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Every week during the college softball season, we’ll Roundup the best performances and performers, the top highlights, and noteworthy happenings of all kinds across the college softball landscape.
Want to send us some information to be considered for the Roundup or make sure we see a certain player or team’s performance? Email [email protected].
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Wrapping Up the Mary Nutter Classic
27 teams, 4 days, 67 games. The 2022 edition of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic is officially in the books.
Big winners of the weekend included Mizzou, UCLA, San Diego State, and Cal State Fullerton. Missouri enjoyed a quality rebound performance in Cathedral City, including a shutout, run-rule, 10-0 win over Washington. The Tigers had some struggles in the season’s early goings – and dropped a game to UCLA at the Nutter – but showed they’re still a program to be reckoned with.
After a 3-2 showing in Clearwater last weekend, UCLA responded with an undefeated 5-0 record in Cathedral City. They weren’t ever their usually-dominant selves, but the Bruins took wins over Iowa State, Texas Tech, Tennessee, Baylor, and Missouri on the week – all wins that they can hang their hats on, and wins that help redeem their three losses in the early part of the year.
San Diego State went 2-3 in the tournament, but lost to both Northwestern and Missouri in one-run, extra-inning affairs. The Aztecs are a much-improved squad and have looked really solid in the early part of the season – that continued at the Nutter tournament.
Cal State Fullerton started their weekend with a tight 1-0 shutout of Arizona, beat SDSU, lost to Oklahoma, then split the tournament’s final day with a win over Northwestern and a loss to Oregon. The Titans played a top-tier schedule with no cupcakes, and they responded and emerged with a winning record on the weekend.
Keep an eye on the Big 12’s mid-pack
Oklahoma reigns supreme in the Big 12, but the race behind them has gotten really interesting. Three Big 12 teams were at the Mary Nutter tournament – Baylor, Iowa State, and Texas Tech – and the race to join the conference’s top tier is an intriguing one.
Baylor did what they were supposed to, beating Loyola Marymount and San Diego but losing to Oregon State and UCLA. Going .500 in Cathedral City technically gave the Bears a losing record on the week, following a midweek loss to UT-Arlington. The Bears need some shoring up, but didn’t have any horribly-irredeemable performances at the Nutter.
Iowa State had only lost once entering the Nutter tournament, and despite dropping three games on the weekend, the Cyclones don’t have much to hang their heads about. Tight losses to PAC-12 foes bookended the weekend; a 3-0 defeat at the hands of UCLA and a 1-0 loss to Washington began and ended the weekend, respectively. In between, the Cyclones scored a combined 25 runs in two wins over CSUN and San Diego, though they did drop a 4-1 affair to Loyola Marymount. A 2-3 record on the weekend may not leave the Cyclones feeling great, but their performances continued to show that last season’s NCAA tournament run was more than just a fluke.
Then there’s Texas Tech, a team with more close losses to their credit than any team in the country. The Red Raiders were 0-6 last weekend in Clearwater, losing to the likes of Auburn, Clemson, Northwestern, UCF, Washington, and LSU. The team’s record didn’t tell the whole story; the Red Raiders took Northwestern to extra innings and lost to LSU and Washington by a combined score of 3-0. This week at the Mary Nutter, the Red Raiders again finished under .500 on the weekend but finally got their signature win, beating Northwestern to close the tournament on Sunday. Tight losses were again the tale of the tape at the Nutter for TTU – each of their losses in Cathedral City was by one run.
Run it back on Stanford’s pitching
We highlighted the Stanford pitching staff in our Terrific Ten from Saturday’s action, but the Cardinal’s achievements in the circle this weekend deserve repeating. Reprinting the Terrific Ten blurb, because we couldn’t write it any better the second time around…
Regan Krause’s no-hitter on Friday night was impressive in its own right, but as it turns out, that was just the opening act for Stanford’s pitching staff. On Saturday, staff ace Alana Vawter recorded her first-career perfect game in a 5-inning affair against Fresno State. In the nightcap on Saturday, Molly Millar got the ball in the circle. Want to guess how many hits she gave up?
If your answer was “none”, then you’re a winner! And so was Millar, earning the W and throwing the Cardinal’s third consecutive hitless shutout. With the trio of back-to-back-to-back affairs, it’s the first time in Stanford program history that multiple pitchers have combined to accomplish the feat.
This just in: LSU has an offense!
Six games, six wins, 55 runs. Even with LSU’s somewhat-sluggish start to the year in the win-loss column, that latter number is easily the most eye-popping of their weekend performance. The Tigers swept through their hosted tournament, reaching double-digits in scoring in three of the six games and recording a trio of run-rule wins, as well as an extra-inning victory over Drake. They outscored opponents 55-10 on the weekend, including three shutouts from the circle.
Despite going hitless in three separate games on the weekend, Taylor Pleasants looks to be figuring things out at the plate, as she notched a total of seven RBIs in the tournament, driving in at least one run in every game her team played. Fifth-year senior Shelbi Sunseri led the way from the circle and at the plate, with a run-rule-securing home run in Saturday’s first game and two home runs, including a walk-off bomb, as well as a complete game victory in the circle against Drake. She added an RBI single in one game on Sunday, and walked three times in the weekend finale.
Star pitchers miss the action
Oregon pitcher Brooke Yanez still has not made an appearance in the circle this season; expected to be the ace of the Ducks’ pitching staff, Yanez was said to possibly be preparing for her season’s debut during the Ducks’ visit trip to the Mary Nutter Classic this weekend, but she did not step into the circle. She was not dressed out for the games, though she was with the team on the road. A sure timetable for Yanez’s return is unknown.
Florida All-American pitcher Elizabeth Hightower also did not see any time in the circle during the Gators’ trip to Orlando this weekend. The Gators used every other pitcher in their bullpen at the tournament hosted by UCF – and in Sunday night’s finale against the hosting Knights – but Hightower was reportedly not available for the Gators.
Triple. Play.
THIS GAME!! Utes turn a 5-4-3 triple play to keep the game with 1‼️
Utes 1, OU 2
🎥 @FloSoftball >> https://t.co/Ty01oShcsF#GoUtes /// #AllGas pic.twitter.com/K0rO9HAb3O
— Utah Softball (@Utah_Softball) February 27, 2022
Performers of the Week
- Mia Davidson, Mississippi State – .538, 5 HR, 9 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB
- Kiki Milloy, Tennessee – .333, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 11 R, 4 BB
- Bailey Vannoy, Charlotte – .462, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 1 3B
- Hanna Garber, Delaware – .625, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 8 R, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 BB
- Erin Coffel, Kentucky – .417, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 5 R, 1 2B