Feb. 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA Softball programs went a combined 29-16 last weekend and brought home three tournament titles. East Carolina and Houston both won tournaments they hosted, while Southern Miss won the K-Club Invitational in Kennesaw, Ga. The league boasts a composite 57-35 (.626) record and teams are an impressive 17-2 at home.
Houston freshman Jennifer Klinkert hit her first career grand slam to give the Cougars an 8-0 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to close out the Crowne Plaza Classic on Sunday. The Chino, Calif. native hit two home runs during No. 23 Houston's 5-0 finish at the tournament. With the perfect record over the weekend, Houston moved to 9-0 on the season and boasted two wins over No. 14 DePaul.
Facing Boston College in the title game of the Pirate Invitational, East Carolina used timely hitting and an error-prone Eagle defense to post a 6-0 victory Sunday. The Pirates now stand at 9-2 and in second place in the league standings. The title marked the first tournament win for the team this season and third in the last two seasons. East Carolina finished the tourney 5-0.
RECENT RESULTS
Sunday, February 17
%Evansville 2, Marshall 1
*Indiana 7, Tulsa 6
^Memphis 10, Idaho State 1
#East Carolina 6, Boston College 0
$No. 23 Houston 8, Texas A & M CC 0
*UC Santa-Barbara 3, Tulsa 2
$No. 23 Houston 1, No. 14 DePaul 0
+Florida State 4, UAB 1
!Long Beach State 5, UCF 0
!Kentucky 4, UCF 1
Saturday, February 16
@UTEP 4, San Jose State 3
^Memphis 5, Texas Tech 3
#East Carolina 6, Ohio 2
#East Carolina 3, Maine 2
&Kennesaw State 4, Southern Miss 2
&Southern Miss 1, Kennesaw State 0 (9 inn.)
%Marshall 11, Furman 3 (5 inn.)
!Long Beach State 4, UCF 2
!UCF 6, Kentucky 0
@Bradley 4, UTEP 3 (9 inn.)
$No. 23 Houston 10, Army 1 (5 inn.)
%Auburn 7, Marshall 2
^No. 5 Arizona State 12, Memphis 1 (5 inn.)
+UAB 6, Jacksonville 4
*San Diego State 2, Tulsa 0
^Memphis 7, Nebraska 3
Friday, February 15
&Southern Miss 6, Appalachian State 2
+UAB 2, Bethune Cookman 0
&Southern Miss 7, Eastern Kentucky 2
+Michigan State 5, UAB 1
#East Carolina 1, Boston College 0
*Fresno State 8, Tulsa 1
#East Carolina 7, Maine 1
$No. 23 Houston 5, No. 14 DePaul 0
%Gardner-Webb 4, Marshall 2
@UTEP 4, Cal State Bakersfield 0
$No. 23 Houston 9, Army 0 (5 inn.)
@UTEP 8, UC Davis 2
!UCF 7, Kentucky 2
!No. 16 Hawai'i 3, UCF 1
%Marshall 8, McNeese State 7
*Tulsa 9, Utah State 8 (9 inn.)
Thursday, February 14
!UCF 5, Long Beach State 3 (10 inn.)
@UTEP 12, Northwestern State 4
@Canadian Nat'l Team 1, UTEP 0 (Exh.)
