April 21, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

IRVING, Texas - Allison Kime recorded seven strikeouts in the Knights' (39-17, 14-6), 8-0, blanking of Memphis Sunday afternoon at the UCF Softball Complex to stake claim on the UCF softball single-season strikeout record.

The senior's 270 strikeouts on the year surpass the old mark of 266 that she set last season. Kime picked up her third victory of the series in the win, falling one hit short of pitching a perfect game. She held the Tigers scoreless, allowing only one hit, to improve her record to 24-9 on the season. For her efforts, she was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week.

RECENT RESULTS
Sunday, April 20
*UTEP 4, East Carolina 2
*UCF 8, Memphis 0
*Marshall 5, Southern Miss 2
*No. 9 Houston 11, Tulsa 1

Saturday, April 19
*East Carolina 2, UTEP 1
*UTEP 3, East Carolina 1
*UCF 5, Memphis 0
*UCF 5, Memphis 3
*No. 9 Houston 10, Tulsa 2
*Tulsa 1, No. 9 Houston 0
*Southern Miss 2, Marshall 1
*Marshall 6, Southern Miss 0

Thursday, April 17
Troy 7, UAB 5
Troy 5, UAB 3

Wednesday, April 16
East Carolina 7, UNC-Greensboro 1
East Carolina 2, UNC-Greensboro 1
No. 9 Houston 8, Baylor 3
Baylor 7, No. 9 Houston 3
Tulsa 5, Texas-Arlington 1
Tulsa 9, Texas-Arlington 0 (5 inn.)
South Alabama 4, Southern Miss 0

ON THE WEB
For the latest Conference USA softball game recaps, scores, standings, stats and notes, please log on to the league's official website: www.ConferenceUSA.com

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK (4/21)
CO-HITTER OF THE WEEK
SAMANTHA RODRIGUEZ - Marshall
RF, Sr., Oakley, Calif. (Freedom)
Rodriguez went 11-for-19 last week guiding the Herd to a 4-1 record. She was part of the Herd group that hit back-to-back-to back home runs, a first in program history, to defeat Morehead State, 3-1. The senior followed up with a 3-for-4 performance in game two against Southern Miss, and recorded the game-tying RBI in the top of the seventh inning. During the Southern Miss series, Rodriguez hit home runs in the first innings of both games during Saturday's doubleheader. Overall, she finished with seven RBI, three doubles and scored four runs.

JESSICA VALIS - Houston
SS, Jr., Shiner, Texas (St. Paul)
Valis went 13-for-18 in five games last week for a .722 batting average. In the conference series against Tulsa, she was 10-for-11 and had a double to go along with a two-run triple in the Cougars 11-1 win over Tulsa on Sunday. The triple gave her 12 for her career which is a program best, passing the previous mark of 11 set by current assistant coach Kim Nesloney. The junior also has five triples this season which is two shy of the single-season record of seven she set last season.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
ALLISON KIME - UCF
P, Sr., Brandon, Fla. (Hillsborough CC)
Kime led the Knights to a Conference USA series sweep over Memphis last week, picking up all three wins in the circle, including two shutouts, to move her record to 24-9 on the season and 12-3 in league play. In Sunday's series finale, Kime fell one hit short of a perfect game, holding the Tigers scoreless, while fanning seven and not allowing a walk. With her fourth strikeout in the contest, the senior broke the UCF single-season strikeout record of 266 that she set last season. With her 21 total strikeouts on the weekend, the hurler has 270 on the season and 758 for her career.

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(4/15 - 4/20)
ANGEL BARELLA - East Carolina
Barella went 6-for-13 (.462) with four runs scores, two doubles and two RBI last week. She raised her average from .254 to .289 in the span of five games.

ALLISON KIME - UCF
Kime not only led the Knights in the circle, but at the plate in UCF's series sweep over Memphis. Kime went 3-for-5 (.600) with three RBI, two doubles, two walks, two sacrifice hits and a sacrifice fly.

CAMILLA CARRERA - UTEP
Carrerra led the Miners to a 2-1 series win over East Carolina in Greenville, just the second road series win in program history. She hit .700 (7-for-10) and slugged .800 in the series, while notching eight total bases. Carrerra has hit over .500 for a weekend, three times in 2008.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES IN THE CIRCLE (4/15 - 4/20 )
BROOKE SWANN - East Carolina
Swann tossed four complete games while going 3-2 with an ERA of 1.97. She went all 14 innings in the doubleheader with UNCG and struck out 23 hitters on the week in 32 innings pitched.

ANGEL SHAMBLIN - Houston
Shamblin recorded three wins in three appearances and is now 25-2 on the season. In 20 innings of work, she allowed only six runs and struck out 18 batters.

