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Seventh-Seeded Utah State Softball Battles Sixth-Seeded San Jose State On Wednesday In The First Round Of The WAC Tournament
May 5, 2008
HONOLULU - Complete Release in PDF Format
Utah State (14-32, 2-15 WAC) at WAC Tournament WAC Tournament Schedule QUICKLY - Utah State softball (14-32, 2-15 WAC) enters the Western Athletic Conference Tournament as the seventh-seed and will face sixth-seeded San Jose State (25-33, 5-13) on Wednesday, May 7 at 6 p.m. (MT) in the opening game. The double-elimination tournament is hosted by Hawai'i at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium in Honolulu. ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 14-32 overall and finished regular-season WAC action in seventh-place with a 2-15 record. The Aggies were swept at Hawai'i last weekend, 5-2 and 3-0 on Saturday and 5-0 on Sunday. ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE - The Spartans are 25-33 overall and finished WAC play in sixth-place with a 5-13 ledger. SJSU was swept at home last weekend by WAC regular season champion Nevada, 4-1, on Friday, and 3-2 and 5-4 on Saturday. SJSU is led by junior C/OF Brittany McConnell's .326 average and 12 home runs. Junior IF Kelli Fangonilo is third on the team with a .319 average, leading the Spartans in doubles (10) runs (41) and RBI (33). In the circle, senior Roxanne Bejarona has a 3.42 ERA, which is seventh in the WAC and she ranks tied for seventh in the league with 102 strikeouts, while posting a 6-11 record. Junior P Deanna Mauer has a 3.58 ERA and is fourth in the WAC with 163 K's and holds an 12-15 ledger. SJSU head coach Pete Turner is in his second season at the helm of the Spartans and has compiled a 48-61 record overall. Turner took the SJSU position after four years as head coach at San Joaquin Delta College, where he recorded a 99-30 record and his 2005 team won the league championship. The Spartans assistant coach Vicky Galindo is a member of the USA National Softball team and represented the United States during the 2007 World Cup and Pan American Games. Galindo will join the 2008 USA Softball Women's National Team who will defend their three gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing, China. SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS - FIRST LAST OPPONENT W L T PCT GAME GAME San Jose State 23 21 0 .523 1988 April 5, 2008SERIES HISTORY - UTAH STATE vs SAN JOSE STATE - Utah State holds a 23-21 all-time advantage against San Jose State, USU's second-most games against a Western Athletic Conference foe. The two teams first met in 1988. Prior to 2006's WAC series, the Aggies and Spartans hadn't meet since 2002. SJSU won all three meetings against USU in 2006, after USU had won three of the previous four match-ups. Last year, Utah State was 1-3 vs. San Jose State. In 2006 at Logan, SJSU won three one-run games, 2-1 on April 21, followed by 9-8 and 3-2 victories on April 22. Last season at San Jose, SJSU won, 3-1, on April 20, while the teams split games on April 21 with the Spartans winning the first game, 5-0, and the Aggies won the second game, 2-0, after eight innings. USU also paired up with SJSU in the second game of the 2007 WAC Tournament falling, 9-1, after five innings due to the run-rule, eliminating USU from the tournament. Earlier this season, the Aggies went 2-1 against the Spartans, falling in the first game, 15-8, on April 4 before picking up two come-from-behind wins, 8-6 and 11-10, on April 5. SEASON 33 - The 2008 season marks the 33rd year of softball at Utah State... The Aggies enter the season with a 758-804-3 (.485) overall record. USU has one college World Series appearance (1984, tied for 7th) and four NCAA Tournament appearances (1984, 1989, 1992, 1993). Utah State won the 1980 and 1981 AIAW National Championships. This is USU's third year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). ADMISSION - All games at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field are free admission to the public. SINGLE GAME RECORDS BROKEN OR TIED - This season the Aggies have set or tied several single game records. USU tied the record for doubles in a game with five against Utah Valley on April 2. Freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro set a new record for home runs in a game with three in game one against Northern Colorado on