Wednesday, February 13
Southern Miss 5, Nicholls State 3
RECENT GAMES KEY
! - Hawai'i Paradise Classic, Manoa, HI
@ - Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, Las Vegas, NV
# - Pirate Invitational, Greenville, NC
$ - Crowne Plaza Classic, Houston, TX
% - Auburn Tiger Invitational, Auburn, AL
^ - Arizona State Tournament, Tempe, AZ
& - Kennesaw State Tournament, Kennesaw, GA
* - Campbell/Cartier Tournament, San Diego, CA
+ - Seminole Classic, Tallahassee, FL
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK(2/18)
HITTER OF THE WEEK
JENNIFER KLINKERT - Houston
1B, Fr., Chino, Calif. (Chino Hills)
Klinkert helped fuel a Cougar offense that outscored its opponents 33-1 in five wins last weekend at the Crowne Plaza Classic en route to the team title. She hit her second and third career home runs, including a grand slam against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday. Her five RBI against the Islanders are a team high this season. Klinkert's second career home run came in a 5-0 win over No. 14 DePaul. In the California native's two games against the Blue Demons, she went 3-for-5 with one home run and two RBI. For the weekend, Klinkert hit .583 (7-for-12) with two home runs, eight RBI and scored seven times. Through nine games this season Klinkert's batting average of .458 is fourth-best on the team. The weekly award is the first of Klinkert's career.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
ANGEL SHAMBLIN - Houston
P, Sr., Davie, Fla. (Hollywood Christian)
Shamblin, Houston's all-time strikeout leader, earned two shutout wins against No. 14 DePaul at the Houston Crowne Plaza Classic. She now has 23 career shutouts and moved her record to 4-0 in the circle this season. Over the weekend, the senior recorded 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work while giving up just nine hits. For the season, Shamblin has three complete game shutout wins and has struck out a team-leading 32 batters in a team-high 26 innings pitched, while giving up just one earned run. Her ERA is a miniscule 0.27 and opponents are hitting only .181 against her. The Cougars have out-scored their opponents 17-2 when she is in the circle. This is Shamblin's 10th career weekly honor, her first in 2008.
DIAMOND STARS
Each week, teams have individuals who shine both at the plate and in the circle and this is where those efforts will be highlighted throughout the season.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES AT THE PLATE (2/13 - 2/17)
ERIN ST. LEDGER - East Carolina
St. Ledger led the Pirates offensively and was named MVP of the Pirate Invitational. She hit .500 (6-for-16) and notched four RBI and one run scored.
MELANIE STOEHR - Marshall
Stoehr hit . 307 (4-for-13) on the weekend, including her first collegiate home run. She was the only Marshall team member to be named to the All-Tournament team.
KIMMI HAYDEN - Memphis
Hayden hit .571 (8-for-14) with four runs scored and three RBI over the weekend. She hit and scored safely in all four games and had three multi-hit games.
BRANDI ALONZO - Southern Miss
Alonzo hit .353 (6-for-17) with six hits, including two doubles and also added two RBI and two runs scored. She had a slugging percentage of .471.
SARA DYER - Tulsa
Dyer posted a .429 batting average (6-for-14) to go along with a .643 slugging percentage. She set the school record for doubles in a game with three against Utah State.
NOTABLE PERFORMANCES IN THE CIRCLE (2/13 - 2/17)
BROOKE SWANN - East Carolina
Swann went 3-0 and tossed three complete games including a three-hit shutout against Boston College in the championship game. In 21 innings of work, she struck out 18 while giving up only three walks.
JANELLE VALLE - Memphis
Valle pitched two complete game victories to help Memphis finish 3-1. She allowed only one earned run (0.50 ERA) in 14 innings of work with two walks and seven strikeouts.
STACIE TOWNSEND - UTEP
Townsend turned in a 3-1 performance, posting two complete games in 20 innings of work for an ERA of 0.70. Townsend fanned 24 batter and held opponents to a .188 batting average, allowing just two earned runs while recording two days of 0.00 ERAs.
C-USA WINS VS. RANKED OPPONENTS
C-USA already boasts three ranked wins in 2008 as Houston added two more when it defeated No. 14 DePaul twice last weekend to win the Crowne Plaza Classic. C-USA teams are 3-3 against ranked competition so far in 2008. C-USA teams knocked off seven different ranked opponents for nine victories in 2007.
