|
|
Aggie Clash On Tap For USU Softball This Weekend At NMSU
May 2, 2007
LOGAN, Utah -
Complete USU Softball Notes in PDF Format
Utah State (17-31, 5-10 WAC) at New Mexico State (27-25, 6-9 WAC)
This Weekend's Utah State Schedule - All Times MT
QUICKLY - Utah State softball (17-31, 5-10 WAC) wraps up Western Athletic Conference regular-season action when the navy-clad Aggies head to Las Cruces, N.M. to tangle with their Aggie brethren, the maroon-clad Aggies of New Mexico State (27-25, 6-9 WAC) in a three-game weekend series. Friday, May 4, the teams play a single game at 6 p.m., while Saturday's twinbill starts at 1 p.m., with all three games at NMSU's Softball Complex. This is USU's final tune-up for next weekend's WAC Tournament at Fresno, Calif., May 9-12 at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium. BASE STEALING SHOWDOWN - This weekend's series features the top two teams in the WAC in stolen bases, as Utah State leads the league (61-81) while New Mexico State is second (55-69). Individually, NMSU junior IF Stephanie Herrera is second in the conference (18-24) while USU junior SS Tara Evans is fourth (13-15). STREAKS - Friday's home loss at home to #14 Hawai'i snapped USU's six-game home winning streak... prior to getting swept by the Rainbow Wahine, the Aggies had won five of their last seven WAC games. USU's win at San Jose State on April 21 snapped USU's five-game road losing streak... the Aggies are now 5-13 on the road after last Wednesday's 1-0 loss at Utah. The three losses to Hawai'i following the loss to Utah give the Aggies a four-game losing streak, which is two shy of USU's longest losing skid of the season of six games (March 18-April 3). Utah State's longest win streak of the season is four games (April 7-April 14) and the longest string of wins since April 30-May 8, 2005, when USU also won four in a row. BETTER THAN BEFORE - USU is 17-31 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 17-31 ledger is just behind the 2000 squad (18-30) and the 2005 squad (21-27) for best record through 48 games of the 2000's. Through 51 games, the 2000 squad was 18-33 and the 2005 squad was 23-28. 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 vaulted as high as third in the standings. USU enters the final weekend of action one game behind a three-way logjam at third between New Mexico State, San Jose State and Nevada. The navy-clad Aggies can finish anywhere from third to seventh depending on how they do combined with other results around the league. If USU ties either SJSU or Nevada, both hold the tie-breaker over USU due to taking two of three.
SERIES HISTORY - UTAH STATE vs NEW MEXICO STATE - The navy-clad Aggies are 44-29 vs. the maroon-clad Aggies, USU's highest winning percentage against any WAC opponent, but the Northern Aggies have lost three of the last eight match-ups. USU took two of three from NMSU last season at Logan, winning games one and two, 3-1 and 5-1, respectively, for USU's first two WAC wins, before NMSU took the third game, 1-0.
Prior to last season's first WAC series, the last time the two teams faced each other was 2003. Utah State is 16-20 all-time at Las Cruces, and have lost 12 of the last 13 games there, with the last win coming in 2000, which is the last time USU played at NMSU. SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE - USU is 1-5 in road WAC games, while NMSU is 0-6 in home WAC games, getting swept by Hawai'i and Fresno State, the top two teams in the league, respectively. Overall, USU is 5-13 on the road, while NMSU is 12-11 at home, as Tuesday's wins over Western New Mexico snapped an eight-game home losing skid. ABOUT UTAH STATE - The navy-clad Aggies have a 17-21 overall and 5-10 WAC ledger, after going 2-4 in their six games in five days last week. USU opened the week with 5-0 and 10-2 (5 inn) wins over Idaho State on Tuesday. On Wednesday, USU lost at Utah, 1-0, yielding only two hits after five innings of shutout softball. The Aggies then got swept by #14 Hawai'i over the weekend, dropping game one 11-3 Friday, before getting run-ruled Saturday, 11-0 (6 inn) and 14-2 (5 inn). ABOUT NEW MEXICO STATE - The maroon-clad Aggies are 27-25 overall and 6-9 in WAC play. NMSU has won three in a row and five of the last seven, after beating Western New Mexico, 10-0 (5 inn) and 4-0, on Tuesday. On April 25, NMSU split with in-state rival New Mexico, losing 7-5 in game one before bouncing back to win the nightcap, 3-1. In their last WAC games, the Southern Aggies took two of three from Nevada, winning the first two, 13-0 (5 inn) and 4-2, before losing the third, 14-4 (5 inn). 