CHALK FULL

UW Softball Is Battle Ready

BY MARK MOSCHETTI • CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Anyone. Anytime. Anywhere.

When coach Heather Tarr puts together a schedule for her nationalpower University of Washington softball team, she doesn’t shy awayfrom top-caliber opponents.

Arkansas? Bring ’em on. Oklahoma State? Let’s play. Tennessee orLSU or Missouri? See ya on the field. And that’s before tangling with thelikes of UCLA, Arizona, Oregon, or anyone else in the perennially potentPacific-12 Conference.

The only opponent Tarr doesn’t ever want to come up against anymoreis the Coronavirus pandemic. The same pandemic that wiped outthe 2020 season just a month after it got started, with 23 wins in thefirst 25 games. The same pandemic that limited her scheduling optionsin 2021.

Olivia Johnson

Baylee Klingler

Jadelyn Allchin

Gabbie Plain

SilentRain Espinoza

Sami Reynolds

For the upcoming 2022 season, with her entire pitching corps back from last spring, and a slew of solid hitters also returning, Tarr and the Huskies are ready to take on anyone … anytime … anywhere. “We’re probably going to play one of the nation’s toughest schedules, not only in pre-conference, but also in conference,” said Tarr, whose team is ranked No. 7 in the preseason poll that was released on Jan. 18, and whose non-conference slate includes seven opponents in the top-25 (plus four top-25s in the Pac-12). “We’re looking forward to the growth through those challenges. It’s just our ability to weather the storm and grow through it.”

Weathering that storm starts in the circle with reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year Gabbie Plain. Now in her fifth year thanks to the NCAA waiver that was granted to all spring sports athletes whose 2020 seasons were cut short by covid, the Australian native put together a 32-4 record with a 1.45 earned-run average and 337 strikeouts in 2021.

While Plain got the start in 37 of UW’s 59 games, Kelley Lynch, now a junior, started 12 (when she wasn’t starting at first base). She went 5-7 with a 4.50 ERA and 69 strikeouts. Fifth-year Pat Moore (4-0 in 15 appearances), junior Brooke Nelson (2-0 in 12 appearances), and sophomore Sarah Willis (2-2 in 15 appearances) also return.

Whoever has the ball will be throwing it to a different catcher, now that Morganne Flores, who was second in UW history for RBIs and third in home runs, has completed her career. Sophomore Jenn Cummings and freshman Olivia Johnson will be vying for that spot. “For the most part, we’re a pretty young team,” Tarr said. “But I’m excited for their future and their development, having to replace some legends on the team.”

Speaking of replacing legends, that’s also the case with the departure of all-everything shortstop Sis Bates. The three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, who played every inning of all 59 games last season, didn’t go too far — she’s serving as a student assistant coach. But her days of anchoring the middle infield for Washington are done. Freshmen Rylee Holtorf and Kinsey Fiedler will be among those contending for playing time.

Even with the departures of Bates (.389 batting average, 55 runs scored) and Flores (.337 with 12 homers and 52 RBIs), the Huskies return some pop at the plate.

Topping that list is senior infielder Baylee Klingler. She led the Huskies with a .416 batting average in 2021, including team highs of 56 runs scored, 16 homers, 137 total bases, and a .507 on-base percentage. Senior outfielder Sami Reynolds hit .337 with 43 runs scored, 12 homers and 39 RBIs, and senior infielder SilentRain Espinoza batted .314 with 12 runs scored and 11 RBIs. Junior outfielder Jadelyn Allchin hit .301 with 22 runs scored and 24 RBIs.

“It’s nice to have the experience of Sami and Jadelyn and SilentRain — they’re going to be kind of the staples for us as we grow this young offense and figure out where everybody fits,” Tarr said. “Baylee comes to mind as a very big key to our offense — she has been an amazing player for us every year she has been with us.”

Along with a loaded schedule for her UW team, Tarr’s own schedule is loaded. In October, she was named the head coach of the USA Softball National Team, and will guide that squad this August at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. The roster includes Sami Reynolds.

“It’s a huge opportunity for my personal growth to be able to be around the nation’s best players,” Tarr said. “It’s definitely a challenge, because you can’t be in two places at once,

“But it’s a welcome challenge, for sure.”