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Busy Week For USU Softball Opens With Hosting Idaho State Tuesday Before Playing At Utah Wednesday
April 23, 2007
LOGAN, Utah -
Complete Utah State Softball Notes in PDF Format
Idaho State (9-29) at Utah State (15-27, 5-7 WAC)
Utah State (15-27, 5-7 WAC) at Utah (21-20-1, 2-8 MWC)
This Week's Utah State Schedule - All Times MT
QUICKLY - Taking a three-game hiatus from Western Athletic Conference action and starting busy week, Utah State hosts border-foe Idaho State in a Tuesday twinbill, starting at 2 p.m. at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. On Wednesday, the Aggies head to Salt Lake City to take on in-state foe Utah in a single-game at 3 p.m. at Ute Field. GAMETRACKER - Fans can follow Wednesday's game at Utah with live stats via GameTracker. The link is available on the home page of www.UtahStateAggies.com, the official Utah State athletics site, through the softball page schedule/results, or through Utah's website: www.utahutes.com. STREAKING AGGIES - Saturday's win snapped USU's five-game road losing streak... the Aggies are now 5-12 on the road. Tuesday's two losses at Utah Valley State snapped Utah State's four-game winning streak, the Aggies' longest win streak of the season and longest string of wins since April 30-May 8, 2005, when USU also won four in a row. Overall, the Aggies have won six of their last 12 games, and winning five of their last seven conference games. BETTER THAN BEFORE - USU is 15-27 on the season, topping last season's win total (8-38), when the Aggies upset then #15 Oregon State, 2-0, on March 17 at Corvallis, Ore., the Beavers' first shutout loss at home to an unranked team since April 29, 2005. The Aggies' 15 wins reaches double-digits in the win column for the first time in three years, topping last season's 8-38 record. The 15-27 ledger is one game behind the 2000 and 2005 squads (16-26) for best record through 42 games of the 2000's. Through 45 games, the 2000 squad was 17-28 and the 2005 squad was 18-27. The win over Nevada on April 7 was USU's first conference win in its sixth league game, compared to the first WAC win coming in last year's 12th league game. USU's sweep over La Tech on April 13-14 gives the Aggies, who are in their second season in the Western Athletic Conference, their first WAC series sweep. The brooming is also the first conference series sweep since April 3-4, 2004, when USU took three from Cal State Fullerton. WAC STANDINGS - After one-time occupying last place in the conference standings in the seventh-spot, Utah State has vaulted to third in the standings. SERIES HISTORY -
UTAH STATE vs IDAHO STATE - Utah State has won two in a row and nine of last 11 vs. Idaho State and USU is 17-6 all-time vs. ISU, facing each other earlier this season in the first tournament of the year at the BYU/UVSC Red Desert Classic on Feb. 10 at St. George, Utah. The Aggies rallied for a thrilling 13-12 eight inning victory over the Bengals. USU and ISU's doubleheader at Pocatello on April 10 was cancelled with USU ahead 2-0 in the top of the third due to snow and windy conditions. Prior to this season, the last meeting came in the Aggies' 1983 season finale doubleheader, dropping the first game before bouncing back to win, 5-0. UTAH STATE vs UTAH - Against in-state foe Utah, the Aggies are 53-81, USU's most-played series. The teams first met in 1976, USU's first season of softball. The Utes and Aggies were scheduled to meet five times last season but only faced each other twice, as the other three were cancelled due to wet weather. Utah won both of last year's games, 3-1 and 8-1, after Utah State won 2005's only meeting, 6-1, snaping the Utes' nine-game winning streak in the series. Prior to 2005, the Aggies' last win came in 2000, as the Utes have won 11 of the last 12 meetings. ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 15-27 overall, after having their four-game win streak snapped with two losses (7-6 and 4-2) at Utah Valley State on Tuesday and going 1-2 in a three-game WAC series at San Jose State. The four wins in a row was USU's longest win streak of the season, and the Aggies have won five of their last nine games. At San Jose State, USU dropped Friday's game, 3-1, and Saturday's first game, 5-0, before bouncing back to win Saturday's night cap, 2-0 in 8 innings. ABOUT IDAHO STATE - The Bengals are 9-29, having won five of their last six, all at home. ISU earned its first win over a Division I opponent by topping Utah Valley State, 3-2, last Saturday, April 14, before dropping the nightcap, 4-2. This past Friday, ISU beat Montana State-Billings, 8-1, and 7-5 on Saturday, as the second game each day was cancelled due to inclement weather. Idaho State brings an 0-11 road record into Tuesday's twinbill. ABOUT UTAH - The Utes are 21-20-1 after splitting a two-game series with Colorado State this past weekend. Utah beat CSU, 8-4, on Friday, before getting blasted 20-5 on Saturday, after getting outscored 17-2 in the final