Tag: Washington Huskies Softball

Stanford tops Washington in pitcher’s duel to open series

The Washington Huskies couldn’t solve NiJaree Canady on Friday night, dropping the first of a three-game series with Stanford.

The Washington Huskies hold the No. 12 batting average in the nation and have consistently displayed one of the country’s best offenses all season long, but facing Stanford’s NiJaree Canady proved to be a different challenge.

Canady, who leads the country with her .51 ERA stifled Washington’s bats on Friday, holding coach Heather Tarr’s team to just 4 hits as the No. 7 Cardinal took the opening game of the series 3-1 from the No. 8 Huskies.

Stanford jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning by way of an RBI groundout from catcher Aly Kaneshiro and an RBI double from left fielder Kyra Chan. Infielder Giselle Alvarez answered with a solo home run in the sixth inning to cut the lead in half, but a solo shot from the Cardinal’s Jade Berry in the final frame put the game out of reach.

Canady tossed a complete game, allowing just 4 hits, 1 walk, and 1 earned run while striking out 11 batters to improve her record to 16-4 on the season. Ruby Meylan went toe-to-toe with her, also working all 7 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and 3 runs (1 earned) with 8 strikeouts.

The loss pushes the Huskies to 30-9 on the season and 12-7 against Pac-12 opponents, while the Cardinal improved to 38-10 and 14-5 against conference opponents. The two top-ranked teams in the conference will meet for the second installment of their three-game set on Saturday at 3:00.

Washington takes another Sunday stumble, falling 4-3 at Cal

The Washington Huskies secured a series victory over the Cal Golden Bears, but couldn’t complete a sweep on Sunday.

The No. 8 Washington Huskies’ struggles in series finales continued in the Bay Area on Sunday afternoon, losing to the No. 20 California Golden Bears 4-3. The loss pushed coach Heather Tarr’s team to just 1-5 in the final game of three-game sets and 0-5 on Sundays in Pac-12 play.

Even though graduate student Brooke Nelson hit her seventh home run in as many games, Washington’s pitching staff didn’t have an answer for Cal’s Tianna Bell.

Bell went 3 for 4 on Sunday, including a home run off Nelson in the bottom of the first inning and a walk-off RBI single off Ruby Meylan in the seventh inning.

Meylan took the loss on the day, falling to 9-5 on the season after pitching the final 3 2/3 innings, allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run while walking 2 batters and striking out 2.

On the other side, Haylei Archer earned her first win of the weekend to improve to 9-5 after being charged with losses on both Friday and Saturday. Archer worked the whole game for the Golden Bears, allowing 4 hits and 3 earned runs, walking 4 batters and striking out 4.

The loss drops the Huskies to 30-8 on the season and 12-6 against Pac-12 opponents, while Cal improved to 31-14 overall and 5-11 in conference play. Washington returns home this weekend for an extremely important matchup with the No. 6 Stanford Cardinal, beginning on Friday night at 7:00.

Washington softball beats No. 20 Cal 8-3 to open series

The Washington Huskies got off to a hot start against the California Golden Bears on Friday, securing an 8-3 victory in Berkley.

The Washington Huskies started their weekend series with the California Golden Bears on the right note on Friday afternoon. Coach Heather Tarr’s team started slow, but thanks to a four-run third inning, they cruised to an 8-3 win.

After Cal’s Tianna Bell opened the scoring with a two-run home run off Ruby Meylan in the second inning, the Huskies were quick to answer. Shortstop Rylee Holtorf hit her tenth home run of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 before an RBI single from Brooke Nelson tied the game. Nelson would come around to score on a throwing error to give the Huskies the lead for good

Nelson went 2 for 2 on the day, adding 2 walks along with an RBI and a run scored. Holtorf also reached base four times, going 2 for 3 with 2 walks, a run batted in, and 2 runs scored.

In the circle, Meylan threw a complete game, allowing 3 earned runs on 6 hits and 4 walks, while striking out 7 batters. She improved to 9-4 on the season, while Archer Haylei took the loss, falling to 8-4 on the year after allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs over 3 innings of work.

The Huskies improved to 29-7 and 11-5 in Pac-12 play with the victory, while the loss moved Cal to 30-13 on the year and 4-10 against conference opponents. The two teams will meet for the second installment of their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 1:00.

Washington softball’s bats come alive in victory over Boise State

The Washington Huskies beat the Boise State Broncos behind an offensive outpour in Boise.

