STILL #PitcherU
Since the start of the 2018 season, the Sooner Athletic Conference has awarded the Pitcher of the Week award 81 times, and a USAO pitcher has earned the recognition 41 times. In other words, the Drovers have earned 51% of the weekly awards since 2018, and they have claimed EVERY SAC Pitcher of the Year award in that span.
Seven different Drovers have earned the honor of SAC Pitcher of the Week since 2018, led by Emily Cerny's 20 awards. Sophie Williams has achieved the recognition 13 times, followed by Abi Gregory with three. Jordan Detherage (2018), Lyndie Ervin (2019), Summer Leitka (2019), and Randa Hatter (2019) each earned the award once.
Along with the accolades, the pitching staff has clearly played a major role in the team's success at the national level. Over the last six seasons (excluding 2020 – COVID), USAO has made five NAIA World Series appearances and has placed in the top three on four occasions, including their NAIA National Championship in 2018. The Drovers have also claimed four Sooner Athletic Conference championships (3x tournament champions, 1x regular season champions).
The USAO pitching staff has been a dominant force since the mid-2000's, having produced a team earned run average under 4.00 in 13 of the last 14 seasons. Additionally, they have not had a season with a team ERA over 3.00 since 2016, when the Drover pitching staff had a 3.02 ERA.
Since 2018, the pitching staff has produced a win-loss record of 346-56 (.861). Additionally, the unit has a sensational earned run average of 1.46, along with 2,927 strikeouts in 2,567.2 innings pitched. Furthermore, the team has recorded 31 no-hitters/perfect games and 140 shutouts in the last 402 games played. In that same span, the Drovers have only surrendered 534 earned runs.
Sophie Williams has delivered 31 shutouts, three no-hitters, and seven perfect games since the start of the 2022 season, which is currently tied for the NAIA record for the most perfect performances in a career. She has earned two SAC Pitcher of the Year awards, three NAIA All-American selections, three All-SAC nods, and 13 SAC Pitcher of the Week awards.
In her career, Williams owns a 78-21 record and a 1.32 ERA with 775 strikeouts in 624.2 innings of work.
Last season, Williams claimed eight SAC Pitcher of the Week awards, and delivered four perfect games, as well as a no-hitter. In 2024, she put together a 29-6 record and a 1.15 ERA, along with 291 strikeouts in 206.1 innings. Her four perfect games, set a new NAIA record for most perfect games in a single season.
Abi Gregory made an instant impact as a freshman in 2023, delivering a perfect game, two no-hitters, and a 14-3 record. In 2023, Gregory recorded a 3.43 ERA with 128 strikeouts in 96.0 innings of work. For her efforts, Gregory earned three SAC Pitcher of the Week awards in 2023.
In 2024, Gregory delivered another perfect game, along with a 5-1 record and a 2.20 ERA. She struck out 26 batters in 28.2 innings.
In total, she owns a 20-4 record with a 3.11 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 130.2 innings of work.
Jayden Anderson set program record with 19 strikeouts in first career start against Tabor College on Feb. 9, 2024. The sophomore owns a career record of 18-3, along with a 1.81 ERA and has struck out 139 batters in 143.1 innings pitched.
THE G.O.A.T WAS HERE…
Emily Cerny completed the greatest career in NAIA softball history in the spring of 2022 and became the first NAIA player to ever appear in the Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) as a member of the Oklahoma City Spark in the summer of 2023.
In her collegiate career, she climbed to the top of the list of nine different statistical categories in the NAIA record books. Cerny owns the NAIA record for most appearances (186), starts (158), complete games (132), wins (144), shutouts (68), innings (1,047.0), no-hitters (16), perfect games (7), and strikeouts (1,414).
Cerny earned the NAIA Pitcher of the Year award three times, SAC Pitcher of the Year award five times, four-time NAIA All-American selection, five-time All-SAC selections, and she was named the 2018 NAIA Softball World Series MVP as she led the Drovers to the national championship.
She is also the first woman with multiple Sooner Athletic Conference Female Athlete of the Year awards (2021, 2022).
As a Drover, she helped lead the team to four NAIA national tournament appearances, which includes the national championship in 2018, along with third-place finishes in 2019 and 2022. She helped lead USAO to a pair of SAC Championships, and the longest win-streak in four-year college softball history (59 games – 2018 to 2019).
Cerny concluded her sensational career with a record of 144-22, having won 86.7 percent of her outings, along with a 1.08 career earned run average.
The USAO softball team has announced that Emily Cerny will be the final player in program history to wear the jersey No. 1, and her number will be officially retired with a ceremony at a date yet to be determined.
NAIA RECORDS – CLICK HEREf
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Drovers will return to action at Bill Smith Ballpark on March 15-17 as they host a four-game series against Nelson University. Saturday's double header is scheduled for 2:00 and 4:00 PM CT, followed by another twin bill on Monday, beginning at 2:00 PM CT.
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