No. 16 DePaul has won its last seven conference matchups to lead C-USA with a 9-1 mark; As a team, Houston has blasted a conference-leading 37 home runs and are only 12 away from breaking the C-USA record of 49 set by Southern Miss (2000); Check out all the latest C-USA softball news in this week's notebook.


HITTER OF THE WEEK
KEOLA CALDERON, LOUISVILLE
Junior, UT, Orcutt, Calif.
Calderon scored the winning run in both Louisville's victories over Indiana, 5-4 and Southern Miss, 3-2. Against the Hoosiers, she posted the winning run in the ninth, while finishing the game batting 3-for-5, scoring two runs and two RBI. In conference action, Calderon tied the score against the Golden Eagles with an RBI double and then scored the clutch run for the Cardinals' first-ever victory over Southern Miss. For the week, she posted one double, five RBI and four runs scored.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
MELISSA CUNDIFF, SOUTHERN MISS
Sophomore, RHP, Pomona Beach, Fla.
Cundiff did not surrender a single run in her four appearances last week, while striking out seven. She pitched a 3-0 shutout against Mississippi State, giving up only six hits, no walks, while striking out three. She also earned her sixth win of the season in a 5-4 victory over Louisville, where she gave up only two hits and no walks.

MAKING PROGRESS
For the second year in a row, Conference USA teams have shown an improvement in non-conference action: League teams have won nearly 60 percent of their non-league games in 2002. Here's a look at how the league has fared at this point of the season in all three years the league has had softball:

2002: 126-91-1 (.583)
2001: 94-81-1 (.537)
2000: 78-71 (.523)


AROUND THE HORN

CHARLOTTE (17-20, 2-9): Charlotte went 1-2 against UAB last weekend. In its 6-5 win over UAB, Charlotte's KRISTIN WHITE posted a three-run home run. SHANNON CARSON picked up the win to improve to 2-3 on the season, while DANA BOWERS earned her third save of the year. The Niners are second in Conference USA in on base percentage (.355) and doubles (55).

DE PAUL (22-7, 9-1): The 16th-ranked Blue Demons have won its last seven conference games after posting two victories over Saint Louis last weekend. Against the Billikens, LINDSAY CHOUINARD struck out five batters to reach the 100-k plateau this season. She now has won her last seven decisions and remains undefeated in conference play (6-0). As a team, DePaul leads the league in batting average (.313) and ERA (1.20).

EAST CAROLINA (27-15, 9-6): The Pirates fell to Houston in the first game of the series, 1-0, but bounced back to win the next two games. BRANDI BENEDICT led the Pirates, blasting a home run in Sunday's 12-1 win. For the weekend, NICOLE BACON struck out eight batters and did not give up a walk in 13.1 innings of action. She currently leads the team with a 15-9 record.

HOUSTON (26-18, 5-9): The Cougars went 1-2 against East Carolina last weekend. LESLIE SEAY was the leading hitter for the Cougars against ECU, going 5-for-11 in the three game series. Houston as a team hit seven home runs this week, improving the conference-leading yearly total to 37. JAMIE FALCO earned her eleventh win of the year in the first game against East Carolina (1-0), setting a new Cougar record for pitchers. Houston leads the conference with a total of 37 home runs this season, 15 more than second-place Southern Miss. The Cougars are also ranked first in the league with 337 hits and 167 RBI.

LOUISVILLE (19-19, 6-4): The Cardinals went 2-2 last weekend, capturing victories over Indiana and Southern Miss last week. Louisville's 3-2 win over Southern Miss was the first in school history. JESSICA RAK picked up two victories, posting a 0.66 ERA in 21.1 innings of play. She leads the conference in wins with a 17-8 record. KEOLA CALDERON batted .333 (5-for-16), scoring the winning run against Indiana and tying the Southern Miss game with an RBI double.

SAINT LOUIS (15-19, 1-12): The Billikens dropped a two-game series against DePaul. Prior to traveling to Chicago, the Billikens' snapped a 12-game losing streak after defeating Missouri, 5-4, in non-conference action on April 2. BETH YAGEE currently has an eight-game hitting streak, tying for the longest by a Billiken this season. ADRIE BOGAARS hit safely in the first eight games of the year. If the Billikens play all four games at UT-Martin and Austin Peay, SLU will have played 16 games this season in the state of Tennessee.


SOUTH FLORIDA (19-23-1, 5-5): The Bulls was off last weekend. Freshman SHELLY RIKER currently leads the conference with 25 steals for the season. CORIN TASSIO has six wins in the last three weeks and has moved into a tie with NIKI TROWELL for the team lead in victories with eight. COURTNEY LEWELLEN had three more doubles last week, increasing her league-leading season total to 14. The Bulls have stolen 72 bases this season, compared to 32 for their opponents.

SOUTHERN MISS (22-21,11-4): The Golden Eagles won their third conference series on the year, winning two of three games against Louisville last weekend. All three games were decided by a run, as the Cardinals won the opener 3-2, and Southern Miss won the final two, 5-4 and 1-0 in 10 innings. Five is the magic number for the Eagles, as they are 10-0 whenever they score five or more runs in a game. SARAH BOYD is batting .400 (14-for-35) against C-USA teams. She claims 10 runs, four doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs and a .771 slugging percentage. The Southern Miss pitching staff is throwing well in conference games, recording six shutouts. JESSICA HOLAWAY is 4-1 in C-USA games with a 0.84 ERA and 23 strikeouts, claiming three of the six shutouts.

UAB (27-13, 7-5): The Blazers went 4-1 last week, sweeping Alabama A&M and claiming two wins over Charlotte. SARA CHRISTOPHEL went .375 (9-for-25), posting one double and one triple. KELLI THOMPSON notched a game-high 11 strikeouts against Alabama A&M and threw a one-hitter against the 49ers. Thompson (8), KERRI FOSTER (10) and MEGAN STEPHENSON (11) have combined to throw 29 complete games so far this season. Blazers pitchers are holding opponents to a league-low .190 batting average.