LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Olivia Johnson of Washington and Jordy Bahl of Oklahoma had impressive debuts to earn them the first Division I Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player and Wilson/NFCA Pitcher of the Week honors of the 2022 campaign.
Named MVP of the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, Johnson reached base safely in her first 14 plate appearances, going 7-for-7 with three home runs, eight RBI and drawing seven walks (five intentional). The freshman catcher was finally retired in the second at bat of her fifth game against then-No. 8 Arkansas. It marked the best start to a season or career by any Huskie. Johnson finished the tournament with a .700 average, five runs scored, 1.800 slugging percentage and .833 on-base percentage. In her debut, she homered twice, tripled and drove in five versus Lamar. Williams capped off an 8-0 run-rule win over Arkansas with a three-run blast in the fifth inning and against Rutgers, she was intentionally walked four times.
Bahl was a dominant force in the circle for the No. 1 Sooners, going 2-0 and striking out 24 batters over three appearances (12.2 innings). She surrendered just five hits, three walks and no earned runs. Bahl went the distance in 4-1 victory over No. 3 UCLA, fanning 14 Bruins. It marked the most strikeouts by an OU pitcher since 2019 and most by a Sooner rookie since 2010. In her collegiate debut, Bahl combined on a perfect game against UC Santa Barbara, striking out four of the eight batters she faced in 2.2 innings. The freshman hurler was nearly perfect in a three-inning save against Loyola Marymount, punching out six batters and allowing one hit against the 10 batters she faced.
The Division I Player & Pitcher of Week awards are voted on by the NFCA's Division I Top 25 Committee, which consists of one head coach representing each of the 32 NCAA DI Conferences.
Selected Top Performances
Addison Barnard, Wichita State - .500, 8 H, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 11 R, 9 SB, 1.663 OPS; Dayna Denner, Toledo - .667, 10 H, 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, .737 OBP, 1.33 SLG; Bela Goerke, South Dakota - .389, 3 HR, 10 RBI; Haley Lee, Texas A&M - .818, 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 0 K, .889 oBP; Mack Leonard - .700, 3B HR, 5 RBI, 1.200 SLG, Janyssa Martin, UNLV - .455, 7 R, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 1.273 SLG, 6 BB, .611 OBP; Abey Montoya, Coastal Carolina - .421, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 9 R, 1.105 SLG; Abbey Sweet, Notre Dame - .688, 2 HR, 3 2B, 7 RBI, 8 R, 2-2 SB, .706 OBP, 1.250 SLG; Clara Edwards, South Dakota – 2-1, 0.00 ERA, SV, 15 K, .174 opp. BA, 19.1 IP, Jayme Ellers, Western Carolina – 3-0, 1.06 ERA, 23 K, 5 H, 2 R; Payton Gottshall, Bowling Green – 3-0, 0.74, 33 K, 1 BB, .118 opp. BA; Makenna Kliethermes, Oregon – 2-0, 0.47 ERA, 22 K, 4 BB, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 15 IP; Shelby Lowe, Auburn – 3-0, 0.00 ERA, SHO, 5 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0BB, 23 K, .109 opp. BA, no-hitter versus St. John’s; Ashley Miller, Michigan State – 3-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.52 WHIP, 29 K, 4 BB, 21 IP, perfect game vs. Akron (14 K); Gabbie Plain, Washington – 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 17 K, 4 BB, 13 IP; Keely Rochard, Virginia Tech – 3-0, 1.38 ERA, 34 K, 4 BB, .181 opp. BA, 20.1 IP; Lauren Wiles, Illinois – 2-1, 0.82 ERA, 20 K.