AUTUMN MITCHELL - Marshall
Mitchell made three appearances and went 2-0, while picking up her second career save. She earned her first shutout after going seven innings against Southern Miss in game two.

JORDAN KINARD - Tulsa
Kinard posted two shutouts last week, including a 1-0 win over No. 9 Houston. She held C-USA's most potent offense to only six hits and zero runs.

C-USA NOTEBOOK
EAST CAROLINA
Swann Goes The Distance
It is rare for a pitcher to throw two complete games in one day, much less one after the other. However, junior Brooke Swann has done it twice. The first time was at the Pirate Clash in early March when she secured the title for the Pirates by shutting down Towson and Fordham in back-to-back contests. Swann accomplished the feat again Wednesday as she dismissed UNC Greensboro twice in a matter of three hours.

30 Wins ... Again
With its win over UTEP on Saturday, ECU recorded its 30th win. The Pirates have tallied 30 or more wins in 11 of Kee's 12 seasons at East Carolina. In nine of those years and 12 of the last 14, the Pirates have posted at least 40 wins. Additionally, the 2000 ECU squad became just the 13th in NCAA history to win 60 games. Recently, CBS College Sports listed East Carolina as having the eighth-most wins in NCAA history since 1984 as the program has racked up 997 in that time span.

HOUSTON
TAKE THREE
Junior Jessica Valis hit a triple in the Cougars 11-1 win over Tulsa on Sunday. The triple gives her 12 for her career and is a program record for career triples. She also has five this season, which is two shy of the single season mark of seven set by Jessica Valis in 2007.

40 Wins ... Again
With the Cougars win on Sunday they move to 40-7 overall. This is the third consecutive season the Cougars have recorded at least 40 wins in a season. They also recorded 15 conference wins, which is the third time in program history Houston has had at least 15 wins in conference play. The program record is 20, set last season.

MARSHALL
SMASHING SAM
Senior Samantha Rodriguez was part of the Herd group that hit back-to-back-to back home runs, a first in program history, to defeat Morehead State, 3-1. She followed up with a 3-for-4 performance in game two against Southern Miss, and recorded the game-tying RBI in the top of the seventh inning. During the Southern Miss series, Rodriguez hit home runs in the first innings of both games during Saturday's doubleheader. Overall, she finished with seven RBI, three doubles and scored four runs.

FOLDEN IN SECOND
Senior All-American Rachel Folden smacked three more home runs last week and is now alone in second place on the C-USA career home run list with 48.

MEMPHIS
SENIOR DAY
Memphis will play its final home games of the season on Saturday and Sunday against East Carolina. On Sunday, the Tigers' two seniors, outfielder/catcher Lindsay Kelso and infielder Melissa Nance, will be honored before the game for their contributions to the program. The two seniors have combined for 22 home runs, 31 doubles and 91 RBI in their careers at Memphis.

BOSSOM SHINES
Freshman pitcher Kimber Bossom threw a one-hitter last week against Alcorn State in a 10-0 shutout. It is her fourth shutout of the season and the second time she has allowed one hit or less in a game. Earlier in the year, Bossom threw a no-hitter at Alabama A&M.

SOUTHERN MISS
DAVIS FALLS
Samantha Davis (13-8) took her first loss in her last four outings when she dropped a 5-2 decision to Marshall Sunday. The defeat also was the first loss at home for Davis this season.

INTENTIONAL PASSES
Megan Hill was issued her sixth career intentional walk Sunday against Marshall, becoming the all-time leader at Southern Miss. Overall she is sixth all-time in most walks with 61. Jennifer Fox ranks third in that category with 81 and Allison Bullard is seventh with 57

TULSA
NO. 2 OVER No. 9
Tulsa's 1-0 win over No. 9 Houston on Saturday in game two of its doubleheader was the second time this season Tulsa has defeated a team ranked ninth at home. Earlier this year, TU defeated Oklahoma, 5-3, when the Sooners were ranked ninth.

KINARD SOLID AGAIN
Tulsa pitcher Jordan Kinard posted two shutouts last week, including a 1-0 win over No. 9 Houston. She finished the week with a 0.50 ERA. The only run she gave up was on a two-strike solo home run. Kinard held C-USA's most potent offense to only six hits and zero runs, after they came in averaging 8.49 hits and 6.18 runs per game on the season.

UAB
UAB FALLS TO TROY
UAB lost its final two non-conference games of the season Thursday to Troy at George Ward Park, falling 7-5 in game one and 5-3 in game two. Kayla Orr hit her first-career home run, a grand slam that helped the Blazers pull back into the first game. Orr's grand slam was UAB's first since May 3, 2007 when Andrea Rogers hit a walk-off grand slam against Chattanooga.

NELSON FALLS
UAB ace Jennifer Nelson took one of the losses against Troy pitching seven innings and giving up 12 hits. Nelson (13-19) stuck out two and walked two, while allowing four earned runs.

