March 9, 2005

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QUICKLY -- Utah State's softball team travels to Orem, Utah this weekend to play in a doubleheader against instate rival Utah Valley State... This will be the first time the teams will meet in school history... The Aggies will play two games on Friday and then have a short week to prepare for their first home game of the year vs. Southern Utah on March 16 and a doubleheader against fourth-ranked UCLA on the road the next day... USU is 5-8 under its first year head coach Lonny Sargent... The Aggies return 10 letterwinners from last year's 10-41 team, which went 6-15 in the Big West and finished seventh in the conference.

UTAH VALLEY STATE PREVIEW -- Utah Valley State finished last year with a winning record of 18-16. The Wolverines are currently 4-10 on the season but are coming off of a four game winning streak, sweeping doubleheaders against Northwest Nazarene and Albertson College. Rachel Hartgrove is the Wolverines' leading hitter, with a .394 average, including five doubles, one homerun, and three RBI. Last week the Wolverines swept the Division I Independent Player and Pitcher of the week awards. Hartgrove hit .579 and drove in three runs and Jackie Roberts was 2-0, striking out 18 batters and recording a 1.26 ERA in 16.2 innings. As a team, Utah Valley State is hitting .211, while its pitchers are allowing opponents to hit .361. Pitcher Jackie Roberts (2-4) recorded SUU's last two wins of the season and the first of two career against Albertson. She has pitched 25.2 innings giving up 44 hits and 17 earned runs. The entire pitching staff has a combined 5.89 ERA.

TEAM NOTES -- Leslie Higley (3-3) recorded the first Aggie shutout of the season against SUU... She scattered four hits over five innings and struck out three batters... Garnett (1-3) also achieved a milestone last weekend by recording her first career win on the mound... Garnett is leading the bullpen with a 3.79 ERA allowing 11 earned runs in 20.1 innings... Quela Henderson-Leonhardt is currently enjoying a four game hitting streak dating back to Feb. 19th against Texas A&M... During that stretch she has hit .384, with two runs, six RBI, one double, and a home run... Michell Vlahos now leads the Aggies in batting average (.300), slugging percentage (.500), runs scored (8), and home runs (2)... Jessica Garnett is second on the team, hitting a respectable .297... Garnett recorded the home run, which is the first in her career, against 16th-ranked Texas A&M and pitcher, Jill Weyand, who owned a 0.74 ERA on the season... USU has hit five home runs while allowing eight.

HEAD COACH Lonny Sargent - Lonny Sargent was named Utah State's head softball coach on July 26, 2004 after serving one year as the assistant to Debbie Bilbao. Lonny Sargent was hired after coming from Troy State where he served as an assistant coach for the Lady Trojans. Sargent has more than 14 years of coaching experience, from the high school level to the major college levels. Before working at Troy State, Sargent worked with the Mt. Hood Community College softball program for six seasons. While with Mt. Hood Community College, Sargent's teams were very successful, with a 175-98 record (.641 winning percentage) and earned six trips to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) Championship Tournament.

RANKED OPPONENTS -- Three Utah State opponents are ranked in the top 25 of the USA TODAY/NFCA poll. UCLA fell one spot to the fourth position this week. The Bruins have won two consecutive national championships and hope to defend their title this year. Texas A&M climbed four spots since last week and are currently 14th. Texas A&M is currently leading the Big 12 Conference with a 21-2 record. Arizona State entered the polls this week at the 24th spot. They defeated the Aggies 11-2 earlier this year. Big West Conference rival Long Beach State fell out of the top 25 this week after posting a 12-7 record. The Aggies have a 20-36 record against the 49ers. One other Aggie opponent, BYU, received votes in the poll.