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 (61-81) in all games and lead the league in WAC only games (17-22). - After hitting .414 against La Tech, USU has climbed from seventh to fifth in the WAC statistics in overall team batting (.265), and vaulted from seventh to third, and is now in fifth in WAC only games (.245). - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching, with a 5.21 team ERA... The Aggie pitching staff is sixth in strikeouts (217) and fifth in fewest walks issued (141). - USU's pitching staff has topped last season's strikeout total, currently with 217 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. - The Aggies have belted 33 HR's this season, not only topping last year's total of 18 HR's, but setting a new school record, surpassing the previous record of 32 by the 2005 USU squad. - Junior 3B Amy Schaible leads the team with 11 HR's, setting a new USU single-season HR school record, topping the previous record of 10, done three times by two different players: Sara Fleming (2005) and Sandy Taylor (1999 and 2000). - Schaible leads USU with 11, while senior DP/1B Jamie Fife has six HR, junior SS Tara Evans has five and senior CF Ashley Bellum and sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman have three apiece.. - 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 26, both 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 14 career home runs, currently in sole possession of fourth on USU's career HR list, needing four to tie Jennifer Power (1991-94) and Breanne Smith (1999-2002) at the No. 3 spot on the USU career HR list with 18. - 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 61 stolen bases in 81 attempts... That total is closing in on the school record of 67 from the 1981 national-championship season in 46 games. - The 61 stolen bases are the most since the 1991 squad swiped 66... USU currently averages 1.27 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 three 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 on April 17 at UVSC... Evans is second in WAC only games with six stolen bases, while Schaible is tied for fourth 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 .339 average is 15th. - Fife leads USU and ranks ninth in the conference in RBI with 27. - Schaible has her average back above .300 (.322), after it had slipped below .300 for the first time this season two weeks ago, and ranks tied for fourth in the league with home runs (11)... Schaible leads USU in runs scored (29) and at bats (143). - Schaible is the only player to start all 48 games, while Schaible and Evans are the only two players to play in all 48 games. - Sophomore P Lindsey Benson is 12th in the WAC in ERA (3.64) and seventh in strikeouts (118)... 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 118 strikeouts are the most for a USU pitcher since Kristin Hommel's 135 K's in 2002, and moves her into 10th on USU's single-season strikeout list, needing three more to pass Kelly Martin (1999) with 120 K's at No. 9 and 13 more to pass DeAnna Earsley (1993) and Kristie Skoglund (1985) at No. 7 with 130 K's each. - Benson logged her 100th career strikeout against La Tech on April 13, and now has 138 K's, needing 26 more to tie Julie Starratt (1986-89) for 10th on the USU career strikeout list. - Saturday's shutout at SJSU on April 21 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 (5.15) 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 30 K's this season in 16 appearances, Perry has nearly quadrupled last year's season total of just eight strikeouts in nine appearances. - Freshman P Stacey Ellingsworth is 15th in the league in ERA (5.65) and is second on the team in strikeouts (48). - 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... Freshman C Simone Hubbard now holds the longest active streak at two games... Schaible had a nine game streak end, while Evans had an eight game streak halted at SJSU... 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 with eight and Evans with seven... 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 (.450, 18-40) and runners on (.407, 22-54), as well as second in average with two outs (.391, 18-46). - Freshman OF Emily Reilly is leads USU in average with two outs (.400, 14-35), highlighted by her two-run home run in the top of the seventh against Portland State on Feb. 17... Reilly also is second in both average with runners in scoring position (.444, 12-27) and runners on (.375, 15-40). 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 - 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 330-383-1 (.463) in 714 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 NEW MEXICO STATE - The maroon-clad Aggies are 27-25 overall and 6-9 in WAC play. NMSU has won three in a row and five of the last seven, after beating Western New Mexico, 10-0 (5 inn) and 4-0, on Tuesday. On April 25, NMSU split with in-state rival New Mexico, losing 7-5 in game one before bouncing back to win the nightcap, 3-1. In their last WAC games, the Southern Aggies took two of three from Nevada, winning the first two, 13-0 (5 inn) and 4-2, before losing the third, 14-4 (5 inn).
NMSU is third in the WAC in team batting (.286) and second in stolen bases (55-69).
Junior IF Stephanie Herrera leads NMSU and ranks fourth in the WAC in average with .383 and second in the conference in stolen bases (18-24). Herrera is third in the league with 64 hits.
Ashley Roszkos, a junior C, leads NMSU and ranks fifth in the WAC with 42 RBI, and ranks tied for fifth in the conference with a .365 average. Roszkos also is seventh in the league with 10 HR's, and leads the WAC with 17 doubles.
