2020 Top 50 College Softball Programs: No. 6 Washington
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Location: Seattle
Conference: Pac-12
Field: Husky Softball Stadium, (1,000)
Head Coach: Heather Tarr, 659-246-1 (16 Seasons)
Postseason Appearances: 26
Last Decade: 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 WCWS Appearances: 14
WCWS Titles: 1
All-Americans: 56
Olympians: 4
Heather Tarr guided the Huskies to a national championship in 2009 — the program’s first and only title — in just her fifth season at the helm. Since then, Tarr has coached 29 All-Americans, seven Pac-12 Player of the Year award winners and a national Pitcher of the Year. With 659 career wins, Tarr is the winningest coach in any sport in UW history and has led the Huskies to five WCWS appearances in the last decade.
The 2010 squad returned to OKC after winning the 2009 crown behind the arm of back-to-back Player of the Year and back-to-back Honda Award winner, Danielle Lawrie. Lawrie tallied a 40-5 record in the circle with a 1.11 ERA and a whopping 495 strikeouts, walking just 46 in 302.1 innings pitched. That season, Lawrie threw not one but two perfect games and four no hitters.
2010 WCWS Appearance
Seattle Regional
#3 Washington – 3 North Dakota State – 0
#3 Washington – 1 North Carolina – 0
#3 Washington – 2 North Carolina – 1
Seattle Super Regional
#3 Washington – 1 #14 Oklahoma – 6
#3 Washington – 3 #14 Oklahoma – 0
#3 Washington – 4 #14 Oklahoma – 0
WCWS
#3 Washington – 3 #6 Georgia – 6
#10 Arizona – 4 #3 Washington – 3
Back-to-Back-to-Back
Tarr and her staff boast a postseason record of 76-33 with three-consecutive WCWS appearances from 2017-2019. We’ll take a look at the runner-up 2018 squad, which included a large senior class led by Taylor Van Zee, Julia Deponte and Kirstyn Thomas. Van Zee led the team in doubles (20) and ranked third in RBIs (42) behind DePonte (54) and Thomas (55). Sis Bates led the team in batting average (.389) as a rookie.
The Huskies boasted an electric infield that season with Van Zee at the hot corner, true freshmen Bates and Taryn Atlee up the middle and Thomas at first. Watching this defense live was an absolute delight as they brought energy and Top 10 SportsCenter plays about every game.
In the circle, Washington used both junior righthander Taran Alvelo and freshman Gabbie Plain. The hard throwing Alvelo recorded 23-5 record with 1.30 ERA with 242 strikeouts in 188 innings. Plain, a master of movement, proved to be the perfect compliment to Alvelo going 22-5 with 181 strikeouts in 166.1 innings. The Dawgs ended the season just short of a national title running into a hot Florida State Seminole offense in the finals.
2018 WCWS Runner-Up
Seattle Regional
#5 Washington – 8 Boise State – 0
#5 Washington – 2 Texas – 1
#5 Washington – 5 #25 Minnesota – 2
Seattle Super Regional
#5 Washington – 3 #12 Alabama 2 (9)
#5 Washington – 6 #12 Alabama – 0
WCWS
#5 Washington – 2 #4 Oklahoma – 0
#5 Washington – 6 #1 Oregon – 2
#5 Washington – 3 #4 Oklahoma – 0
WCWS Championship Series
#6 Florida State – 1 #5 Washington – 0
#6 Florida State – 8 #5 Washington – 3
Other Players to Note:
Victoria Hayward (2011-2014): Canadian National Team Member. Senior campaign (2014) led the Huskies in average (.405) and stolen bases (25).
Ali Aguilar (2014-2017): 2 x All-American shortstop is a US Women’s National Team Member. As a senior, led the team in runs (62), homeruns (14) and batting average (.352).
Kylee Lahners (2012-2015): A key component to 2015 offensive lineup that set program records in 6 categories. Batted .386 with 50 RBIs 14 doubles, one triple and 16 homeruns.
