Photo by: Vinny Lavalsiti
Taylor Tinsley Named National Pitcher of the Week
April 23, 2024 | Softball
LOUISVILLE, Ky. โ Sophomore Taylor Tinsley on the No. 9 UCLA softball team was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Pitcher of the Week Tuesday morning.
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This marks the first major weekly honor of Tinsley's career. She is the fourth UCLA hurler to be recognized as the NFCA Pitcher of the Week (others: Megan Faraimo, Rachel Garcia and Ally Carda) and the first since Faraimo in February 2020. Tinsley was also named D1Softball Pitcher of the Week earlier Tuesday morning and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
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Tinsley was the winning pitcher in all three games of UCLA's sweep at No. 5 Stanford last week which catapulted the Bruins (27-9, 12-3) past the Cardinal to the top of the conference standings.
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Tinsley limited Stanford to just seven hits and struck out 20 batters over 15.2 scoreless innings across her three outings. In game one, Tinsley twirled a 9.0-inning masterpiece and outdueled Stanford ace NiJaree Canady. She struck out a career-high 15 batters, held Stanford to five hits and did not allow a walk to the 32 batters she faced.
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Tinsley entered the final two games in intense relief situations with runners in scoring position. Tinsley thrived in high-leverage situations all weekend, holding Stanford to 0-17 with runner in scoring position.
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She relieved freshman Kaitlyn Terry in the fourth inning of game two with two runners on and nobody out. Tinsley got out of that jam on just eight pitches with a strikeout and held the Cardinal scoreless in the final three innings. She relieved Terry in the fifth inning of game three with two on and one out and retired all eight batters she faced to close the game.
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Tinsley lowered her ERA from 2.29 entering the weekend to 1.99. She ranks third in the Pac-12 in the statistical category.
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Tinsley and the Bruins return to action tonight at Long Beach State. Game time at the LBSU Softball Complex is scheduled for 6 p.m. (PT). The contest is available for viewing on ESPN+.
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This marks the first major weekly honor of Tinsley's career. She is the fourth UCLA hurler to be recognized as the NFCA Pitcher of the Week (others: Megan Faraimo, Rachel Garcia and Ally Carda) and the first since Faraimo in February 2020. Tinsley was also named D1Softball Pitcher of the Week earlier Tuesday morning and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week on Monday.
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Tinsley was the winning pitcher in all three games of UCLA's sweep at No. 5 Stanford last week which catapulted the Bruins (27-9, 12-3) past the Cardinal to the top of the conference standings.
ย
Tinsley limited Stanford to just seven hits and struck out 20 batters over 15.2 scoreless innings across her three outings. In game one, Tinsley twirled a 9.0-inning masterpiece and outdueled Stanford ace NiJaree Canady. She struck out a career-high 15 batters, held Stanford to five hits and did not allow a walk to the 32 batters she faced.
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Tinsley entered the final two games in intense relief situations with runners in scoring position. Tinsley thrived in high-leverage situations all weekend, holding Stanford to 0-17 with runner in scoring position.
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She relieved freshman Kaitlyn Terry in the fourth inning of game two with two runners on and nobody out. Tinsley got out of that jam on just eight pitches with a strikeout and held the Cardinal scoreless in the final three innings. She relieved Terry in the fifth inning of game three with two on and one out and retired all eight batters she faced to close the game.
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Tinsley lowered her ERA from 2.29 entering the weekend to 1.99. She ranks third in the Pac-12 in the statistical category.
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Tinsley and the Bruins return to action tonight at Long Beach State. Game time at the LBSU Softball Complex is scheduled for 6 p.m. (PT). The contest is available for viewing on ESPN+.
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