It was a great weekend for Arizona softball’s battery. Senior catcher Sydney Stewart didn’t get a lot of opportunities to hit last weekend against Houston, but she was a danger every time she stepped into the box. Freshman pitcher Rylie Holder had her best conference weekend so far. Both were honored for their performances.
Stewart was named Big 12 Player of the Week and Holder was honored as Big 12 Freshman of the Week after the Wildcats’ 3-0 series win over the Cougars.
Stewart went 3 for 3 at the
plate. All three hits left the yard, accounting for eight RBI. She reached base every time she came up to bat with seven walks, six of the intentional variety. The other came on five pitches. She finished with a 5.000 OPS and 4.000 slugging percentage in three games.
“I know they walked me a lot, but at the end of the day, I still get to be in the box,” Stewart said. “I have something to play for, so it’s a blessing.”
Heading into the final week of the regular season, Stewart leads the conference in slugging percentage (1.055), on-base percentage (.584), OPS (1.639), RBI (73), and walks (41). She ranks second in home runs (19), needing just one more to tie for the lead. She is sixth in batting average (.431) and runs scored (50).
Holder earned Arizona’s third Freshman of the Week honor of the season with the other two going to first baseman Kez Lucas. She threw 8.0 innings of shutout ball across two games. She threw a five-inning complete game while striking out five on Saturday then returned on Sunday for three more innings in relief. She earned the win in both games to improve to 11-4 on the season.
“I’m really proud of Rylie for just stepping up, and I thought she did a really good job of just her presence and staying consistent and really owning that moment,” Stewart said.
Holder’s three shutouts this year rank sixth in the Big 12. Her 11 wins are seventh.
The honors were the second for Stewart and the first for Holder this season.
The team as a whole as honored as the Big 12 Softball Diamond Performers. The group hit .486 against the Cougars.
Arizona will try to maintain its second-place position in the conference when it travels to Utah for the final series of the regular season.
Big 12 by the numbers
NFCA rankings: Texas Tech (2), Oklahoma State (16), Arizona (19), UCF (22), Arizona State (25), Kansas (RV)
USA Softball rankings: Texas Tech (4), Oklahoma State (13), Arizona (20), UCF (23), Arizona State (RV), Kansas (RV)
D1 Softball rankings: Texas Tech (3), Oklahoma State (12), Arizona (18), UCF (21), Arizona State (RV)
Softball America rankings: Texas Tech (4), Oklahoma State (12), Arizona (20), UCF (23)
RPI: Texas Tech (11), Oklahoma State (14), Arizona (19), UCF (20), Arizona State (24), Baylor (41), Kansas (49), Iowa State (66), Utah (71), Houston (84), BYU (89)
DSR: Texas Tech (9), Oklahoma State (15), Arizona (20), UCF (21), Arizona State (30), Kansas (33), Baylor (51), Utah (55), BYU (69), Iowa State (74), Houston (112)
KPI: Texas Tech (8), Oklahoma State (18), Arizona (20), UCF (21), Arizona State (23), Baylor (37), Kansas (39), Utah (59), Iowa State (64), Houston (81), BYU (94)