Junior OF Colleen Kimbro is 10th in the conference with a .353 average.
Kim Watson, a sophomore right-handed pitcher, is sixth in the league with a 2.98 ERA with a 17-14 record, ranking second in the conference in wins. Watson's 188 strikeouts are second in the WAC while her 190 and a third innings ranks third. However, Watson has allowed the second-most runs and earned runs in the league (109 and 81, respectively).
Freshman lefty Vanessa Fitzgerald is eighth in the league with a 3.15 ERA and a 9-4 record with 39 K's. NMSU head coach Kathy Rudolph (UTEP, 1985), has posted a 292-220 overall record in her ninth year coaching and a 96-128 record in her four seasons at the helm of the maroon-clad Aggies. Rudolph came to NMSU from Division II Angelo State, where she led the Rambelles to a 50-9 record and a No. 2 national ranking in 2003 in Rudolph's final season there before winning the national championship in 2004. SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENT - FIRST LAST OPPONENT W L T PCT GAME GAME New Mexico State 44 29 0 .603 1976 2006Note: With a .603 winning percentage, that is USU's highest winning percentage against any WAC opponent, but the Northern Aggies have lost three of the last eight match-ups... Utah State is 16-20 all-time at Las Cruces, and have lost 12 of the last 13 games there, with the last win coming in 2000, which is the last time USU played at NMSU. LAST TIME OUT - LOGAN, Utah - Junior 3B Amy Schaible set the Utah State single season home run record that gave the Aggies the team home run record in Utah State's 14-2 five inning loss to 14th-ranked Hawai'i in game two. USU was no-hit in an 11-0 five inning loss in the first game of Saturday's Western Athletic Conference doubleheader, spoiling USU's Senior Day in the Aggies' final home games at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field.
Seniors CF Ashley Bellum, P Jill Bruins, DP/1B Jamie Fife, OF Lauren Guzman, P Lexy Perry, C Jami Uragami all played their final home games in an Aggie uniform and were honored in a short ceremony prior to the start of play.
With the two wins, Hawai'i clinches the regular-season WAC title. , its second WAC crown in their 11 years in the league.
Schaible blasted her 11th round-tripper of the season, passing the previous single-season record of 10 dingers, done three times by two different players: Sara Fleming (2005) and Sandy Taylor (1999 and 2000). It was Schaible's 14th homer of her Aggie career, needing four to tie Jennifer Power (1991-94) and Breanne Smith (1999-2002) at the No. 3 spot on the USU career HR list with 18.
The big fly was USU's 33rd of the year as a team, establishing a new team single-season record by passing the previous mark of 32 by the 2005 squad.
UH beat USU for the 15th time in the last 20 meetings and the Aggies are now 16-23 all-time vs. the Rainbow Wahine.
Rainbow Wahine Justine Smethurst fired a no-hitter in game one, her second no-no of her career against the Aggies as she threw a perfect game last year on May 5, 2006 at Hawai'i.
UH gave Smethurst some run support before she even took the mound, as Tanisha Milca belted a home run in the second pitch of the game, as Hawai'i plated one run in each of the first two innings followed by three runs in the third. After going scoreless in the fourth and fifth, the Rainbow Wahine blew the game open by hanging six on the board in the sixth. Richie-Anne Titcomb dealt the big blow with a bases-clearing triple to right center.
Game two opened with Hawai'i hanging an eight-spot on the board, hitting two home runs in the inning, part of the Rainbow Wahine's five in the game and seven for the weekend, as UH continues to add to its WAC single-season HR record with 79 dingers, which rank in the top five in the country.
Utah State had a hit in each of the first two innings, as Bellum had a single in the first and freshman C Simone Hubbard had a double to right center in the second.
In the fourth, the Aggies mounted a rally as Fife had a walk and later moved to third on a single by freshman LF Emily Reilly, but the threat was thwarted with a groundout.
Hawai'i plated five in the fifth, as Alana Power opened the inning with a homer down the left field line and Kate Robinson later blasted a three-run home run to left center for her second round-tripper of the game and her UH school record 18th of the season.
In the USU fifth, freshman 2B Nicole Rupp singled to left and two batters later, Schaible boomed her home run over the left field fence. After UH brought on Jessica Morton in relief, Bellum welcomed her fellow Grants Pass, Ore., native with a single to right center. The rally ended as sophomore 1B Aubrie Stroman hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.
ON DECK - Utah State will play in the WAC Tournament May 9-12 at Fresno, Calif. The double-elimination tournament will be held at Fresno State's Bulldog Stadium.
? |
| ||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