Top 25 Victories in 2008
Game Date
(23) Houston 1, (14) DePaul 0 Feb. 17, 2008
(23) Houston 5, (14) DePaul 0 Feb. 15, 2008
Marshall 4, (8) DePaul 3 Feb. 8, 2008
Top 25 Victories in 2007
Game Date
Houston 8, (7) Texas A&M 1 May 19, 2007
Houston 4, (23) La-Lafayette 3 May 18, 2007
East Carolina 9, (25) N.C. State 8 Mar. 28, 2007
UTEP 5, (5) Arizona State 4 Mar. 21, 2007
UTEP 8, (5) Arizona State 7 Mar. 21, 2007
UAB 5, (18) Southern Ilinois 4 Mar. 13, 2007
Tulsa 2, (5) Oklahoma 0 Mar. 7, 2007
Marshall 6, (24) N. C. State 5 Feb. 16, 2007
Houston 2, (11) Michigan 1 Feb. 11, 2007
C-USA NOTEBOOK
EAST CAROLINA
WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
The East Carolina softball team logged its first home games of the 2008 campaign over the weekend and emerged with a 5-0 record and the Pirate Invitational championship. The Pirates recorded two shutouts against ACC foe Boston College while out-scoring their opponents 23-5 over the five contests. Tournament MVP and senior Erin St. Ledger was 8-for-16 (.500) with two doubles while junior Brooke Swann went 3-0 with 18 strikeouts and only three earned runs allowed. Additionally, freshman Britt Howell improved her record to 3-0 with two wins while giving up just two earned runs.
PIRATES GET DEFENSIVE
If defense wins championships, the East Carolina softball team certainly proved it this weekend. After committing just one error in 156 chances at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, the Pirates were error-free in five games and 155 chances in winning the Pirate Invitational. Their .997 fielding percentage leads C-USA and is well on its way to once again ranking among the nation's best. ECU finished 2007 with a .977 mark which tied national champion Arizona for second in the country.
HOUSTON
PERFECT START
Houston softball moved to 9-0 and 2-0 against ranked opponents this season after going undefeated at the Houston Crowne Plaza Classic. The Cougars defeated No. 14 DePaul, Army and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. With the nine wins, Houston is two games shy of tying the program record of 11 consecutive wins set on Feb. 1-16, 2002. The Cougars out-scored their opponents 33-1 at the tournament.
GOING YARD
Freshman Jennifer Klinkert hit two home runs over the weekend including her first career grand slam in an 8-0 win over TAMUCC. The Chino, California native has belted three long balls already so far in 2008.
MARSHALL
STOEHR LEADS HERD
Freshman Melanie Stoehr recorded four hits last weekend, culminated by her first collegiate home run against Evansville on Sunday. She was the only member of her team to be named to the Tiger Invitational All-Tournament team and is currently riding a four-game winning streak. She recorded her second double of the season and added to the Herd's 10 total home runs.
SOLID START
Pitcher Autumn Mitchell picked up her first loss of the season last weekend without surrendering an earned run. Despite the loss, she maintains the lowest ERA on the team with a 1.52 mark. In Marshall's loss to host Auburn, the team was led by Rachael Sofie and Rachel Folden who both had multi-hit efforts. Folden went 2-for-2 in the contest with a home run, while Sofie followed with a 2-for-2 performance with a double. Folden is now alone in fourth place on the C-USA career home run list.
MEMPHIS
TIGER BOMBS
The Tigers cranked seven home runs in four games at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Five different U of M players went yard with Kimmi Hayden and Heather Mott hitting multiple dingers. Memphis has nine team home runs through nine games this season (1.0 G/Avg). Last season the Tigers hit a school record 47 home runs (.77 G/Avg).
HOT HITTING = RUN PRODUCTION
After hitting .181 as a team in the opening week, the Tiger bats began to warm up at the Kajikawa Classic. The Tigers hit .298 as a team with seven home runs and 22 RBI. Six players on the team had at least three hits in the four games. The week helped Memphis' team batting average rise by 50 points to .231. Memphis has been scoring runs in bunches early in games this season. The Tigers have scored 20 of its 41 runs in the first three innings. The U of M has scored three or more runs in the first two innings four times this season, and did it in all three victories last weekend.
