Courtesy of Washington Athletics
SEATTLE – The Washington softball team opened its fall season this weekend in the Husky Fall Classic, picking up five wins and outscoring opponents 62-1.
Typical of fall games, UW head coach Heather Tarr played with the lineup throughout the tournament, using the games to try different combinations. She also used the tournament to get a solid look at her freshman class.
“A huge thank you to our volunteers who helped run a very successful Husky Fall Classic. We had a great crowd for the entire tournament,” said Tarr. “This weekend taught us a lot about this group. It was fun to see the different combinations of offensive and defensive lineups with this year’s team.
“Our depth is something special. For our team, it’s not about the scoreboard; it’s about how quickly we can learn to play Husky Softball, pitch-by-pitch, inning-by-inning, and game-by-game. We have a lot to look forward to and so much more to accomplish by February.”
UW will complete its fall season with a doubleheader versus Northwest University on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 4 p.m. at Husky Softball Stadium.
UW 19, Bellevue 0
The Huskies started on a high note, recording a dominant 19-0 win over Bellevue College Friday evening. UW’s offensive onslaught featured 17 hits, including a home run by Kylee Lahners and strong performances in the circle to secure the victory.
In the circle, Casey Stangel, Haley Bator and Kristin Cochran teamed up for 12 strikeouts while surrendering only one hit.
UW 2, Western 0
The Huskies secured a pair of victories over Western (2-0) and Spokane (10-1) on Saturday. Kasey Stanchek tossed six complete scoreless innings against Western before Stangel came on in relief to pitch the final two outs of the game.
Offensively, the Huskies were held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth when Lahners delivered a double to score Ali Aguilar who drew a leadoff walk. A throwing error allowed Lahners to score and give the Huskies a 2-0 advantage.
UW 10, Spokane 1
The Huskies jumped out to an early 2-0 lead after Lahners hit a two-run line drive homerun in the first as Washington cruised in the second game of the day.
UW put together a four-run second inning after a trio of singles by Trysten Melhart, Kelli Suguro and Julia DePonte plated two runs. A double by Krystal Aubert and a sac-fly by Aguilar would tack on two more and give the Huskies a 6-0 lead.
After reaching base on an error, Spokane used an RBI groundout to score in the fourth, which proved to be the only run scored against the Huskies in the entire tournament.
Kimberlee Souza notched a 3-for-4 performance including a solo homerun in the fifth. The Huskies scored three more runs off four hits in the sixth to secure the 10-1 victory.
Casey Stangel pitched a complete game, allowing three hits and striking out seven batters.
UW 12, Central 0
The Husky offense used six extra base hits, including four doubles and two home runs to secure a 12-0 victory over Central.
Lahners set the pace early again as her three-run homerun in the first sparked the Husky offense which went on to plate 31 runs on the day. Courtney Gano also hit a homerun in the sixth to put the UW up 12-0.
In the circle, Stanchek tossed six complete innings, allowing four hits and striking out six.
UW 19, Wenatchee 0
UW put together a 10-run fifth inning to highlight a 19-0 victory in their final game of the tournament against Wenatchee. UW’s offensive attack featured 24 hits by 12 different players.
Kelly Burdick, Aguilar, Lahners and Suguro recorded three hits apiece in the game.
Bator started in the circle for the Huskies, recording eight strikeouts while allowing three hits in five innings pitched. Kirstyn Thomas pitched the final two innings without surrendering a hit.
