Officials announce 13-team field for 2020 Puerto Vallarta College Challenge
Photo and Release from Puerto Vallarta College Challenge
The fifth Puerto Vallarta College Challenge will feature another impressive roster of Division-I softball programs, who will get the rare pleasure of firing up the 2020 season in the only D-1 event held outside of the United States. Teams play at the revamped, refurbished Nancy Almaraz Stadium in the perfect warm-weather start to the season ahead. Here’s a capsule look at the 13 teams playing in Puerto Vallarta:
Session 1, Feb. 6-9
BYU (30-26 in 2019, 12-3 West Coast Conference, reached NCAA Regionals)
The Cougars have played in three of the previous four PV College Challenges. The offense will be paced by the skilled, steady Rylee Jensen, who hit .381 last year as a junior and led the team in extra-base hits and walks. She developed her strong arm throwing potatoes with and at her three brothers on the family farm. Arissa Paulson is the other returner with an above-.300 batting average from last year (.304), and she was a primary pitcher as well, winning 15 games with a 2.74 ERA. The other main hurler is junior-to-be Autumn Moffat (13 wins, 2.54 ERA). Head coach Gordon Eakin has 671 wins in 17 years at BYU.
George Washington (44-18, 15-7 Atlantic 10, lost at NISC Liberty Regional)
The Colonials are on the upswing; win totals since 2014 have been 18, 25, 23, 28, 33 and 44, and last year the team hit .341 overall under first-year head coach Shane Winkler. Sierra Lange has a terrific sophomore season in 2018, hitting .411 and adding 17 stolen bases, and the Texas Glory Adkins Gold product also threw 272 innings, notching 31 wins with a 2.81 ERA. Jenna Cone was another impact bat for GW; as a junior she hit .381 and had 67 RBI, and she has a chance to finish near the all-time NCAA Top 20 in RBI with a productive senior campaign. Cone’s total of 20 home runs was tied for 11th nationally.
Long Beach State (25-25, 12-9 Big West)
The Beach graduated a talented group; back for more is junior Alyssa Gonzalez, who sat a year after transferring from Ole Miss and hit .338 with 40 RBI last year. The heart of the pitching staff is back with seniors Kellie White (11 wins, 138 innings, 2.89 ERA) and Ashley Coleman (13 wins, 134 innings, 3.08 ERA). The Beach will hope for a boost from two California natives who are transfers, graduate Abby Lockman (Tennessee) and Kyra Snyder (Louisville). Head coach Kim Sowder has run the program for 13 years and posted 424 career victories.
Nevada (29-27, 11-13 Mountain West, lost at NISC Nevada Regional)
The Wolf Pack are fueled by Reno native Sadaria McAlister, who as a junior hit .361, and classmate Sierra Mello, who closed at .353. Senior-to-be Kenzi Goins had a team-high 10 home runs and hit .314, and Hawaii native Dallas Millwood drove in 52 runs as a freshman. There are some innings that need to be filled at pitcher, but Kendall Fritz did nice work as a freshman (11 wins, 154 innings, 3.82 ERA). In all three years under head coach Josh Taylor, the Wolf Pack has made the field of the NISC postseason tournament.
Oklahoma (57-6, 18-0 Big 12, lost to UCLA in NCAA Finals)
The Sooners roll out a harrowing lineup annually; returning junior Jocelyn Alo (an OC Batbusters product) is a .399 career hitter, and returning pitcher Giselle Juarez has one year left after going 28-4 last year with a 1.39 ERA and 269 strikeouts in 186.1 innings. The team is young and affected a bit from transfers and graduation, but look for impact from Auburn transfer Taylon Snow, who hit .324 for the Tigers last year and started 52 games at shortstop. Snow is recovering from shoulder surgery. Oklahoma has won four NCAA titles under head coach Patty Gasso, who has won almost 80 percent of her games at OU.
Oregon (22-30, 5-19 Pac-12)
The Ducks dealt with a dramatically reworked roster last year and saw some valuable pieces emerge. As a freshman, Jasmine Sievers hit .326 and added 15 doubles, and classmate Allee Bunker chipped in with a team-high 32 runs while hitting .347. Junior-to-be Jordan Dail did all the heavy lifting at pitcher after transferring from Virginia Tech, closing with 18 wins, 248 innings, 240 strikeouts and a 4.12 ERA. Second-year coach Melyssa Lombardi has been looking for supplements to the pitching staff and will look to freshman righthander Makenna Kliethermes.
Utah Valley (15-31, 7-11 Western Athletic)
The Wolverines are led by senior-to-be Lyndsay Steverson, who hit .331 last year with 20 extra-base hits. Classmate Devyn Cretz is the leading light in the pitching circle, as she had 11 wins last year and 172.2 innings pitched. The roster will get a boost from JUCO all-American and Texas native Jade Miller, who hit .466 with 18 home runs last year and was a top-100 player (FloSoftball) as a high school senior. Head coach TJ Hubbard is entering his fourth year at Utah Valley; he’s rebuilding a program that won nine games in 2016.