UCF
KIME TIME
Senior hurler Allison Kime led the Knights to a Conference USA series sweep over Memphis last week, picking up all three wins in the circle, including two shutouts, to move her record to 24-9 on the season and 12-3 in league play. In Sunday's series finale, Kime fell one hit short of a perfect game, holding the Tigers scoreless, while fanning seven and not allowing a walk. With her fourth strikeout in the contest, the senior broke the UCF single-season strikeout record of 266 that she set last season. With her 21 total strikeouts on the weekend, the hurler has 270 on the season and 758 for her career.

KIME AT THE PLATE
Kime not only led the Knights in the circle in the C-USA series with Memphis, but the senior also led her team at the plate, batting .600, with three hits, three RBI, two doubles, two walks, two sacrifice hits and a sacrifice fly. Kime was a perfect 2-for-2 from the plate in Saturday's opener, adding two RBI a double and a sacrifice hit that led to the eventual game-winning run.

UTEP
I WANT TO BREAK FREE
The Miners' 4-2 triumph over ECU on Sunday secures the first conference road series win since 2006 and just the second in program history. Additionally, it is the second series victory of the 2008 season. Moreover, the Orange and Blue have already equaled the most league wins in a single campaign (eight), and have a great opportunity to obliterate that mark with six C-USA tilts remaining this year.

TOWNSEND ON TOP
Stacie Townsend's win over ECU on Sunday lifted her to 12 victories on the season. She becomes the Miners' single-season record holder the UTEP's short program history. Townsend also is the career leader at UTEP, with 21 wins under her belt, after she eclipsed that standard last week.

EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (30-23, 6-11) fell victim to a late UTEP rally on Sunday afternoon as it lost to the Miners at the ECU Softball Field, 4-2. Junior Brooke Swann recorded her fifth appearance in four days in the loss, as her record fell to 18-17. She tossed her 23rd complete game of the season, giving up eight hits while striking out five. ECU broke a five game Conference USA losing streak in splitting a doubleheader with UTEP Saturday afternoon. The Pirates took game one 2-1 while the Miners edged ECU 3-1 in the second contest. With the game one victory, the Pirates have now recorded 30 or more wins in 11 of head coach Tracey Kee's 12 seasons at ECU. Vanessa Moreno led a trio of ECU hitters that tallied a hit each as Charnia Sumner and Paige Baggett also recorded base knocks. The Pirates close their five-game homestand on Wednesday as they host Campbell in a nonconference doubleheader at the ECU Softball Field. Game one is scheduled for 4 p.m.

HOUSTON
Junior Jessica Valis set the Houston (40-7, 15-2) career triple record as the Cougars defeated Tulsa 11-1 to close out the series in Oklahoma. Valis' triple came in the third inning and gives her 12 for her career. Five of those have come this season, which is two shy of the single season mark of seven she set in 2007. The 12 career triples pass the previous record of 11 set by current assistant coach Kim Nesloney from 2002-05. For her efforts, she was named C-USA Co-Hitter of the Week. Senior Angel Shamblin pitched the complete game moving to 25-2 this season. She allowed seven hits, one run, two walks and five strikeouts. On the weekend, Houston went 2-1 and has won all six of its league series' this season, including four sweeps. The Cougars will return home for a single game against Sam Houston State on April 23 at 4pm. The game is a rescheduled game from a double-header originally scheduled for Feb. 20 that was rained out. Following the mid-week game Houston will be back on the road for a C-USA series against UAB in Birmingham, Ala.

MARSHALL
Marshall (23-26, 10-9) used nine hits to outscore Southern Miss, 5-2 in Sunday's Conference USA series finale at the Southern Miss Softball Complex. Sophomore ace Caitlyn Jackson was credited with the win after going four innings for the Herd. The Ontario, Calif., native limited the Golden Eagles to five hits, while striking out one. Junior Autumn Mitchell came in for relief in the fifth and finished the contest for the Herd. Mitchell went three innings surrendering no runs and no hits with four strikeouts. The Herd split the Saturdaydoubleheader. Mitchell pitched a four hitter en route to her first career shutout as Marshall picked up the win in game two. Offensively, the Herd was led by seniors Rachel Folden and Samantha Rodriguez, as both hit home runs in the contest. Rodriguez, Jackson and Kelly Nielson had two hits apiece in game, while Rodriguez led the way with two RBI. The Herd returns home for its final conference series of the season, beginning Saturday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