three innings. Utah has a 1-5 home record, as the Utes made their home opener on April 13. Friday's win snapped Utah's four-game home losing skid. Overall, the Utes have lost eight of their last 10. LETTS ERA OPENS WITH WIN - First-year Candi Letts won her first game at the helm of the Aggies with the 11-2 win over Southern Utah on Feb. 9. Letts becomes the first USU head coach to win their opener since Pam McCreesh won her first game in 1998. SEASON 32 - The 2007 season marks the 32nd year of softball at Utah State... the Aggies enter the season with a 741-768-3 (.491) 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 second year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). TIDBITS ABOUT UTAH STATE - - TREND TALKING - Tuesday's game one loss to UVSC on a walk-off HR in the bottom of the seventh was the first time this season that USU has lost after leading after the sixth inning (9-1 now) and ahead after the fourth inning (8-1), as well as just the second time the Aggies have lost when leading after the fifth inning (11-2). - After hitting .414 against La Tech, USU has climbed from seventh to fifth in the WAC statistics in overall team batting (.264), and vaulted from seventh to third, and is now in fifth in WAC only games (.260). - The Aggies are second in the conference in stolen bases (50-68) in all games and lead the league in WAC only games (16-21). - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching, with a 4.97 team ERA... The Aggie pitching staff is sixth in strikeouts (187) and fourth in fewest walks issued (128). - USU's pitching staff has topped last season's strikeout total, currently with 187 K's... last year USU pitchers logged 142 strikeouts... This year's total is the most since the 2002 pitching staff fired 255 K's. - Last season the Aggies hit a total of 18 home runs in 46 games... this season through 42 games, USU has surpassed last year's total, belting 28 so far this year, including five in a wild 13-12, 8 inning win over Idaho State on Feb. 10... The Aggies are closing in on the school record of 32 set by the 2005 USU squad. - Junior 3B Amy Schaible leads the team with nine HR's, while senior 1B Jamie Fife has six HR, junior SS Tara Evans has four and three others have two apiece. - With nine HR's, Schaible is tied for second on USU's single-season HR list, while Fife is tied for the fourth-most... the school record is 10 round-trippers, done three times by two different players: Sara Fleming (2005) and Sandy Taylor (1999 and 2000). - Fife leads the team with 27 RBI, needing two more to crack into USU's top 10 single season list, while Schaible is second with 22, topping last year's season leader Quela Leonhardt's RBI total of 17, and over halfway to the single-season school record of 41 RBI by Sandy Taylor in 2000. - Schaible now has 12 career home runs, currently tied for fifth on USU's career HR list with Shontinese Huey (1993-96). - USU has also topped last season's stolen base total, nearly matching last season's total of 13 stolen bases with 12 swipes in the six games in Colorado March 1-4... On the year, the Aggies now have 50 stolen bases in 68 attempts... That total is closing in on the school record of 67 from the 1981 national-championship season in 46 games. - The 50 stolen bases are the most since the 1996 squad swiped 54... USU currently averages 1.19 stolen bases per game, in order to break the school record they will have to average 2.0 stolen bases per game in the final nine games. - Junior SS Tara Evans leads USU and ranks tied for fifth in the WAC in stolen bases (10-11), getting thrown out for the first time this season Tuesday at UVSC... Evans is second in WAC only games with sixth stolen bases, while Schaible is third with three... The 10 swipes rank Evans ninth on the single-season stolen base list. - After one time holding three of the top 10 batting spots in the conference statistics, USU now has one player in the top 15, senior 1B/OF Jamie Fife's team-leading .366 average is sixth. - Fife leads USU and ranks ninth in the conference in RBI with 27. - Schaible has her average back above .300 (.321), after it had slipped below .300 for the first time this season last week, and ranks sixth in the league with home runs (9)... Schaible leads USU in runs scored (25) and at bats (125). - Schaible is the only player to start in all 42 games, while Schaible and Evans are the only two players to play all 42 games. - Sophomore P Lindsey Benson is 10th in the WAC in ERA (3.47) and seventh in strikeouts (104)... Benson's 22 strikeouts in three appearances March 1-4 nearly matched her season total of 25 K's last year in 15 appearances... Benson has established career-high and double-digit strikeout highs twice this season, firing 10 against Colorado State on March 4, and then topping it on April 3 with 11 against Utah Valley State. - Benson's 104 strikeouts are the most for a USU pitcher since Kristin Hommel's 135 K's in 2002. - Benson logged her 100th career strikeout against La Tech on April 