April 25, 2005

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QUICKLY -- USU has a short week to prepare for BYU on Tuesday, April 26. The Aggies then have a doubleheader against UVSC on Saturday... This will be the 47th time BYU and Utah State will match up, with BYU leading the series, 24-22... Utah State and UVSC met for the first time earlier this year and the series is tied at 1-1... USU is 17-26 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.

BYU PREVIEW -- Utah State faced BYU in a doubleheader on March 5. The Aggies lost the first game 9-1 and lost the second game 11-2. BYU is currently 32-9 on the season and most recently split a doubleheader with UNLV.

Laren Watson is the Cougars' leading hitter, with a .452 average, including 10 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, and 32 RBI. Ariel Russell is the Cougar wto watch with 14 home runs and 36 RBI on the season. As a team, BYU is hitting .325, while its pitchers are holding opponents to a .258 average.

Pitcher Summer Tobias (14-4) leads the team with a 1.57 ERA. She has pitched 115.2 innings giving up 97 hits and only 26 earned runs. She is followed by Niki Anderson (2-0) who has a 2.21 ERA after 19 innings. The entire pitching staff has a combined 2.12 ERA.

UTAH VALLEY STATE PREVIEW -- Utah State played a doubleheader against UVSC on March 1. The Aggies lost the first game 3-2 and won the second 8-6. The Wolverines are currently 13-32-1 on the season but are coming off two wins against Northern Colorado.

Rachel Hartgrove is the Wolverines' leading hitter, with a .390 average, including 15 doubles, 10 home runs, and 32 RBI. Three other Wolverines, Amanda Kendzior, Crystal Young, and Chris Jimenez, are hitting above .300. As a team, Utah Valley State is hitting .286, while its pitchers are allowing opponents to hit .338.

Pitcher Jackie Roberts (8-12) is leading the bullpen with a 3.74 ERA and 81 strikeouts. Chelsey Mikalausky (3-11) follows with a 5.98 ERA after 107.2 innings. The entire pitching staff has a combined 5.17 ERA.

TEAM NOTES -- Sara Fleming was named the Big West Pl;ayer of the Week for leading the Aggies to three victories in five games last week... During those games Fleming hit .533 with three doubles, three home runs, and eight RBI... Last week Leslie Higley (11-10) was named the Big West Softball Co-Pitcher of the Week after leading the team to three victories... Higley is leading the bullpen with a 3.11 ERA allowing 53 earned runs in 119.1 innings... Higley is also leading the team with 61 strikeouts... Higley recorded her single-game high of seven strikeouts against UC Riverside on April 17th... Fleming leads the Aggies in batting average (.312), slugging percentage (.656), runs scored (23), hits (40), RBI (24), doubles (15), total bases (84), and home runs (9)...Fleming is currently leading the Big West with 15 doubles... She is also third in slugging percentage, second in total bases, and fourth in home runs... Last week Candice Hatch was on fire as she hit .500, with four runs, seven RBI, a double, and two home runs... Quela Leonhardt follows Fleming with a .311 average.

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.