MEMPHIS
Memphis (24-24, 4-13) suffered an 8-0 five inning defeat as UCF completed a three-game conference sweep on Sunday at the UCF Softball Complex. Sophomore outfielder Leigh Rowan had the only hit for Memphis with a single through the right side in the third inning. Rowan was the only base runner in the game for the Tigers. On Saturday, Memphis managed just two runs on five hits in the two games. Junior outfielder Brittany Gooch was the only U of M player to collect multiple hits on the day. She finished with two singles and an RBI. In a mid-week game last week freshman pitcher Kimber Bossom threw a one-hitter against Alcorn State in a 10-0 shutout. It was her fourth shutout of the season and the second time she has allowed one hit or less in a game. Earlier in the year, Bossom threw a no-hitter at Alabama A&M. The Tigers will next play its final midweek doubleheader of the season on Tuesday at Alcorn State.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss (23-24, 7-11) finished the week 1-3 with a win and two losses to Marshall and a loss to South Alabama. Kristin Pilgrim turned in a solid week, pushing her batting averaged over .300 (307) following a 5-for-12 performance. Samantha Davis (13-8) took her first loss in her last four outings when she dropped a 5-2 decision to Marshall Sunday. The loss also was the first at home for Davis this season. Megan Hill was issued her sixth career intentional walk Sunday against Marshall, becoming the all-time leader at Southern Miss. Overall she is sixth all-time in most walks with 61. Jennifer Fox ranks third in that category with 81 and Allison Bullard is seventh with 57. Southern Miss travels to No. 24. Mississippi State for a mid-week single game Wednesday, then hits the road for the final road C-USA series at UTEP, April 26 -27.

TULSA
For the sixth time this season, Tulsa faced the No. 9 ranked team in the country. Three of those games have taken place at the friendly confines of Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex and this time it was league foe Houston. Tulsa (24-20, 9-9) fell on Sunday to the Cougars after splitting the Saturday doubleheader. In Tulsa's 1-0 win, pitcher Jordan Kinard held UH's potent offense to only six hits and walked just three while striking out five. It was her fourth shuout out the season and was the second time this season Tulsa has defeated a team ranked ninth at home. Senior Sara Dyer, TU's career hit leader and finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, posted the winning run for the Hurricane on a wild pitch. Tulsa will have a busy week on the road now, traveling to Central Arkansas on Tuesday and Missouri State on Wednesday before starting a three game series at Marshall on Saturday.

UAB
UAB (23-29, 8-10) lost its final two non-conference games of the season Thursday to Troy at George Ward Park, falling 7-5 in game one and 5-3 in game two. Kayla Orr hit her first-career home run, a grand slam that helped the Blazers pull back into the first game. The rally would eventually fall short after the Trojans built a 7-0 lead. It was a reverse story in the second game as the Blazers held the lead for five innings before a three-run fifth inning helped Troy take the two-game series for the first time in three years. The loss in game one put an end to a four-game winning streak at home for the Blazers. Orr's grand slam was UAB's first since May 3, 2007 when Andrea Rogers hit a walk-off grand slam against Chattanooga. UAB ace Jennifer Nelson took one of the losses, pitching seven innings and giving up 12 hits. Nelson (13-19) stuck out two and walked two, while allowing four earned runs. UAB will next face No. 9 this weekend at George Ward Park.

UCF
Allison Kime recorded seven strikeouts in the Knights' (39-17, 14-6), 8-0, blanking of Memphis Sunday afternoon at the UCF Softball Complex to stake claim on the UCF softball single-season strikeout record. The senior's 270 strikeouts on the year surpass the old mark of 266 that she set last season. Kime picked up her third victory of the series in the win, falling one hit short of pitching a perfect game. She held the Tigers scoreless, allowing only one hit, to improve her record to 24-9 on the season. For her efforts, she was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week. Fellow seniors Cat Snapp and Ashley Van Ryn both posted a hit, a run and a sacrifice fly for the Knights, with Van Ryn adding two RBI and a stolen base to cap off Senior Day. UCF swept the series with Memphis after 5-0 and 5-3 wins on Saturday. The Knights conclude their regular-season schedule Sunday, April 27 when they host in-state rival Stetson in a 2 p.m. contest at the UCF Softball Complex.

UTEP
Not even Mother Nature could stop the UTEP (27-19, 8-10) softball team on Sunday. Following a 30-minute delay due to lighting, the Miners scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning en route to a 4-2 win at East Carolina on Sunday afternoon. The triumph secured the first conference road series win since 2006 and just the second in program history. Additionally, it is the second series victory of the 2008 season. Moreover, the Orange and Blue have already equaled the most league wins in a single campaign (eight), and have a great opportunity to break that mark with six C-USA tilts remaining this year. Stacie Townsend picked up the triumph to improve her slate to 12-10 on the year. The 12 victories establish a single-season high in program history. Townsend also is the career leader at UTEP, after she eclipsed that standard last week. She was the hero offensively, as well, with out a clutch two-out single in the sixth to vault the Miners ahead at 4-2. The Miners will be back in action this weekend at home for a league series against Southern Miss.