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The 2019 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic is officially in the books.
One of the most anticipated, celebrated, and star-studded weekends of the Division I season, the popular tournament withstood some early precipitation, which forced some Thursday scheduling changes, and delivered a top-level product, as promised.
Here are some headlines, highlights, and takeaways from “the Nutter.”
*****
UCLA stays perfect
The Bruins remain the team to beat in the Pac-12 with another perfect showing on the weekend.
After rain cancelled their tournament opener vs. Texas A&M, the Bruins instead got to take on Oklahoma in primetime in one of the season’s top non-conference matchups. The Bruins emerged victorious by a 7-1 score in that contest, holding the Sooners to just a solo home run and gaining some major points in the proverbial ‘eye test’ category.
Run-rule victories over Missouri, Nebraska, and Kentucky underscored the Bruins’ weekend endeavors and saw the squad leave Cathedral City a perfect 14-0.
Texas A&M struggles
After a 5-1 start to the season, the Aggies struggled mightily in their hosted invitational in Week 2 posting a 3-2 record in that tournament as they headed to the Mary Nutter looking for a rebound.
After rain cancelled the opening set of games against Nebraska and UCLA, the Aggies withstood a late challenge from Cal Poly to earn a “W,” but couldn’t complete a comeback of their own against Arizona State and allowed a late offensive surge against Oregon to finish their abbreviated Cathedral City tenure with a 1-2 record on the weekend.
A 9-5 record may not look like the end of the world for Aggie fans, but the team from College Station have not looked very solid even in some of their victories and need some drastic shoring-up before SEC play begins.
Upsets, Upsets, Upsets!
Seemingly the theme of the weekend from coast to coast, there were no “gimme” games in Cathedral City this go-around.
Even top teams struggled in games they were predicted to win easily, with more than one surprise result. Bethune-Cookman earned a 5-3 win over Oregon, withstanding a late charge from the Ducks to take the victory in a huge coup for Laura Watten’s squad.
Colorado State took a victory over Oklahoma State by a score of 2-1 adding an impressive win to their early resume while New Mexico State punctuated an all-together quality weekend showing with an extra-inning 6-5 victory over the Cal Bears.
Japanese exhibitions contribute to growth of game
The Japanese national team’s tour of the U.S. continued in Cathedral City, where the world’s #2 squad took on, among other teams, Arizona and Texas Tech.
The Japanese lost for just the second time stateside* with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Arizona thanks to a Dejah Mulipola solo home run and a stellar pitching performance from Gina Snyder.
The 2020 Olympics will be hosted in Tokyo, Japan, and tournament organizers were smart in including the Japanese team in the weekend’s festivities, giving many fans an opportunity to see an international Olympic medal contender in action and to see live some players whose names they’ll hear called on broadcasts from Tokyo next summer.
* The Japanese team’s first loss on their tour of the US came against Florida Gulf Coast; the FGCU Eagles earned the 7-5 win in Fort Myers on February 16th.
Texas Tech winning streak ends; don’t count out the Red Raiders
