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USU Softball Hosts #14 Hawai'i In Final Home Games Of Season
April 26, 2007
LOGAN, Utah -
Complete USU Softball Notes in PDF Format
#14 Hawai'i (42-9, 13-2 WAC) at Utah State (15-27, 5-7 WAC
This Week's Utah State Schedule - All Times MT
QUICKLY - After a three-game non-conference hiatus, Utah State softball (15-27, 5-7 WAC) resumes Western Athletic Conference action when the Aggies play the final three games of their six games in five days stretch, hosting 14th-ranked Hawai'i (42-9, 13-2 WAC) in a three game WAC weekend series. The Aggies and Rainbow Wahine tangle in a single game Friday at 3 p.m., followed by a twinbill Saturday at 1 p.m.. Saturday is "Senior Day" at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field, as USU will be honoring its six seniors. Hawai'i is making its first trip to Logan since 1996, when USU and UH were fellow Big West Conference members. SIX SENIORS - Utah State will be honoring its six seniors: CF Ashley Bellum, P Jill Bruins, DP/1B Jamie Fife, OF Lauren Guzman, P Lexy Perry, C Jami Uragami. HOME IS SWEET FOR AGGIES - Utah State has won six home games in a row and the Aggies are 7-3 on the year on their home field. That is USU's best home winning percentage since the 1996 Aggies were 14-4 at home. Utah State is guaranteed just its second winning record at home of the 2000's, as USU was 12-8 at home. STREAKS - Wednesday's loss snapped USU's three-game win streak and the Aggies have won eight of their last 15 games overall... USU also has won five of its last seven conference games. Saturday's win at San Jose State snapped USU's five-game road losing streak... the Aggies are now 5-13 on the road after Wednesday's 1-0 loss at Utah. Last 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. BETTER THAN BEFORE - USU is 17-29 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' 17 wins reaches double-digits in the win column for the first time in three years, and doubling last season's 8-38 record. The 17-28 ledger matches the 2000 squad's record and is one game behind the 2005 squad (18-27) for best record through 45 games of the 2000's. Through 48 games, the 2000 squad was 18-30 and the 2005 squad was 21-27. 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. Hawai'i enters this weekend atop the league standings, and two wins would lock up the regular-season WAC crown.
SERIES HISTORY - ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 17-28 overall, after losing at Utah on Wednesday, 1-0, yielding only two hits after five innings of shutout softball. USU had its four-game win streak snapped with two losses (7-6 and 4-2) at Utah Valley State on April 17 and going 1-2 in a three-game WAC series at San Jose State last weekend, and sweeping a twinbill Tuesday with Idaho State, winning 5-0 in game one and 10-2 in five inning in the nightcap. 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 HAWAI'I - The No. 14 Rainbow Wahine bring a 42-9 overall and 13-2 WAC ledger into this weekend, having won 18 of their last 20. UH is presently atop the WAC standings, after going 2-1 with Fresno State this past weekend. After winning game one of the series, 18-2 including scoring seven runs in the first inning, and eight in the second frame, Hawai'i had its eight-game win streak snapped with a 6-2 loss on Saturday, before bouncing back to take the rubber game, 2-1. 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 - - LEAGUE LEADING SWIPERS - Utah State leads the WAC in stolen bases (60-80) in all games and lead the league in WAC only games (16-21). - 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 (10-1 now) and ahead after the fourth inning (10-1), as well as just the second time the Aggies have lost when leading after the fifth inning (12-2)... USU is 9-3 when scoring first and 8-25 when the opposition scores first. - After hitting .414 against La Tech, USU has climbed from seventh to fifth in the WAC statistics in overall team batting (.271), and vaulted from seventh to third, and is now in fifth in WAC only games (.260). - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching, with a 4.73 team ERA... The Aggie pitching staff is sixth in strikeouts (204) and fourth in fewest walks issued (132). - USU's pitching staff has topped last season's strikeout total, currently with 204 K's... last year USU pitchers logged 142 strikeouts... This season'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 year through 44 games, USU has surpassed last season's total, belting 31 so far this year, including five in a wild 13-12, 8 inning win over Idaho State on Feb. 10... The Aggies