13, and now has 124 K's, needing 40 more to tie Julie Starratt (1986-89) for 10th on the USU career strikeout list. - Saturday's shutout at SJSU was Benson's first of her Aggie career and USU's second of the year, after Perry fired a 2-0 shutout in the Aggies' upset of then-15th-ranked Oregon State on March 17 - Senior P Lexy Perry ranks second on the team and 13th in the league in ERA (4.97) and has one of the Aggies' two shutouts on the season, with a 2-0 blanking of then-#15 Oregon State on March 18, USU's first shutout win since April 16, 2005... with 22 K's this season in 13 appearances, Perry has nearly tripled last year's season total of just eight strikeouts in nine appearances. - Freshman P Stacey Ellingsworth is 15th in the league in ERA (5.40) and is second on the team in strikeouts (45). - Fife holds the longest active hitting streak at a career and USU season-long 10 games... Schaible had a nine game streak end, while Evans had an eight game streak halted this weekend... Schaible had a season-opening eight-game hitting streak... Junior C Heather Haak and sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman each had a five-game hitting streak earlier in the season as well. - Fife leads the team with nine multi-hit games, while Schaible and Evans have eight each, while Stroman has six... Fife and Evans lead the team with four hits in a game. - Fife leads the team for multi-RBI games with nine, followed by Schaible with seven and Evans with six... senior OF Ashley Bellum leads the team with five RBI in USU's 12-4 win over Northern Colorado on March 3, blasting a grand slam, while Stroman and Reilly each have four-RBI outings. - Fife leads the team in both average with runners in scoring position (.500, 18-36) and runners on (.440, 22-50), as well as leading in average with two outs (.429, 18-42). - Freshman OF Emily Reilly is third for USU in average with two outs (.333, 10-30), highlighted by her two-run home run in the top of the seventh against Portland State on Feb. 17. SCHAIBLE TABBED USU ATHLETE OF WEEK (April 16) -
Softball player Amy Schaible was named Utah State's Athlete of the Week, announced April 16. The weekly award is voted on by a state media panel.
This is Schaible's first USU Athlete of the Week Award this season and she is the third Aggie softball player to receive the honor this year, joining Lindsey Benson (March 5) and Lexy Perry (March 19). For Schaible, this is the second time in her career that she garnered USU's weekly accolades, after receiving the honor last season (May 1).
Schaible, a junior 3B from Red Bluff, Calif. (Red Bluff Union HS), hit .455 (5-11) during the weekend, with four RBI and one home run in Utah State's three-game sweep of Louisiana Tech, marking USU's first-ever Western Athletic Conference series sweep.
Schaible started the series by going 1-3 on Friday, and followed that up with a 4-8 effort Saturday, including going 3-4 with three RBI in Utah State's 12-4 (5) win against Louisiana Tech, including belting a walk-off homer in the fifth, to put USU ahead by eight and end the game. The HR was Schaible's team-leading eighth home run of season and she moves up to tie for No. 3 on the USU single-season HR list, needing just three more for the school record. She also is now tied for No. 6 on the Aggie career HR list with her 11th long fly, tying Kelly Smith (1984-86, `88).
Schaible extended her active hitting streak to seven games. That is her second-longest streak of the season behind her eight-game tear to in USU's opening eight games of the year.
On the year, Schaible has her average back above .300 (.321), after it had slipped below .300 for the first time this season last week, and ranks tied for sixth in the league with home runs (8). Schaible leads USU in hits (35), total bases (63), runs scored (24) and at bats (109).
PERRY PITCHES WAY TO USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AWARD (March 20) - Softball pitcher Lexy Perry has earned the Utah State Athlete of the Week award it was announced on March 20. The honor is voted on by a state media panel each week.
Perry became the second softball player to earn the honor in the last three weeks joining fellow pitcher Lindsey Bennion, who was selected the school's top athlete on March 5.
Perry recorded her first career shutout and USU's first shutout win since April 16, 2005, with the Aggies' 2-0 upset win at #15 Oregon State Saturday. The Aggies dealt the Beavers, who were in the Women's College World Series last year, their first shutout loss at home to an unranked team since April 29, 2005.
Perry, a senior from Vancouver, Wash., yielded only five hits while pitching the entire seven innings. She walked four and struck out one in improving her individual record to 2-2 on the season. She owns a 3.60 ERA in eight appearances on the year.
BENSON NAMED USU ATHLETE OF WEEK (March 5) -
Lindsey Benson was named the Utah State Athlete of the Week for the period ending March 4. The weekly award is voted on by a state media panel.