April 27. Kaneshiro and senior 3B Amy Schaible tied the record for RBI in a game with five each in game one against Northern Colorado on April 27. Sophomore CF Emily Reilly set a new record for doubles in a game with three at Utah Valley on April 2. Reilly and freshman LF Megan McDonald tied the record for walks in a game, as Reilly walked three times against Northern Colorado on April 27, while McDonald was walked three times at Louisiana Tech on April 19 and again versus Northern Colorado on April 26. TIDBITS ABOUT UTAH STATE - - The Aggies have belted 33 home runs this season, tying the school record for home runs in a season, set last season. - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching with a 5.11 ERA, yielding 394 hits and seventh in strikeouts (184). - Freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro leads Utah State and is sixth in the WAC, hitting .372, while junior DP Kayla Dunn is second on the team with a .359 average which ranks seventh in the league. Kaneshiro leads the team with a .717 slugging percentage, which ranks second in the conference. Dunn ranks seventh in WAC only games in batting (.381). - Kaneshiro leads the team in HRs this season with 10 to tie for fifth in the WAC stats, while she also leads USU with 81 total bases. She has also made her way onto the USU single-season home run list and is tied for second with two other players: Sara Fleming (2005) and Sandy Taylor (2000 and 1999). She needs one to tie teammate 3B Amy Schaible, who set a new record last season. Kaneshiro is also tied for eighth on the USU career home run list with Quela Leonhardt (2003-06) and Kathy Beasley (1993-96) - Schaible has belted five home runs this season, including two grand slams and now has 19 in her career to put her in sole possession of third on USU's career list. She needs two to tie former teammate Sara Fleming (2003-06, 21) for second. - Schaible leads the team with 30 RBI to rank 10th on USU's top 10 single season list, while Kaneshiro is second with 29. - Schaible has collected 85 RBI in her career at USU, holding the fifth spot on USU's career list. She needs four more to tie Lynnae Brady (1989-93, 89) for fourth. - Junior 1B Aubrie Stroman is fifth in the league with 26 walks, while Dunn is tied for sixth with 24. Stroman ranks third on USU's top 10 single season list, while Dunn is currently tied for sixth. - Junior P Lindsey Benson is third in the WAC in innings pitched (190.0) and fifth in strikeouts (134), while she leads the team with a 4.49 ERA. - Sophomore P Stacey Ellingsworth is second on the team with a 5.20 ERA and has 35 strikeouts. - After pitching in 37 games, Benson is sixth on the USU single-season games played in list, while she ranks fourth on the USU career games played list. She is also ranks ninth in innings pitched in the single-season top 10 list in that category. -In Benson's 37 appearances and 36 starts, she has recorded a team-high 134 strikeouts including a season-best 10 in the first game against Utah in the Aggies' home opener on March 26, one short of her career-high. She also tallied 10 K's against Idaho State on April 9. Overall, she has also yielded a .302 opponent batting average. - Benson is now seventh on the USU career strikeout list with 288 K's and needs 27 more to tie Kristie Skoglund (1984-87, 315) for sixth-place. She also ranks seventh on the USU single-season strikeout list, surpassing her total she set last season by five which currently ranks 10th (129). - Dunn's 14-game hitting streak was snapped in the second game of the doubleheader against Northern Colorado on April 26, as she had the third-longest streak in the WAC this season. Schaible had a 12-game hitting streak broken against Idaho State on April 24 for the fifth-longest streak in the WAC, and Kaneshiro's 13-game hitting streak was snapped against Idaho State on April 9, as she has the fourth-longest streak in the WAC this season. Sophomore 2B Nicole Rupp had a six-game streak broken in game one against NMSU on April 12, while Stroman's six-game streak was stopped in game two against NMSU. - Schaible and Reilly lead USU with 12 multi-hit games apiece and Kaneshiro leads the team with four hits in a game. - Schaible and Kaneshiro lead the team for multi-RBI in a game with five as they both tied the USU single-game record against Utah Valley on April 27. - Kaneshiro leads