SOUTHERN MISS
TOURNAMENT VICTORY
Southern Miss went 4-1 last weekend to win the K-Club Invitational hosted by Kennesaw State University. It was the team's first tournament win since the Mercer/Comfort Inn Invite in 2005. The Golden Eagles placed four players on the All-Tournament Team - Samantha Davis, Brandi Alonzo, Jennifer Fox and Kristin Pilgrim.
CHANEY LEADS USM
Kristin Chaney led Southern Miss in batting last week with a .417 average, while Jennifer Fox hit .313 with one double and three RBI. As a team, the Golden Eagles hit eight doubles and out-hit their opponents .273 to .248.
TULSA
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR
Six of TU's nine games this season have been decided by two or fewer runs, including the last four contests. Tulsa is 2-4 in those games, with the two wins coming in extra innings.
DYER DOUBLES
Senior Sara Dyer has broken the career record for doubles already this season, now she has added doubles for a single game to her resume. With three twin-baggers against Utah State, she set a new TU record for doubles in a single contest. Dyer has also tied the school record for RBIs in a career with 113. In addition, TU has three players (Dyer and sophomores Vanessa Vice and Lauren Lindsay) with nine hits apiece to lead the squad,
UAB
KRZAN IN FIRST
Holly Krzan's double in the sixth inning of Sunday's game moved her into first all-time on the Blazers' career list with 40. Krzan, a senior from West Richland, Wash., also set the single-season record last season with 17 doubles. Her third double of the season moved her into 10th on the Conference USA list.
TOP PERFORMANCES
Krzan, Leigh Walker and Andrea Rogers were named to the Seminole Classic All-Tournament Team. Krzan hit .500 over the weekend and drove in one run. Walker hit .429 over four games, walked five times and scored four times. Rogers was 4-of-10 from the plate. Kayla Harris tossed a one-hitter Friday in the Blazers 2-0 victory over Bethune-Cookman. Harris' only allowed hit was given up to the first batter of the seventh inning. It was also the third shutout of the season for the junior.
UCF
JAVIER HITS IN HAWAI'I
Breanne Javier and Cat Snapp paced the Knights' offense with three hits apiece in UCF's pair of losses on Sunday, with Snapp going 3-for-3 with a double and a home run against the Wildcats. Javier was 2-for-3 with a double in the second game, extending her hitting-streak to seven games. The junior first baseman recorded at least one hit in every game of the tournament.
ALLISON THE ACE
UCF staff ace Allison Kime suffered the loss in the circle for the Black and Gold in game one on Sunday, despite not giving up an earned run. The senior allowed one run on four hits while striking out one in four innings to fall to 5-2 on the season. The Knights have a short break before traveling to DeLand, Fla., on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. contest against Stetson.
UTEP
SLUGGING SIMONE
Simone Holland boasts a team-high .471 average after 10 games to lead the Miner squad. UTEP's all-time home run leader, Holland has already blasted three home runs this season, including a grand slam against Texas Southern (Feb. 9). Over the weekend, the senior recorded six hits including a 3-for-4 outing against UC Davis with one run and an RBI. The first baseman also boasts a fielding percentage of 1.00 with 49 putouts in 49 chances..
TOWNSEND IS A DUAL THREAT
Stacie Townsend led the Miners to a successful 4-1 weekend at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., batting .462 with a team-high six runs scored. She also had a team-high four doubles and drove in four RBI. Townsend turned in a 3-1 performance over the weekend in the circle. In her four appearances, she posted two complete games in 20 innings for an ERA of 0.70. She fanned 24 batters and held opponents to a .188 batting average, allowing just two earned runs while recording two days of perfect ERAs.
