Washington Softball early 2024 season takeaways
With the Huskies wrapping up a three-game series versus the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday, we are officially one month into the softball season, with the Huskies having played 21 games so far attaining a record of 18-3. Now that we have a 21-game sample size for the 2024 Washington Husky Softball Team I will provide a few takeaways from what we have learned so far after the first month of Husky softball.
Washington Softball early season takeaways
The Huskies are an inner-circle contender to win the 2024 WCWS
Coming into the season many observers would be surprised if not shocked if the Huskies were to win the Women's College World Series as they were only ranked as the tenth-best team in the nation. The Huskies also had to replace their four best hitters from last season including All-American infielder Baylee Klingler.
Since the season has started, however, the Huskies have become a juggernaut through 21 games. They have improved on the offensive production from a year ago as they have six players batting above a .300 average with five of those players possessing an OPS over .900 to go along with their elite pitching staff.
The Huskies are 18-3 so far this season, earning the number five ranking nationally to become the best team on the West Coast and an inner circle contender to win the Women's College World Series.
Ruby Meylan is a True Ace Pitcher
Ruby Meylan is a name that most Huskies fans know after her exceptional true freshman season in which she became an All-American on top of leading the Huskies to the Women's College World Series. Meylan was excellent last year as she had a 2.14 ERA while pitching 180 innings, but she has been even better this year. Having already pitched 50.1 innings Meylan possesses an absurd 1.25 ERA while also increasing her strikeouts per seven innings from 7.9 last year to an outstanding 8.9 this year. Meylan has only improved upon her outstanding season last year to become a dominant ace for a top-five team in the nation this season which should put her firmly in the discussion for the best player in College Softball.
The Huskies Possess a Fearsome Batting Order
Coming into the season the Huskies faced the daunting task of replacing their top four hitters from last season. They have not only replaced their four best hitters from last season but the new top four of the batting order has become a nightmare for opposing pitchers. The top four hitters for the Huskies this year all possess a batting average above .370 and an OPS over .997 in at least 60 At Bats.
The Huskies are led on offense by Rylee Holtorf as she currently possesses an outrageous .403 batting average to go along with an absurd 1.177 OPS which are both the best on the team. The Husky offense has a top four of a batting order that can light up any pitching staff in the country to complement the elite pitching staff.