the Aggies with nine multi-RBI games and leads the team with a .356 (16-for-45) average with runners in scoring position, while sophomore 2B Nicole Rupp has a .356 (14-for-45) average with runners on base to lead the team. - Kaneshiro owns the best average with two outs on the team (.386, 17-for-44), while Dunn is averaging a team-best .469 (15-for-32) with the bases empty. - Junior 2B Jeanine Hernandez has the most success advancing runners for USU (.646, 33-for-51), while Reilly follows averaging .642 (34-for-53). - Rupp, Reilly and Price lead the team with nine stolen bases apiece. Overall, the team has stolen 45 bases this season. - USU had the latest home opener in the WAC last season (April 3 vs. Utah Valley) and did again this season, as the Aggies' made their 2008 home debut on March 26 against in-state foe Utah. LAST TIME OUT - MAY 4 AT HAWAI'I - Utah State softball concluded its regular season with a 5-0 loss at Hawai'i Sunday afternoon. The Aggies fall to 14-32 on the season and 2-15 in Western Athletic Conference action with the loss, while the Rainbow Wahine improve to 36-17 overall and 10-7 in league play. USU is now 16-26 all-time against UH. Hawai'i scored three runs quickly in the first inning, as pitcher Kate Robinson and third baseman Clare Warwick hit back-to-back home runs to start out the game and UH catcher Katie Grimes followed suit in the second inning with a solo home run over the left field fence. The Rainbow Wahine pushed across another run in the bottom of the fifth for the final score. Aggie sophomore center fielder Emily Reilly hit a single up the middle with two outs in the top of the sixth, while sophomore second baseman Nicole Rupp reached first on an error by the shortstop to put two on base. UH's right fielder Tanisha Milca then followed with a defensive catch to put a stop to Utah State's scoring threat. USU junior pitcher Lindsey Benson took the loss and falls to 13-21 on the year, while UH pitcher Katie Robinson pitched six and two thirds of an inning, allowing only three hits while improving to 16-6 overall. DUNN NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (April 7)- Utah State softball player Kayla Dunn was named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, April 6. The award is voted on by a state media panel. Dunn, a designated player from Carson City, Nev., helped Utah State post a 4-1 record, as it swept Utah Valley, 9-4 and 10-1 after five innings, and then went 2-1 against San Jose State, falling in the first game, 15-8, before winning, 8-6 and 11-10, in a doubleheader. Dunn batted .667 overall, going 10-for-15 at the plate, recording 11 RBI, nine runs, four walks, three doubles and three home runs. She tallied a home run in both games against Utah Valley as she was 3-for-5 with five runs scored and four RBI on the day. In the first game against San Jose, she went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while she was 4-for-6 in two games on Saturday, scoring three runs and adding five RBI. KANESHIRO NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (March 17) - Kelley Kaneshiro was named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, March 16. The award is voted on by a state media panel. Kaneshiro, a freshman shortstop from Auburn, Wash., led Utah State at the Cascade Clash Invitational in Oregon, as she hit .625 (5-8) with a double and a home run, to go along with four RBI and three runs scored. In the Aggies' 11-3 run-rule loss in six innings at Oregon State, Kaneshiro hit a two-run home run and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. Against No. 20 Washington, she was 1-for-2 with a walk in the 9-3 loss in game one of the doubleheader and 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI in a 5-4 loss in game two against the Huskies. Overall Kaneshiro had a 1.125 slugging percentage and .667 on base percentage during the weekend. She also tallied five assists defensively and had a perfect fielding percentage. LETTS' BITS - Letts won her first game last season at the helm of the Aggies with an 11-2 win against Southern Utah on Feb. 9, 2007. Letts became the first USU head coach to win their opener since Pam McCreesh won her first game in 1998. - Letts came to USU from Northern Illinois, where she was an assistant for one season. Prior to NIU, Letts was the head coach at the University of Mississippi, where