AROUND THE HORN
EAST CAROLINA
Facing Boston College in the title game of the Pirate Invitational, East Carolina used timely hitting and an error-prone Eagle defense to post a 6-0 victory Sunday. The Pirates now stand at 9-2 and in second place in the league standings. The title marked the first tournament win for the team this season and third in the last two seasons. East Carolina finished the tourney 5-0. Erin St. Ledger led the Pirates offensively and was named MVP of the tournament. She hit .500 (8-for-16) for the weekend and was 2-for-4 with three RBI against Boston College in the championship game. With her complete-game shutout against BC, Brooke Swann improved her record to 4-1 while pairing down her ERA to a team-leading 1.27. The Callao, Va. native scattered three Eagle hits while striking out three. East Carolina will remain at home next weekend as it hosts the 2008 Pirate Classic. Syracuse serves as the Pirates' first opponent as the teams will face off at 2 p.m. on Friday.
HOUSTON
Houston freshman Jennifer Klinkert hit her first career grand slam to give the Cougars an 8-0 win against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to close out the Crowne Plaza Classic on Sunday. The Chino, Calif. native hit two home runs during No. 23 Houston's 5-0 finish at the tournament. With the perfect record over the weekend, Houston moved to 9-0 on the season and boasted two wins over No. 14 DePaul. For her efforts she was named C-USA Hitter of the Week. Senior hurler Angel Shamblin, Houston's all-time strikeout leader, earned two shutout wins against No. 14 DePaul to claim Pitcher of the Week honors. She now has 23 career shutouts and moved her record to 4-0 in the circle this season. Over the weekend, the senior recorded 11 strikeouts in 14 innings of work while giving up just nine hits. Next weekend, Houston will host the Marriott Houston Classic at Cougar Softball Stadium.
MARSHALL
Marshall lost to Evansville, 2-1 in its Auburn University Invitational finale, Sunday morning at Jane B. Moore Field. Marshall's (5-6) Autumn Mitchell picked up her first loss of the season without surrendering an earned run. Despite the loss, she maintains the lowest ERA on the team with a 1.52 mark. Marshall went 2-3 at the tournament. In Marshall's loss to the host Tigers the team was led by Rachael Sofie and Rachel Folden who both had multi-hit efforts. Folden went 2-for-2 in the contest with a home run, while Sofie followed with a 2-for-2 performance with a double. Folden is now alone in fourth place on the C-USA career home run list. Freshman Melanie Stoehr was also solid for the Herd going 4-for-13 on the weekend with her first collegiate home run, while adding a double, three RBI and four runs scored. Marshall returns to action, Friday, Feb. 22 when it travels to San Diego, Calif., to participate in the University San Diego Tournament. Marshall opens play against Nevada.
MEMPHIS
Memphis exploded for 10 runs on 12 hits in a 10-1 victory over Idaho State in the team's final game at the Kajikawa Classic on Sunday. With the win, the Tigers finish 3-1 in the tournament with the lone loss coming to No. 4 Arizona State. Memphis (5-4) hit three home runs in the game led by a pair of dingers by redshirt freshman Heather Mott who finished with four RBI. Junior second baseman Tori Gross also had a two-run homer in the second inning for her first hit of the season. Kimmi Hayden hit .571 (8-for-14) on the weekend with four runs scored and three RBI. She notched home runs in back-to-back games and finished with a 1.000 slugging percentage. Janelle Valle led the Tigers in the circle, going 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. Memphis will next open up its home schedule on Wednesday with a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. against Central Arkansas at the Tiger Softball Complex.
SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss pinch hitter Logan James singled up the middle in the top of the ninth inning for the only run of the game that proved to be enough for the Golden Eagles, as they won 1-0 over host Kennesaw State to win the K-Club Invitational. Free runner Allison Bullard scored on James' single after moving to third on a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Kristin Chaney. Samantha Davis pitched a complete game shutout to pick up her second win in as many days and totaled 14 strikeouts on the weekend in 16 innings of work. Brandi Alonzo finished the weekend hitting .353 with six hits, including two doubles, while adding two RBI and two runs scored. The Golden Eagles (6-3) will play their home opener Wednesday, February 20, at the Southern Miss Softball Complex against Jackson State. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 5:00 p.m.
