Washington Huskies
Overall Rank: #5
Conference Rank: #2 Pac-12
Washington was the number one team in the country for the majority of the 2018 season as they won their first 28 games and took that momentum all the way to Oklahoma City and the Women’s College World Series. The Huskies advanced to the championship series as they knocked out teams like Oklahoma along the way. However, in the championship series Washington ran into a buzzsaw in Florida State and lost in two games. Looking ahead to 2019, the Huskies will have some work to do to reload the offense but make no mistake they will be a threat to get back to the 2019 Women’s College World Series.
2018: 52-10, 15-8
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Heather Tarr
Key Departed Players:
Taylor Van Zee, INF, .373 BA, 9 HR, 42 RBI
Kelly Burdick, OF, .360 BA, 0 HR, 14 RBI, 23 SB
Kristyn Thomas, INF, .330 BA, 12 HR, 55 RBI
Julia DePonte, UTIL, .326 BA, 15 HR, 54 RBI
Trysten Melhart, OF, .317 BA, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 8 SB
Key Returning Players:
Sis Bates, INF, .389 BA, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 9 SB
Amirah Milloy, OF, .315 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Noelle Hee, INF, .273 BA, 7 HR, 26 RBI
Taryn Atlee, INF, .241 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBI
Emma Helm, C, .212 BA, 3 HR, 19 RBI
Gabbie Plain, P, 1.01 ERA, 22-5 W/L, 166.1 IP, 43 BB, 181 SO
Taran Alvelo, P, 1.30 ERA, 23-5 W/L, 188.0 IP, 36 BB, 242 SO, 3 SV
Morganne Flores, C/INF, DNP last season due to injury
Projection:
Washington will be led by arguably the best pitching staff in the country as Gabbie Plain and Taran Alvelo are back and they will be joined by DePaul transfer Pat Moore. Plain and Alvelo are lights out with their command as they only walked 79 batters and struck out 423 batters between them. Moore was the Big East Pitcher of the Year for the Blue Demons and had a 2.11 earned run average in 126.0 innings and struck out 158 batters. This will give Coach Tarr and her staff a heck of an advantage during weekend series and in the NCAA Tournament. Sis Bates is back to set the tone for the everyday lineup in 2019. Bates hit .389 with five homeruns, 37 runs batted in and is outstanding defensively. Morganne Flores’ return from injury will help as well as Flores drove in 74 runs during the 2017 season. Noelle Hee is another quality power hitter that should take a bigger step forward with her production as a sophomore. The schedule is set up to buy some time for the Huskies to get things going offensively during the non-conference schedule. UCLA visits Husky Softball stadium to kick off the conference schedule in a series that could potentially decide the league champion. Washington should get enough production at the plate to allow Plain, Alvelo, and Moore to dominate in the circle and get back to the Women’s College World Series.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Softball Tournament
