This week in Pac-12 softball

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NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL HONORS: ARIZONA’s Mo Mercado was tabbed as the College Sports Madness Pac-12 Player of the Week, after hitting four home runs and batting .632. 

USA Softball named its Female Athletes of the Year and the award was swept by a pair of Wildcats. Two-time All-American Kellie Fox, who played her final season at Arizona in 2015, was named USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year while freshman Alyssa Palomino was selected as the USA Softball Junior Female Athlete of the Year.

RACE TO WRIGHT’S RECORD: Odds are Arizona head coach Mike Candrea will break Margie Wright’s NCAA record as the all-time leader in career victories at some point this season. Margie Wright won 1,457 games from 1980-2012 coaching for Illinois State and Fresno State. Candrea’s 1,434 career victories are 23 shy of Wright’s mark. However, Candrea will likely not be the only one to get there. Michigan’s Carol Hutchins holds 1,436 career victories, two more than Candrea.

OFF TO MARY NUTTER: Arizona, UCLA and Washington are all off to the Mary Nutter Classic this weekend in Palm Springs, Calif. The field will include some top pitching in Pitcher of the Week Taran Alvelo of Washington, Selina Ta’amilo of UCLA and Taylor McQuillon and Danielle O’Toole of Arizona.

ARIZONA STATE finished opening weekend, 6-1, hosting the Kajikawa Classic. The Sun Devils jumped up five spots to No. 17 in the NFCA poll after their opening day record. 

With their midweek game being postponed due to inclement weather, CALIFORNIA gears up for the Campbell/Cartier Classic in San Diego this weekend. The 4-1 Golden Bears downed a ranked Notre Dame and will face another top-25 opponent this weekend in Kentucky.

The OREGON DUCKS earned two shutouts on the weekend, topping Boston College, 4-0 and Georgia State,  11-0. This weekend will feature a top-10 matchup against No. 6/5 Oregon and No. 7/8 Louisiana Lafayette. 

OREGON STATE clenched four wins last weekend, thanks to Meehra Nelson’s 3-0 performance with a 0.98 ERA. She totaled a six-inning victory over No. 18 Kentucky and held the Wildcats to two hits and a walk with five strikeouts. The Beavers head to the DeMarini Desert Classic in Henderson, Nev.

STANFORD wrapped up competition at the Kajikawa Classic going 3-2 over the weekend. Kylie Sorenson went 7-for-15 with five runs, five RBIs, a home run and a .667 slugging percentage. The Cardinal hosts the Nike Invitational this weekend, hosting North Dakota State, Saint Mary’s and Long Beach State.

The No. 8/7-ranked Bruins completed a 4-1 weekend, with junior Delaney Spaulding tying her career high with three hits, including a two-run home run. With UCLA’s win over Wichita State on Saturday, head coach Kelly Inouye-Perez claimed her 400th victory.

UTAH’s Katie Donovan totaled seven strikeouts in the 1-0 walkoff loss to then-No. 17 Kentucky. The Utes out-scored their opponents last weekend, 21-6 as Miranda Viramontes earned a pair of wins. Two new comers led the team in hitting as junior Delilah Pacheco went 10-for-20 and scored five runs while freshman Ally Dickman went 7-for-15 with three doubles and a .667 slugging percentage.

WASHINGTON started the season, 5-0, claiming two run-rule victories and two wins over top-15 opponents in then-No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 15 Minnesota. The Huskies jumped nine and 10 spots in the NFCA/USA Softball polls, respectively, marking the largest jump for the week.

This Week in Pac-12 Softball