The Washington Huskies‘ offense couldn’t be stopped on Wednesday in Boise, as coach Heather Tarr’s team posted 15 hits en route to a 15-9 victory over the Boise State Broncos.

Graduate student Brooke Nelson led the way for the Huskies, going 4 for 5 on the day with 5 runs batted in and 3 runs scored thanks to two home runs. Nelson wasn’t alone in leaving the yard multiple times, as shortstop Rylee Holtorf hit her second three-run home run in as many games to open the scoring in the second inning, following it up with a two-run homer in the fifth.

Catcher Olivia Johnson also left the yard for the fourth time this season with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, while center fielder Kinsey Fiedler went 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

In the circle, sophomore Ruby Meylan started the game, going 3 1/3 innings and allowing 2 hits and 1 earned run. All four of Washington’s pitchers saw action in the contest and Lindsay Lopez, who allowed 1 hit and 1 earned run over the final two innings, earned her ninth win of the season.

The victory moves the Huskies to 28-7 on the season, while Boise State falls to 25-17 with the loss. Now, Washington will travel to Berkley for a three-game series with the California Golden Bears, set to begin on Friday afternoon at 3:00.

Holtorf’s second walk-off home run pushes Washington over Seattle U

Rylee Holtorf played hero once again in Washington’s victory over Seattle U on Monday night.

Shortstop Rylee Holtorf hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning on Monday night to propel the Washington Huskies to a 3-0 win over the Seattle University Redhawks. Sound familiar?

Well, it should. In Washington’s last game at Husky Softball Stadium, on March 30 against the Oregon State Beavers, Holtorf’s ninth inning solo shot was the only run in the contest, giving coach Heather Tarr’s team a 1-0 victory.

That home run, her second of the series, also helped her earn Pac-12 Player of the Week for her performance.

Holtorf once again supplied the only offense in the game, as pitchers Lindsay Lopez and Brooke Nelson combined for a shutout. Lopez started the contest and went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 5 batters before giving way to Nelson, who earned her fifth win of the season after walking one hitter and striking out one over 2/3 of an inning.

Infielder Jillian Celis was the only player in the game with multiple hits, going 2 for 3 before being lifted for pinch runner Jing Gardner in the seventh inning before Holtorf’s home run.

The win moves the No. 9 Huskies to 27-7 on the season while the Redhawks fell to 16-23. Next up for Tarr’s team, it will travel to Idaho for a matchup with the Boise State Broncos on Wednesday at 5:00.

Washington softball drops its first series of Pac-12 play

The Washington Huskies couldn’t muster a late-inning comeback on Sunday and dropped 2 out of 3 games to the No. 22 Oregon Ducks.

Coach Heather Tarr and the Washington Huskies took a 3-0 lead in the second inning against the No. 22 Oregon Ducks, but let up 6 runs in a messy fifth frame that lifted their arch-rivals to a 6-4 victory in the game and a 2-1 win in the series.

Alana Johnson hit her team-leading 11th home run of the season in the first inning, a two-run blast, to give the Huskies their early lead. Giselle Alvarez added on with an RBI single in the second inning, but the defense couldn’t hold the lead, committing two errors.

In the circle, sophomore Ruby Meylan cruised until the fifth inning, allowing 9 hits and 6 runs, all unearned, over 4 2/3 innings and took the loss, moving to 8-4 on the season. The Ducks got a bases-clearing double from Alyssa Daniell and an RBI double off the bat of Emma Kauf before Katie Flannery added the finishing blow with a two-run home run.

Washington loaded the bases in the sixth inning with one out, but couldn’t push any runs across and even though Sydney Stewart brought in a run with an RBI single in the seventh, her third hit of the contest, the Huskies couldn’t complete the comeback.

The loss pushes Tarr’s team to 26-7 on the season and 10-5 against Pac-12 competition, while Oregon improved to 22-13 overall and 9-5 in conference play. Washington returns to Husky Softball Stadium on Monday at 6:00 for a matchup with Seattle University.

Nelson’s two homers weren’t enough to push Washington past No. 22 Oregon

The Washington Huskies lost Saturday’s matchup against the rival Oregon Ducks, putting the series up for grabs on Sunday.

Usually, the No. 9 Washington Huskies are the ones fueled by big first innings for a victory, but on Saturday, the No. 22 Oregon Ducks gave coach Heather Tarr’s team a taste of its own medicine. The Ducks scored 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning, highlighted by a two-run home run from catcher Vallery Wong.

