Homegrown talent: Arizona connections

take center stage in 2024 Women’s College

World Series
Jorden Hampton/Cronkite News
May 31, 2024

Kaitlyn Terry’s strong pitching performance for UCLA in the 2024 Women’s College
World Series follows a stellar season where she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the
Year. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

PHOENIX – The 2024 Women’s College World Series has strong ties to the Valley this
year, prominently featuring Arizona natives Kaitlyn Terry and Viviana Martinez
showcasing their talents on a grand stage for UCLA and Texas, respectively.

As the NBA and NHL playoffs approach its final stages, college softball is taking over the
driver’s seat with Thursday’s start to its championship round with eight teams vying for
the NCAA national championship.

Terry, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year who helped lead the Bruns to 34 regular-season
wins, kept the pressure on Alabama in Game 1 by tossing four scoreless innings with
three strikeouts in UCLA’s 4-1 win. The Bruins will play Oklahoma on Saturday after the
Sooners beat Duke 9-1 in six innings Thursday.

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For the Greenway High School product turned UCLA ace, she follows in the footsteps of
her mother, Kristy, who played softball at Florida State and earned ACC Freshman of
the Year in 1995. Kristy’s inspiration and her father’s influential role have in part led her
to the biggest stage of her softball career. After gravitating to the sport at the age of five,
her father’s cost-saving decision altered her pitching career forever.

“We went to the outlets in Anthem, Arizona, to the Nike outlet to buy her her first glove
and the right-handed gloves were $60,” Joe said. “The left-handed gloves were $4.95.
She could throw with either hand so we decided to make her a left-handed pitcher.”

Terry, a two-time Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year as a senior in 2023 and a
sophomore in 2021, has seen her success translate from the mounds in Glendale to
bump in Los Angeles, where she produced the second-most shutouts (5) in the Pac-12
and ranked third in innings pitched (139.0). She finished the regular season with a 2.35
ERA, tossed 16 complete games and struck out 154 batters toward securing a 21-1 record
in 38 appearances. One of her best outings 12-strikeout effort against Webster State.
Winning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year is even more special, however, with this year’s
conference tournament marking the end of the current era.

“Nobody can take that away from her,” Joe said. “It was exciting to see her name come
up because we had no clue she was in the running.”

Martinez, a sophomore shortstop from Tolleson who played at Tolleson High School,
plays the three-hole for a red-hot Longhorns team in a crowded tournament. While she
went hitless in three at-bats Thursday in Texas’ 4-0 win against Stanford, she has been
one of the team’s best hitters since arriving in Austin. She recorded a .369 batting
average during the regular season, with 67 hits, five home runs, four stolen bases and 51
RBIs.

Viviana Martinez, Texas’ star sophomore from Tolleson, is eager to bring a national title
back to Austin. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Her sophomore success follows an All-Big 12 Freshman Team campaign in 2023 behind
her program-record 52 RBIs – the most in a single season by a freshman.

Martinez credits her family for exposing her to softball and helping her reach the
Women’s College World Series, where she applies the lessons learned over the years on
and off the field.
“Softball and baseball have always been tied to my family,” Martinez said. “My dad
played in the minor leagues for the Seattle Mariners and taught me to play softball. I
also have some uncles who played baseball.”

“I learned leadership and communication skills. I had to learn how to communicate with
my teammates so we were on the same page and learned different leadership styles from
players.”

Other players with Arizona ties include Oklahoma’s Cydney Sanders, who attended
ASU; Alabama’s Rilely Valentine, who played at Sandra Day O’Connor High School; and
Florida’s Jocelyn Briski, who went to Desert Vista High.

Martinez relishes the opportunity to compete for a national title and potentially bring
home gold. Texas will continue its pursuit against Florida on Saturday.

“Softball is amazing,” Martinez said. “Just doing it with my team and making it to the
World Series makes it amazing.”

2024 Women’s College World Series: Arizona talent takes center stage (azpbs.org)