sooners’ pitching rotation, Jocelyn Erickson’s hitting ability adds another powerful option for Patty Gasso and J.T. Gasso.

Erickson is a catcher and first baseman for Oklahoma. About Erickson, Sooners head coach Patty Gasso said, “She can do special things for us.” Erickson is going to help an already dominant lineup at Oklahoma. She led the state of Arizona with 25 home runs and batted .624 with 58 RBIs during her senior season at Sandra Day O’Connor High School. Erickson was also named the Gatorade Arizona Softball Player of the Year. – Bryant Softball America

Patty Gasso hasn’t been shy about inserting freshmen into the lineup if they prove to be ready for big-time at-bats. That was the case with Jocelyn Alo, Jayda Coleman, and Tiare Jennings, and it sounds like Jocelyn Erickson could be the next great true freshman in Oklahoma’s lineup.

She has a shot to be involved at first base, to spell Kinzie Hansen behind the plate, and hit in the designated player role vacated by Alo.

The Oklahoma Sooners are easily the deepest team in the country. From the circle and at the plate they feature a host of preseason All-American selections and some of the top players from the 2022 signing class.

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