TULSA
Tulsa (3-6) lost another one-run game on Sunday afternoon when it fell to UC-Santa Barbara, 3-2. Against Indiana earlier in the day, Tulsa had taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the seventh before the Hoosiers hit a walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the inning for a 7-6 win. Tulsa got on the scoreboard in the top of the second, sending nine hitters to the plate. The Golden Hurricane offense then mounted a two-out rally thanks to four singles and a hit batter to take the early 3-0 lead, but would ultimately fall. In Tulsa's 9-8 win over Utah State on Friday, TU hammered out a season-high 14 hits. Senior Sara Dyer complimented a 4-for-4 performance with three doubles. Eight of TU's 12 hitters in the game recorded at least one hit. Sophomore Lauren Lindsay posted three hits, including a double, while junior Kailey Yarmer also had two hits with a double. Tulsa returns to action Thursday, February 21 when it hosts the Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex.
UAB
UAB dropped its final game of the Seminole Classic, 4-1, to host school Florida State on Sunday. The Blazers (7-4) rallied in the top of the sixth to tie the score at 1-1, before a three-run homer for the Seminoles helped settle the affair. Jennifer Nelson (4-3) struck out six but walked four batters, in her third start of the tournament. The Blazers won their third game of the Seminole Classic, holding off a late-inning surge by Jacksonville, for the 6-4 victory Saturday evening. The Blazers recorded a season-high six runs and eight walks in the victory, and tied the 2002 squad for the most wins through 10 games. UAB, backed by a one-hitter from Kayla Harris, defeated Bethune-Cookman, 2-0, before falling to Michigan State, 5-1, Friday. Harris was on cruise control for most of the game and gave up her only hit in the top of the seventh inning to the 22nd batter she faced. Holly Krzan went 3-for-3 at the plate. UAB opens its home schedule at George Ward Park Tuesday afternoon with a doubleheader against Kennesaw State.
UCF
UCF (6-6) opened championship day at the Hawaii Paradise Classic with a 5-0 loss to Long Beach State Sunday, before dropping a 4-1 decision to Kentucky later in the day at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Breanne Javier and Cat Snapp paced the Knights' offense with three hits apiece in the pair of contests, with Snapp going 3-for-3 with a double and a home run against the Wildcats. Javier was 2-for-3 with a double in the second game, extending her hitting-streak to seven games. The junior first baseman recorded at least one hit in every game of the tournament. Allison Kime suffered the loss in the circle for the Black and Gold in game one, despite not giving up an earned run. The senior allowed one run on four hits while striking out one in four innings to fall to 5-2 on the season. The Knights have a short break before traveling to DeLand, Fla., on Wednesday for a 5 p.m. contest against Stetson.
UTEP
UTEP defeated San Jose State, 4-3, but was clipped by Bradley, 4-3 (9 inn.) to wrap up a successful 4-1 showing at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Miners move to 7-3 on the season. The Orange and Blue combined for seven runs on 15 hits, including nine doubles. Stacie Townsend went 1-1 on the day, suffering a tough-luck loss against Bradley as the sophomore fired 3 1/3 innings with no earned runs. For the day, Townsend pitched 10.1 innings and compiled 10 strikeouts for a perfect ERA. She finished the weekend 3-1, with 24 strikeouts. Townsend also came up big offensively for the Miners, lacing three hits in seven trips to the plate. She scored once, contributed two doubles and two RBI. For the weekend, Townsend hit .461 (6-for-13) with four RBI. The Miners return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at I-10 rival New Mexico State then open their home season on Feb. 23, taking on UTSA on at 3 p.m. in a doubleheader.
