Giselle Juarez (softball)

Giselle Juarez
Pitcher
Born: (1998-03-23) March 23, 1998 (age 26)
Glendale, Arizona
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Giselle "G" Juarez (born March 23, 1998) is an American, former collegiate All-American softball pitcher. She played college softball at Oklahoma and Arizona State.

Early life

Juarez attended Mountain Ridge High School in Glendale, Arizona, where she finished her career with a 1.78 earned run average (ERA), 371 strikeouts and a .168 opponent batting average. She led her team to back-to-back state championship appearances in 2014 and 2015, including Mountain Ridge's first state championship appearance in 2014.[1][2] She was ranked No. 45 by FloSoftball in the 2016 class.[3]

College career

Freshman year

Juarez began her collegiate career at Arizona State. As a freshman, she recorded a 2.79 ERA in 90+1⁄3 innings, with 81 strikeouts, and 30 walks.[3] She recorded a season-best 11 strikeouts against Illinois State on February 17, 2017. Following the season, she was named All-Pac 12 honorable mention.[4]

Sophomore year

During her sophomore year, Juarez posted a 26–6 record, with a 1.21 ERA, and 305 strikeouts in 224+1⁄3 innings. She allowed just 39 runs on 91 hits, and was one of just nine NCAA Division I pitchers to reach the 300-strikeout threshold. She ranked third nationally with 13 shutouts. Her 1.21 ERA ranked 13th nationally, and was the fourth lowest ERA among pitchers who threw 200 or more innings on the season. She earned Pac-12 Pitcher of the Week honors for four-consecutive weeks, becoming just the second player in program history to accomplish the feat.[3] She threw her first career no-hitter on March 30, 2018, against BYU.[5] Following an outstanding season, she was named a top ten finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, first-team All-Pac 12 and NFCA first-team All-American.[6][7]

Junior year

During her junior year, Juarez transferred to Oklahoma.[8] She made 39 appearances, including 32 starts, and finished the regular season undefeated with a 21–0 record. She threw her first career perfect game on March 14, 2019, in a 14–0 win against Loyola Marymount.[9] She threw her second perfect game on April 28, 2019, in a 14–0 win against Iowa State, becoming the second player in program history to throw multiple perfect games in a season, following Paige Parker in 2015.[10]

She finished the season with 15 complete games, including seven shutouts, while combining on seven more. She ranked third nationally in hits allowed per seven innings pitched (3.64), fourth in strikeout-to-walk ratio (7.08), sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (10.1), 10th in strikeouts (269) and 16th in ERA (1.39). Her opponent batting average (.151) ranked second in Oklahoma single-season history while her 0.72 WHIP ranked third, 10.11 strikeouts per seven innings ranked fifth.[11] During the 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament, she threw six complete games including three shutouts, to help lead her team to the championship game, where they lost to UCLA. Following an outstanding season, she was named a top ten finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, Softball America Pitcher of the Year, first-team All-Big 12 and NFCA first-team All-American.[12][13][14]

Senior year

During her senior year, she battled injury throughout the 2020 season, making five appearances, including two starts, and pitched a combined 6+2⁄3 innings. She finished the season with a 2–1 record, with nine strikeouts and four walks in a season that was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15] She underwent biceps surgery on March 6, 2020.[16]

Redshirt senior year

During her redshirt senior year, Juarez posted a 23–1 record, with a 2.81, ERA and 159 strikeouts in 128 innings pitched.[17] Juarez help lead Oklahoma to the 2021 NCAA Division I softball tournament, where she went 5–0, and posted a 0.90 ERA, with 38 strikeouts during the tournament. During the championship series at the 2021 Women's College World Series, she pitched two complete games in a row for the first time in her career. During game three of the series, she allowed just two hits and notched seven strikeouts in a 5–1 victory over Florida State to win the national championship, and was subsequently named Most Outstanding Player.[18][19]

Team USA

Juarez represented the United States at the 2017 Junior Women's Softball World Championship where she posted a 5–0 record, with 28 strikeouts in 25+2⁄3 innings, while allowing just 10 runs on 17 hits, helping lead the USA to a gold medal.[3]

References

  1. ^ Young, Jerod (May 22, 2014). "Mountain Ridge to play for first state championship". The Glendale Star. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  2. ^ Killian, Tyler (May 15, 2015). "Glendale Mountain Ridge takes on Phoenix Sandra Day O'Connor in Division I softball title game". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d "Giselle "G" Juarez Biography". thesundevils.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  4. ^ "Pac-12 announces 2017 Softball All-Conference honors". pac-12.com. May 15, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  5. ^ Zaklis, Josh (March 31, 2018). "ASU softball's two wins highlighted by no-hitter in night cap". The State Press. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "Top 10 finalists announced for 2018 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year". NFCA.org. May 10, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  7. ^ "Pac-12 announces 2018 softball All-Conference honors". pac-12.com. May 12, 2018. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  8. ^ Hays, Graham (November 12, 2018). "All-American pitcher Giselle Juarez transfers to Oklahoma". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  9. ^ Reynolds, Vic (March 14, 2019). "OU Softball: Giselle Juarez pitches perfect game, offense explodes in 14-0 win over Loyola Marymount". The Oklahoma Daily. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Mussatto, Joe (April 28, 2019). "OU softball: Giselle Juarez pitches second perfect game". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  11. ^ "Giselle Juarez Biography". soonersports.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  12. ^ "Top 10 USA Softball Collegiate Player of Year announced". NFCA.org. May 8, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "2019 Pitcher of the Year: Giselle Juarez". softballamerica.com. May 29, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  14. ^ "2019 Softball All-Big 12 Awards Unveiled". big12sports.com. May 8, 2019. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  15. ^ Vernon, Brady (August 11, 2020). "Oklahoma's Giselle Juarez Learning About Herself Through Injury". softballamerica.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  16. ^ Buettner, Joe (May 24, 2020). "OU softball: Giselle Juarez eyes 2021 for proper end to Oklahoma career following surgery". The Norman Transcript. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  17. ^ Hoover, John E. (June 10, 2021). "Giselle Juarez, Jocelyn Alo Were 'Just Different' as Oklahoma Won the National Championship". si.com. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "The WCWS most outstanding players, since 1982". NCAA.com. June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  19. ^ McCourry, Caleb (June 10, 2021). "'I'm about to do a G-Juarez thing': How Giselle Juarez closed out her OU career in epic fashion". The Oklahoman. Retrieved June 10, 2021.