are one shy of the school record of 32 set by the 2005 USU squad. - Junior 3B Amy Schaible leads the team with 10 HR's, while senior 1B Jamie Fife has six HR, junior SS Tara Evans has five and senior CF Ashley Bellum has three. - With 10 HR's, Schaible has tied for second on USU's single-season HR school record, 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 24, 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 13 career home runs, currently in sole possession of fourth on USU's career HR list. - 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 60 stolen bases in 80 attempts... That total is closing in on the school record of 67 from the 1981 national-championship season in 46 games. - The 60 stolen bases are the most since the 1991 squad swiped 66... USU currently averages 1.33 stolen bases per game, in order to break the school record they will have to average 1.29 stolen bases per game in the final six games. - Junior SS Tara Evans leads USU and ranks fourth in the WAC in stolen bases (13-15), getting thrown out for the first time this season last Tuesday at UVSC... Evans is second in WAC only games with sixth stolen bases, while Schaible is third with three... The 13 swipes rank Evans tied for fifth 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 .359 average is 11th. - Fife leads USU and ranks ninth in the conference in RBI with 27. - Schaible has her average back above .300 (.328), after it had slipped below .300 for the first time this season last week, and ranks sixth in the league with home runs (10)... Schaible leads USU in runs scored (27) and at bats (131). - Schaible is the only player to start in all 45 games, while Schaible and Evans are the only two players to play all 45 games. - Sophomore P Lindsey Benson is ninth in the WAC in ERA (3.27) and seventh in strikeouts (113)... 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 113 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 133 K's, needing 31 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 she followed that up with a 5-0 shutout of Idaho State on Tuesday, to become USU's second pitcher with a shutout this season, after Perry fired a 2-0 shutout in the Aggies' upset of then-15th-ranked Oregon State on March 17. - Benson becomes the first USU pitcher since Kristin Hommel in 2000 to fire consecutive shutouts - Senior P Lexy Perry ranks second on the team and 13th in the league in ERA (4.75) and has one of the Aggies' three 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 26 K's this season in 15 appearances, Perry has tripled last year's season total of just eight strikeouts in nine appearances. - Freshman P Stacey Ellingsworth is 14th in the league in ERA (5.11) and is second on the team in strikeouts (46). - Senior P Jill Bruins fired a career-high six strikeouts in Tuesday's 1-0 loss at Utah, pitching a no-hitter through five innings... Bruins entered Tuesday with nine K's on the season in her previous 10 appearances. - Fife had her career and USU season-long 10 game hitting streak snapped Tuesday... Sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman now holds the longest active streak at four 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 Stroman each had a five-game hitting streak earlier in the season as well. - Schaible leads the team with 11 multi-hit games, while Evans has 10, Fife has nine and Stroman and freshman OF Emily Reilly have six apiece... 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 and Evans with seven each... 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 (.474, 18-38) and runners on (.423, 22-52), as well as leading in average with two outs (.409, 18-44). - Freshman OF Emily Reilly is second for USU in average with two outs (.382, 13-34), 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 330-380-1 (.465) in 711 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.
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.
ABOUT HAWAI'I - The No. 14 Rainbow Wahine bring a 42-9 overall and 13-2 WAC ledger into this weekend, having won 18 of their last 20. UH is presently atop the WAC standings, after going 2-1 with Fresno State this past weekend. After winning game one of the series, 18-2 including scoring seven runs in the first inning, and eight in the second frame, Hawai'i had its eight-game win streak snapped with a 6-2 loss on Saturday, before bouncing back to take the rubber game, 2-1.
UH leads the WAC with a .310 average and has a league-best 1.74 ERA.
The Rainbow Wahine have shattered the WAC record for home runs, belting 72 home runs in only 51 games. The previous record was 50 by Fresno State in 2004.
