FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2021 – COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT: JACOB PAVILACK
UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS SOFTBALL
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Transfer pitcher Callie Turner is the newest member of the Arkansas softball team as announced by Razorback head coach Courtney Deifel. Turner comes to The Hill after pitching two seasons at Tennessee and will be immediately eligible for the 2022 season as a redshirt sophomore by taking advantage of the SEC’s new intraconference transfer legislation that was passed in early June. She has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
The Land O’Lakes, Fla. native made 40 career appearances spanning the 2020 and 2021 seasons and posted an 18-10 record, 2.50 ERA and 103 strikeouts over 168.1 innings pitched.
Pitching her first full collegiate season in 2021, Turner ranked second on the team with a 2.28 ERA, 76.2 innings pitched, 31 strikeouts, five complete games and a .203 opponent batting average while accumulating a 10-3 record. Against Lamar, she hurled a five-inning no-hitter, allowing just one walk with a strikeout. She did not yield a run for 18 consecutive innings over a five-game stretch against Ohio, Central Michigan, Campbell, Lamar and LSU.
As a freshman Turner led the staff in almost every statistical category, hurling 91.2 innings and pitching to an 8-7 record with a 2.67 ERA and 72 strikeouts during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. She led the league in innings pitched while ranking fifth in wins and sixth in strikeouts. She threw a career-high seven innings and blanked Stanford in Palo Alto behind just four hits allowed and four strikeouts. Against Colorado State at the Puerto Vallarta Classic, Turner tallied a career-high 10 strikeouts.
Turner captured both 6A Player and Pitcher of the Year awards at Land O’Lakes High School and struck out 582 hitters in just two seasons. She won a state title in 2017 and earned NFCA All-American honors twice. In 2019, Turner participated on USA Softball’s Junior Women’s National Training Team, earning an International Cup bronze medal.