Benson, a sophomore pitcher went 2-0 in three appearances, and logged a career-high 10 strikeouts in USU's 3-2 win over Colorado State on March 4, as her career-high topped Benson's three-day old previous career-high of nine K's in USU's 6-5 win at Northern Colorado on March 1.
She had at least one strikeout in each inning in the March 4 game, ringing up two in the third, fifth and sixth innings. Her 22 strikeouts in three appearances this week nearly matched her season total of 25 K's last year in 15 appearances.
REILLY TABBED WAC SOFTBALL HITTER OF THE WEEK (March 5) -
Freshman outfielder Emily Reilly was named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week, announced March 5 by the conference office.
Reilly, a freshman from Portland, Ore. (Central Catholic) posted a .462 average for the week, going 6-for-13 with a double, triple and a home run, as well as three RBI. She had a .923 slugging percentage and a .462 on-base percentage in four games during the week. The outfielder went 2-for-4 with a triple in Utah State's 5-4 win over Northern Colorado on March 1. She was also 3-for-4 with a double two RBI and two runs scored in the Aggies' 12-4 win over the Bears on March 3.
Reilly is the first Utah State player to earn hitter of the week honors from the WAC and just the second overall. Last season, Heather Straight earned pitcher of the week honors for the week of May 1. Reilly's honor is the first conference hitter of the week award since Sara Fleming was named the Big West Player of the Week on April 25, 2005.
LETTS' BITS - Head coach Candi Letts is in her first year at the helm of the Aggies, but has 12 years of experience as a Division I head coach. - 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. The .602 winning percentage is the highest in school history. 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 328-379-1 (.464) in 708 career games spanning 13 seasons, reaching the 200 and 300 win milestones while at Ole Miss... Letts coached her 700th career game in Saturday's second game. - This is Letts' second go-round in the WAC, as she posted a 79-62 (.560) mark in WAC games while at Colorado State. - As a head coach, Letts has coached four All-Americans, seven all-region players, 12 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 OPPONENTS -
ABOUT IDAHO STATE - The Bengals are 9-29, having won five of their last six, all at home. ISU earned its first win over a Division I opponent by topping Utah Valley State, 3-2, last Saturday, April 14, before dropping the nightcap, 4-2. This past Friday, ISU beat Montana State-Billings, 8-1, and 7-5 on Saturday, as the second game each day was cancelled due to inclement weather. Idaho State brings an 0-11 road record into Tuesday's twinbill.
Junior IF Chris Shollenberger leads ISU with a .294 average including a team-leading nine doubles. Heather Dixon, a sophomore 3B/P, has a team-leading 24 RBI and 10 HR's, and has scored a team-high 21 runs.
Freshman Lindsay Boughton leads the ISU pitching staff with a 4.32 ERA with 120 strikeouts and a 7-16 record with two strikeouts.
First-year ISU head coach Larry Stocking (Idaho State, `92) has a 9-29 Division I coaching record after posting a 249-72 mark as a junior college coach for seven seasons.
ABOUT UTAH - The Utes are 21-20-1 after splitting a two-game series with Colorado State this past weekend. Utah beat CSU, 8-4, on Friday, before getting blasted 20-5 on Saturday, after getting outscored 17-2 in the final three innings. Utah has a 1-5 home record, as the Utes made their home opener on April 13. Friday's win snapped Utah's four-game home losing skid. Overall, the Utes have lost eight of their last 10.
Utah is led by junior OF Diana Phillips with a .392 average. Phillips has 22 RBI and six HR's. Staci Hemingway, a sophomore UT player, leads Utah with 44 RBI and shares the team lead of 14 HR's with sophomore IF/DP Hailey Davenport.
In the circle, senior Meghan Dyer has a 2.32 ERA while logging 253 strikeouts, posting a 15-13 record with four shutouts.
Utah head coach Angie Jacobs is in her first year at the helm of the Utes, coming to Utah after an eight-year at Miami (Ohio), where she was the Redhawks' all-time winningest head coach with a 172-245-1 ledger.
SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENT - FIRST LAST OPPONENT W L T PCT GAME GAME Idaho State 17 6 0 .739 1976 2007 - Feb. 10 Utah 53 81 1 .396 1976 2006Note: Idaho State is fielding team for first time since 1983... USU has won two in a row and nine of last 11 vs ISU... Utah has won 11 of last 12 meetings with Utah State.
ON DECK - The Aggies resume WAC play by hosting Hawai'i on Friday and Saturday, April 27-28 in a three-game WAC series in the Aggies' final home action. Saturday will be "Senior Day" as USU honors its seven seniors.
Admission to all of USU's home games at Johnson Field is free to the public.
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