The Huskies were able to battle back in the second inning, scoring 4 runs of their own, three coming on a three-run home run from Brooke Nelson. However, Oregon answered with five more runs in the bottom of the frame, with Hanna Delgado and Ariel Carlson hitting back-to-back home runs before Wong hit her second two-run home run in as many innings.

Washington would trail for the rest of the ballgame and would go on to lose 9-8, but didn’t go down without a fight. Alana Johnson hit her team-leading tenth home run of the season in the third inning and Nelson put the Huskies within striking distance with her second homer of the day.

A sixth-inning rally was cut short and Washington would go on to lose 9-8. Lindsay Lopez struggled and took her second loss of the season, going just 1 2/3 innings and allowing 8 runs (6 earned) and 7 hits before giving way to Nelson. In relief, she went the remaining 4 1/3 and let up just 4 hits and 1 earned run.

The loss pushes the Huskies to 26-6 on the year and 10-4 against Pac-12 opponents, while the Ducks improved to 21-13 this season and 8-5 in conference play. The two teams will decide the series on Sunday at noon.

Washington softball downs No. 22 Oregon to open series in Eugene

The Washington Huskies opened the series against their arch-rival Oregon Ducks with a convincing win in Eugene.

Coach Heather Tarr and the No. 9 Washington Huskies love big innings and thanks to a six-run third inning on Friday night, cruised to an 8-3 win over the No. 22 Oregon Ducks.

The inning started with a solo home run off the bat of catcher Sydney Stewart, her fifth of the season. Alana Johnson and Jillian Celis added RBI singles before Olivia Johnson’s three-run home run doubled Washington’s lead to 6-0.

Johnson went 3 for 4 on the day with 4 runs batted in, and shortstop Rylee Holtorf also added 3 hits. The reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week hit a solo home run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 8-3 and also scored 3 runs on the night.

In the circle, Ruby Meylan got the start and went 3 2/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, 5 walks, and 3 earned runs to go along with 3 strikeouts before being lifted for first-year Sidne Peters. The reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Week went the rest of the way, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3 to earn her sixth win of the season.

With the win, the Huskies improved to 26-5 on the season and 10-3 against Pac-12 foes while the Ducks fell to 20-13 and 7-5 in conference play. The two teams will meet for the second installment of their three-game series on Saturday afternoon at 5:00.

Washington softball signee throws perfect game for team Canada

One of Washington’s top signees threw a perfect game in the Pan Am U18 championships in Colombia on Tuesday.

Coach Heather Tarr pulled in an impressive 2024 recruiting class, signing six players including pitcher Morgan Reimer. The product of Langley, British Colombia, Canada, is in the middle of her second stint with Team Canada at the U18 Pan American games, and on Tuesday she threw a perfect game against Team Venezuela.

As her team cruised to a 7-0 victory in six innings, Reimer dazzled, striking out 11 of the 18 batters she faced. With senior Lindsay Lopez in her final year of eligibility, it appears Tarr has big plans for her once she arrives on campus.

“Morgan is a standout right-handed pitcher from Canada,” Tarr said after she signed. “We will look to Morgan right away to add depth to our pitching staff.”

“She can throw the ball in the upper sixties with elite spin. We value her success at the travel ball level and the recent success she’s had with Team Canada… We will look to Morgan now and in the future to help us contend for a national championship.”

Two Huskies honored with Pac-12 weekly honors

Two Huskies earned weekly honors from the Pac-12 after a strong weekend against the Oregon State Beavers.

After a strong weekend that resulted in a sweep of the Oregon State Beavers, two members of the No. 8 Washington Huskies received Pac-12 honors. Shortstop Rylee Holtorf was named the conference’s Player of the Week on Monday, while pitcher Sidne Peters was tabbed as the Freshman of the Week.

Holtorf went 4 for 11 over the weekend, good for a .364 batting average highlighted by a pair of home runs, including a walk-off solo blast to secure the sweep on Saturday afternoon.

This is the first time Holtorf has been named player of the week, and she becomes the second Husky to receive the honor this year after Jillian Celis won it in early March.

Peters also had a stellar weekend out of the bullpen, earning two wins to improve her record to 5-0 on the season. She provided 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief on Thursday and got the final out in Washington’s nine inning victory on Saturday.

She didn’t allow a hit across the 11 batters she faced and became the second Husky to take home the honor after Jadyn Glab was the first player to receive it this season.