OKLAHOMA CITY – Cementing herself as not only one of the top pitchers in the Southeastern Conference but the country, Auburn softball's junior ace Maddie Penta was selected as one of 25 finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, the organization announced Wednesday.
Penta is one of eight student-athletes from the SEC to be named a finalist for the award. She is the first Tiger to make the top-25 cut since Kaylee Carlson in 2018.
One of the most dominating pitchers to ever wear Orange and Blue, Penta has put up staggering numbers in the circle during her junior campaign.
The Chesapeake City, Maryland, native opened the season with an incredible stretch of 61.1 consecutive innings before allowing her first earned run to score. That effort included 39.1 consecutive scoreless innings, the second longest scoreless inning streak in program history.
Penta enters Wednesday's midweek contest with a 1.05 earned run average, allowing just 23 earned runs in 153.0 innings of work. She currently leads the SEC and ranks sixth in the country with 19 victories, including recording the 50th win of her collegiate career to become just the eighth Tiger in school history to reach the milestone.
Ranking third in the country with 224 strikeouts, Penta became the first pitcher since Anna Thompson (2009, 2010) to record at least 200 strikeouts in back-to-back seasons. Penta is just two strikeouts shy of becoming just the fourth pitcher in program history to record 600 strikeouts in a career. She has recorded eighth double-digit strikeout efforts this season, including tying the program record for strikeouts in an SEC contest with 17 versus Missouri on March 25.
In her 24 starts this season, Penta has tossed 10 complete games, including five shutouts. Three of Penta's five shutouts have come against SEC opponents. She has also combined for nine additional shutouts with her fellow Tiger pitchers.
Efficient in the circle, Penta has allowed just 28 walks compared to her 224 strikeouts to rank fourth in the SEC with an 8.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio. She also ranks fourth in the league in walks allowed per seven innings (1.28), fifth in hits allowed per seven innings (3.61) and sixth in strikeouts per seven innings (10.2).
Penta currently ranks in the top 10 in 11 different single-season pitching categories, including first in earned run average, fewest hits allowed, fewest runs allowed, and fewest earned runs allowed. She also ranks in the top 10 in 17 total career pitching categories, including third in career ERA, fourth in strikeouts, seventh in wins and ninth in shutouts.
The top 25 finalists will be narrowed down to 10 athletes on May 3. The top three finalists will be released on May 17. The 2023 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year will be revealed prior to the Women's College World Series, which is scheduled to take place June 1-9.