Leading the way for UH is senior 1B Tyleen Tausaga, who leads the WAC with a .411 average and is second behind teammate junior 1B/P Kate Robinson in both HR's and RBI with 14 big flies and 47 RBI. Robinson leads the WAC with 16 round-trippers and 56 RBI, and is 12th in the league with a .345 average. Clare Warwick, a sophomore 3B/SS, is second in the conference, hitting .397. She also leads the league with 69 hits and is second in runs scored with 47.
Robinson is UH's leader in the circle, and is this week's WAC Pitcher of the Week, after she went 2-0 against Fresno State last weekend. Robinson only yielded three runs on nine hits while logging 12 K's in 12 innings of work. On the season, Robinson is second in the WAC with a scarce 1.47 ERA overall and a league leading 0.88 ERA in WAC games, posting a 14-0 overall and 7-0 WAC ledger. Robinson has logged 89 strikeouts on the year, and has 13 complete games and eight shutouts.
Legendary Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen (Wesleyan, 1980) is in his 20th year overall and 16th season at Hawai'i. Coolen has an overall ledger of 619-447-1 and a 547-354-1 record at Hawai'i. Coolen has led UH to the 2003 WAC championship, as well as the 1994 Big West title, earning conference Coach of the Year honors both of those seasons. Under Coolen, Hawai'i has made six NCAA Tournament appearances: 1994, `95, `98, `99, 2001 and `03.
SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENT -
FIRST LAST OPPONENT W L T PCT GAME GAME Hawai'i 16 20 0 .444 1986 2006Note: Utah State has lost 12 of the last 17 meetings with Hawai'i.
LAST TIME OUT - SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - After five innings of no-hit softball action, Utah State yielded one run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly and lost to Utah, 1-0, Wednesday afternoon at Ute Field. Senior pitcher Jill Bruins had an Aggie career day, logging a career-high six strikeouts while only giving up two hits.
Bruins had tallied only six strikeouts in her previous 10 appearances this season, and had just 19 K's in 34 appearances prior to this season, but was on her A-game Wednesday.
Utah State out-hit Utah 5-2, as the Utes' two hits came on consecutive infield hits in the sixth, followed by a sacrifice bunt and intentional walk, then a sacrifice fly to center to score their only run.
Junior 3B Amy Schaible opened the game with a single to center, and advanced to third, but was left stranded.
Bruins set the Utah side down in order in the home half of the first on three pop ups to junior SS Tara Evans. In the Utes' second, Bruins got all three outs on looking strikeouts, followed by two swinging strikeouts in the third.
Sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman had a one out single in the fourth, and freshman Emily Reilly pinch ran for Stroman. After Evans moved Reilly to second with a sac bunt, Reilly stole third, but the rally ended with a groundout.
In the Aggies' fifth, freshman 2B Nicole Rupp hit a shot that Utah left fielder Meghan Crouse snagged while colliding with the fence.
Bruins had her no-hit bid broken up in the top of the sixth on back-to-back bunts by Utah's Kelly Matthew and Diana Phillips with no outs. A sac bunt moved the runners to second and third and brought Ute slugger Hailey Davenport to the plate, who is tied for the team-lead with 14 home runs on the year.
Bruins intentionally walked her to load the bases and Staci Hemingway stepped in. Hemingway hit a towering fly ball to center where USU senior CF Ashley Bellum caught the can of corn at the warning track for the sacrifice fly RBI. The threat ended with another fly out to center by Andrea Hoffman.
USU opened the seventh with a ground out, followed by a Texas leaguer single to left center by Evans. Senior Jami Uragami pinch hit but stuck out swinging. With junior C Heather Haak at the plate, Evans tried to steal second, but was thrown out to end the game.
It was just the second time this season in 15 tries that Evans had been thrown out. Evans swiped 10 bases before getting thrown out for the first time of the year last Tuesday at Utah Valley State. Stroman extended her hitting streak to four games, the longest current streak with a single in the fourth, one of USU's five hits. Schaible was 2-3, while Evans and Haak had the other two hits. ON DECK - Utah State concludes regular-season action with a three-game WAC series with its Aggie brethren, New Mexico State, next weekend, Friday and Saturday, May 4-5, at Las Cruces, N.M.
USU will then play in the WAC Tournament May 10-13 at Fresno, Calif.
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