April 19, 2005

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QUICKLY -- USU has a short week to prepare for Utah on Wednesday April 20. The Aggies then have a doubleheader against Soouthern Utah on Thursday and finish up the week by playing three games against Big West Conference rival CS FUllerton on the weekend... This will be the 133rd time Utah State and Utah will match up with Utah leading the series, 79-53... Utah State and Southern Utah have seen action 68 times since 1977 and Utah State leads the series -14... Utah State and UC Riverside have matched up nine times and Utah State leads the series 56-12... The Aggies faced CS Fullerton three times last year wining all three games with scores of 4-3, 6-5, 5-4... USU is 14-24 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 PREVIEW -- Utah State defeated Utah 6-1 on the road last week. Utah is currently 13-22 on the season and is coming off a two game sweep of New Mexico.

Diana Phillips is the Utes' leading hitter, with a .310 average, including five doubles, two triples, one home run, and nine RBI. Ivette Hernandez is the Ute who strikes fear into opposing pitchers with seven home runs and 19 RBI on the season. As a team, Utah is hitting .243, while its pitchers are allowing opponents a .276 average.

Pitcher Brianna Gourdin (8-10) leads the team with a 2.97 ERA. She has pitched 113 innings giving up 127 hits and only 48 earned runs. She is followed by Linsie Nielson (5-11) who has a 3.50 ERA after 104 innings. The entire pitching staff has a combined 3.20 ERA.

SOUTHERN UTAH PREVIEW -- Southern Utah is the defending Mid-Continent Conference regular-season champion. SUU set a school record for number of victories last season finishing with a 38-18 record. Utah State faced SUU Feb. 26th and defeated the Thunderbirds 4-0, and 9-5. The Thunderbirds are currently 14-19-1 on the season and are currently enduring a four game losing streak after being defeated in two doubleheaders against Valparaiso.

Kristen Carmichea is the Thunderbirds' leading hitter, with a .384 average, including nine doubles, six home runs, and 26 RBI. Tiffany Burt is leading the team in both triples and home runs with two and eight respectively. As a team, Southern Utah is hitting .267, while its pitchers are allowing opponents to hit .322.

Pitcher Amy Sauer (9-4) is leading the Thunderbird's bullpen with a 2.94 ERA. She has pitched 80 innings giving up 95 hits and 30 earned runs. Belinda Cardenas (0-2) is next in line with a 3.94 ERA after 21.1 innings pitched. The entire pitching staff has a combined 4.28 ERA.

CS FULLERTON PREVIEW -- CS Fullerton finished last year 18-34 and ranked sixth in the Big West Conference. Utah State swept the three game series between the teams last year, winning 4-3, 6-5, and 5-4. CS Fullerton is currently 18-14 on the season and is enjoying a five game winning streak coming off a two game sweep of Loyola Marymount.

Lindsey Bashor is the Titan's top hitter, with a .354 average, including six doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 12 RBI. Bashor places in the top 10 in seven seperate catagories in the Big West, batting average (third), slugging pct. (third), on base pct. (fourth), runs scored (tenth), home runs (fifth), and total bases (seventh). As a team, UCR is hitting .243, while its pitchers are allowing opponents a .241 average.

Pitcher Candice Baker (8-5) leads the Titans with a 2.20 ERA. She has pitched 76.1 innings giving up 51 hits and 24 earned runs. She is followed by Marissa Marzan who owns a 2.61 ERA after 80.1 innings. The entire pitching staff has a combined 2.70 ERA.

TEAM NOTES -- Leslie Higley (9-10) was named the Big West Softball Co-Pitcher of the Week after leading the team to three victories last week. During those games she pitched 19 innings giving up only one earned run and striking out 14 batters. Higley is leading the bullpen with a 3.26 ERA allowing 48 earned runs in 103.0 innings... Higley is also leading the team with 56 strikeouts... Higley recorded her single game high of seven strikeouts against UC RIverside on April 17th... Sara Fleming hit a home run against UC riverside to bring her total up to six.. Fleming leads the Aggies in slugging percentage (.566), hits (32), doubles (12), total bases (64), and home runs (6)...Fleming is currently leading the Big West with 12 doubles and is fifth in home runs... Last week Amy Schaible was on fire as she hit .333, with three runs, seven RBI, two doubles, and a home run... Quela Leonhardt leads the team with a .305 average...

RANKED OPPONENTS -- Two Utah State opponents are ranked in the top 25 of the ESPN/USA poll. UCLA climbed three spots to the 1oth position this week. The Bruins have won two consecutive national championships and hope to defend their title this year. Texas A&M stayed steady at fifth. Texas A&M is currently leading the Big 12 Conference with a 36-3 record. Arizona State dropped out of the top 25 this week. ASU defeated the Aggies 11-2 earlier this year. Thre other Aggie opponents, Arizona State, Long Beach State and BYU, received votes in the poll.