ARLINGTON, Tex. - Seattle U softball hits the road for its final Western Athletic Conference (WAC) series this weekend, taking on UT Arlington for the first time since 2013. The Redhawks and Mavericks open on Friday with a doubleheader, beginning at 2 p.m. pacific before concluding the series on Saturday at 10 a.m. pacific. All three matchups will take place at Allan Saxe Softball Field on the campus of UT Arlington with live streaming on ESPN+ and live stats available.
FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS
- Friday, May 3 at 2 p.m. pacific
- Seattle U (20-29, 12-11 WAC) at UT Arlington (20-30, 10-12 WAC)
- Arlington, Texas
- ESPN+
- Live Stats
- Friday, May 3 at 4:30 p.m. pacific
- Seattle U at UT Arlington
- Arlington, Texas
- ESPN+
- Live Stats
- Saturday, May 4 at 10 a.m. pacific
- Seattle U at UT Arlington
- Arlington, Texas
- ESPN+
- Live Stats
WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Taylor Fitch and Nicola Simpson earned WAC weekly awards in consecutive weeks, with the former taking home Hitter of the Week and the later grabbing Pitcher of the Week.
Fitch was named WAC Hitter of the Week after helping Seattle U claimed its fourth straight WAC weekend series victory over Southern Utah on April 13, going 7-for-11 (.636) with three doubles, one triple, one home run, eight RBIs, six runs scored and two walks drawn. The Woodinville, Wash., native began that weekend with some new career-best marks, marking a double and home run in the opener to set a new career-high in single-game RBIs with six in a 16-4 win.
Fitch went three-for-three in the second game of the doubleheader Friday, smacking her first career triple in the fifth inning to drive home another RBI. The sophomore added another two hits in the series clinching win on Saturday, hitting two singles to extend her hitting streak to 11 games. This marked the first career weekly award for the infielder.
Simpson was named WAC Pitcher of the Week for the game week ending on Saturday, April 6 after an outstanding performance against Utah Tech.
The Seattle native was spectacular to open the series against Utah Tech, allowing just one earned run on three hits to go along with six strikeouts in a complete game win. Simpson held a no-hitter through the first 5.1 innings, working out of some trouble in the first before sending down 13 of the next 14 Trailblazers with nine of them coming in a row.
This marks the junior's first career weekly award. Simpson followed up being named the award winner by throwing a complete game against #9 Washington last Monday, preventing them from scoring until the very last inning.
NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE RANKINGS
Team batting average (.303) - #50 in the nation and third in the WAC
Team doubles (70) - #44 in the nation and fourth in the WAC
Team on base percentage (.365) - #98 in the nation and third in the WAC
Team ERA (3.97) - fourth in the WAC
Fielding percentage (.964) - third in the WAC
Team walks (115) - fourth in the WAC
Caught stealing by (11) - Karen Spadafora, #42 in the nation and first in the WAC
Doubles (17) - Taylor Fitch, #14 in the nation and second in the WAC
Games started (19) - Stefanie Madrigal, first in the WAC
Games started (18) - Nicola Simpson, fifth in the WAC
Hits (60) - Sydney Frankenberger, #58 in the nation and fourth in the WAC
Hits (58) - Taylor Fitch, #88 in the nation and sixth in the WAC
Slugging percentage (.636) - Taylor Fitch, sixth in the WAC
Total bases (98) - Taylor Fitch, #78 in the nation and fourth in the WAC
Toughest to strikeout (19.3) - Lily Garcia, #72 in the nation and fourth in the WAC
Toughest to strikeout (16.4) - Sydney Frankenberger, #132 in the nation and seventh in the WAC
Victories (11) - Stefanie Madrigal, #148 in the nation and second in the WAC
SERIES-AT-A-GLANCE
The Redhawks currently trail the all-time series, 1-2, dropping the first WAC series between the two schools in 2013.
PRESEASON HONORS/PRESEASON POLL
Stefanie Madrigal and Tai Wilson were honored by the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) this past week, with the former being named the Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year and the latter joining her on the All-WAC Preseason Team. The Redhawks have gone seven straight seasons with multiple players earning Preseason All-WAC honors and have had at least one athlete named for the last 11 years.
Madrigal became the first Redhawk to earn Preseason Co-Pitcher of the Year honors, marking her third consecutive season on the All-WAC Preseason Team. The native of San Jose, California, took another step forward during the 2023 season, leading the squad with the nation's 37th most wins at 19. Madrigal played some of her best softball on the biggest stage at the WAC Tournament, taking the ball in all five contests and allowing just one run in the first two.
Wilson earns the award for the first time after a breakout 2023 season in which she finished in the top-10 in batting average (.438), runs scored (23) and hits (35) during conference play in route to an All-WAC First Team award. The junior outfielder led the Redhawks with 72 hits (30th nationally), a batting average of .396 (54th nationally) and an on base percentage of .456 (142nd nationally). Wilson's overall hits total and batting average rank as the Redhawks' fourth and eighth best single-season performance.
Seattle U was picked to finish third as voted on by the 10 WAC coaches, receiving 66 points and one first place vote. The Redhawks have been picked to finish third overall or better in eight straight years.
HOW TO FOLLOW
All 14 Seattle U home contests this season will be broadcast on ESPN+. For road games, related links to video stream and live stats will be posted on the softball schedule page on goseattleu.com. Fans are encouraged to check the Seattle U Softball team's official Twitter feed @seattleusb for updates of games in progress as well as news and notes. Greg Sexton and former Redhawk, Katie Favilla (Antich), mark their third season on the call.
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