she spent seven seasons guiding the Ole Miss program from 1999-2005, compiling a 153-246 (.372) record, including leading the Rebels to a school-record 30 wins in 2005. - Before Ole Miss, Letts was head coach at Colorado State University from 1994-98, amassing a 160-106-1 (.602) record in her five seasons there, as she re-established the softball program after it had been eliminated for one season. In 1997, Letts led the Rams to a 51-14 mark, winning the Western Athletic Conference championship and finishing ninth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) final poll. That season Letts was named the WAC Coach of the Year, as well as the NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year. - Letts has a career head coaching mark of 344-425-1 (.447) in 13 seasons, reaching the 200 and 300 win milestones while at Ole Miss. - This is Letts' second go-round in the WAC, as she posted a 79-62 (.560) mark in WAC games while at Colorado State and is now 86-90 (.489) in six seasons. - As a head coach, Letts has coached four All-Americans, seven all-region players, 13 all-conference winners, one conference player of the year, and one freshman of the year. - As a pitcher at Creighton University from 1979-1983, Letts helped the Bluejays to three-straight trips to the College World Series. In her career in the circle, Letts compiled 43 wins to go with 16 saves, while logging an ERA of 0.76 and firing 276 strikeouts. In the 1982 season, Letts led the country with nine saves, a mark that still ranks as the fifth-most single-season saves in NCAA history. - After graduating from Creighton in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, Letts began her coaching career at the high school ranks, including head coach at Burlington, Iowa, for five seasons. Letts moved up to the college level in 1988, returning to Creighton, where she served as an assistant for six years, helping the Bluejays to two NCAA Regional trips, as well as making three appearances in the Top 25 poll and coaching one All-American. In 1991, Letts and Creighton played Utah in the longest game in NCAA history, a 31-inning contest. ABOUT THE REST OF THE CONFERENCE NO. 1 NEVADA - Nevada is 40-14 on the year and finished 16-2 in the WAC, after sweeping San Jose State last weekend, 4-1, 3-2 and 5-4, with games one and three going to extra innings. The Wolf Pack picked up their first ever regular season title as they are currently ranked 19th in the nation. Nevada is led by freshman C Noelle Micka's .400 average, which ranks first in the conference, while sophomore P Katie Holverson leads the squad with a 2.25 ERA to rank sixth in the league. NO. 2 FRESNO STATE - The 10th-ranked Bulldogs are 47-9 overall and finished conference with a 12-3 mark, picking up three wins against New Mexico State on Friday and Saturday, 3-2, 4-0 and 4-1. Offensively, FSU is led by junior IF Haley Perkins' .379 average at the plate to rank fourth in the league and defensively by freshman P Morgan Melloh's 35-5 record with a 1.08 ERA, which is first in the WAC. NO. 3 HAWAI'I - Hawai'i is 33-17 on the year and ended conference in third-place with a 7-7 record. The Rainbow Wahine swept USU winning, 5-2 and 3-0 on Saturday and then won game three, 5-0, on Sunday. UH is led offensively and defensively by senior 1B/P Katie Robinson's .378 average to rank fifth in the league, while she is third in the conference with a 1.73 ERA. NO. 4 LOUISIANA TECH - Louisiana Tech is 31-27 on the year and finished fourth in the WAC with a 7-10 ledger. La. Tech was swept at Nevada on April 25-26, falling, 8-7, 12-2 and 8-0. The Lady Techsters are led offensively by sophomore SS Amberly Waits' .391 average to rank third in the WAC, while the team is led defensively by junior P Krissi Oliver's 2.42 ERA with a 16-13 record to rank seventh in the league. NO. 5 NEW MEXICO STATE - New Mexico State is 25-34 overall and finished 7-11 in conference action, after getting swept at Fresno State, 3-2, 4-0 and 4-1 last weekend. New Mexico State is led offensively by Stephanie Herrera's .395 average, which ranks second in the WAC, while the team is led defensively by junior P Kim Watson's 2.68 ERA and 17-17 overall record to seventh in the league. ON DECK - The WAC Tournament winner receives the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. |
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