May 5, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

IRVING, Texas - The pairings are set for the 2008 C-USA Softball Championship after weekend play concluded on Sunday. The championship takes place May 8-10 at the state-of-the-art Cougar Softball Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston. Houston clinched its second consecutive regular season title last weekend and will enter the championship as the No. 1 seed. This year's championship will feature all nine teams in a single-elimination bracket with the winner gaining the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Softball Championship.

UCF (43-18, 16-7), which has been receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 polls, claimed the No. 2 seed, while Tulsa (34-22, 14-10) finished the season third in the league standings to grab the third seed. Marshall (26-28, 11-11), which has gone an impressive 14-5 in April and May, claimed the No. 4 seed.

Play begins at 9:00 a.m. CT on Thursday with No. 8 UAB taking on No. 9 Memphis. UAB enters the contest at 24-34 overall and 9-15 in the league. The Blazers are coming off a tough series with East Carolina that saw them drop two of three games by a total of three runs. The Tigers come into the event with a 24-29 overall mark and a 4-18 ledger conference games.

No. 2 UCF takes on No. 7 Southern Miss in the 12:00 p.m. game on Thursday. The Knights have the second-best overall record among league teams and have won 30 of thier last 35 contests. Southern Miss sits at 25-29 overall and 9-15 in the league under first-year head coach Howard Dobson.

No. 3 Tulsa will battle No. 6 UTEP at 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon. TU has been steadily moving up the RPI rankings in the last month and boasts the nation's 38th toughest schedule. The Miners are making their first appearance in the C-USA Championship at stand at 29-23 overall and 10-14 against conference foes.

The host Cougars will face the winner of game one between No. 8 UAB and No. 9 Memphis in the first evening contest at 5:30 p.m. UH has won 13 of its last 16 games and will enter the championship with a program record 48 wins. Houston also became the fourth team in C-USA Softball history to win 20 league games and first team since DePaul in 2002 and 2003 to win to win every league series during the regular season in back-to-back seasons.

Play on Thursday will wrap up with No. 4 Marshall facing No. 5 East Carolina. The Pirates are one of four C-USA team that surpassed the 30-win plateau this season and have the third-most overall wins with 35.

Semifinal action will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Friday with the C-USA Softball Championship Game to be played on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. on CBS College Sports.

RECENT RESULTS
Sunday,May 4
*Tulsa 8 , Memphis 0 (5 inn.)
*UCF 1, Southern Miss 0
*East Carolina 3, UAB 2
*No. 9 Houston 2, UTEP 0

Saturday, May 3
Marshall 12, Georgetown 7
Marshall 13, Georgetown 0 (5 inn.)
*East Carolina 3, UAB 1
*UAB 2, East Carolina 0
*No. 9 Houston 5, UTEP 0
*No. 9 Houston 1, UTEP 0
*Tulsa 7, Memphis 4
*Tulsa 10, Memphis 0 (5 inn.)
*Southern Miss 2, UCF 1
*UCF 5, Southern Miss 3

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, May 8 - Saturday, May 10
2008 Conference USA Softball Championship (Houston, Texas)

Thursday, May 8
Game One
(8) UAB vs. (9) Memphis 9:00 a.m.
Game Two
(2) UCF vs. (7) Southern Miss 12:00 p.m.
Game Three
(3) Tulsa vs. (6) UTEP 2:30 p.m.
Game Four
(1) Houston vs. Winner Gm. 1 5:30 p.m.
Game Five
(4) Marshall vs. (5) East Carolina 8:00 p.m.

Friday, May 9
Game Six
Winner Gm. 2 vs. Winner Gm. 3 2:00 p.m.
Game Seven
Winner Gm. 4 vs. Winner Gm. 5 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 10
Championship Game (CBS C)
Winner Gm. 6 vs. Winner Gm. 7 1:30 p.m.

* C-USA Game
CBS C - CBS College Sports

HITTER OF THE WEEK (5/5)
LAURIE WAGNER - Houston
RF, Jr., Houston, Texas (Stratford)
Wagner went 8-for-14 last week (.571) with a double, triple and a home run to go along with four RBI. She tied the UH single season home run record, hitting her 17th round-tripper in game one of Houston's series against UTEP. The junior hit her first triple this season in the final game against the Miners and scored the Cougars two runs to give them the 2-0 win. Wagner did not register a strikeout in 14 at bats. Her efforts improved her batting average to .417, second-best on the team. On the season, the Houston native has 50 RBI, the second-highest total on the team and the second-most RBI in a single season history. The double was her 14th this season, also the second-most in UH single season history. Wagner continues to lead the team with a .861 slugging percentage. The weekly honor is the third of Wagner's career and her second in 2008 (Mar. 31).

CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK (5/5)
ANGEL SHAMBLIN - Houston
P, Sr., Davie, Fla. (Hollywood Christian)
Shamblin registered three wins last week to improve to 30-2 and a perfect 15-0 in conference play. The senior is one win away from tying UH's single season win record of 31 she set in 2007. Shamblin's 15 wins in league play are tied for the most all-time. In four appearances in the circle, Shamblin did not allow a single run, giving her 16 shutouts in 2008. She recorded two double-digit strikeout games during the week and has retired at least 10 batters in four of the last six games. This is Shamblin's 15th career weekly pitching honor and her sixth in 2008 (Feb. 18, Mar. 10, Mar. 17, Mar. 31, Apr. 14). Shamblin has 16 total career weekly honors as both a hitter and a pitcher, which ties the career record set by Lindsay Chouinard of DePaul (2000-04). The six honors in 2008 also tie Chouinard for the second-most weekly honors in a single season.

CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK (5/5)
ALLISON KIME - UCF
P, Sr., Brandon, Fla. (Hillsborough C.C.)
Kime helped UCF secure the No. 2 seed in the C-USA Championship after appearing in all four games last week. The senior threw all three games in the series with Southern Miss, including two complete-games and one game in relief. In her first start against the Golden Eagles, Kime recorded 12 strikeouts and allowed only three hits. With her third strikeout of the contest, Kime recorded her 300th strikeout of the season and finished the game with her 12th double-digit strikeout mark of the season. In the series finale, Kime held the Golden Eagles scoreless for her 12th shutout of the season, while allowing only three hits and striking out nine batters. In the non-conference contest at Bethune-Cookman, Kime tied her season-high strikeout mark with 15, while also tying her career and the UCF program record for strikeouts in seven innings of work. Kime now has 319 K's on the season. The weekly honor is the third for Kime in 2008 (Mar. 24, Apr. 21) and the eighth of 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 (4/29 - 5-4)
STACEY ANDREWS - East Carolina
Andrews has two key hits for ECU last week, that included a two-run home run to help ECU upset No. 17 Virginia Tech on Tuesday.

DEANNA TOURVILLE - Marshall
Tourville went 4-for-8 against Georgetown with a two home run performance in game one. She finished the weekend with six runs scored and three RBI.

SARA DYER - Tulsa
Dyer posted a team best .375 batting average, helping TU to a 4-1 record. She had a team-high six hits and posted a .500 slugging percentage and .444 on-base percentage.

MEGAN HILL- Southern Miss
Hill finished the week batting .600 (6-for-10) with one home run and two RBI. She was walked four times and hit by a pitch.

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES IN THE CIRCLE (4/29 - 5-4)
BROOKE SWANN - East Carolina
Swann went 3-0 with three complete games on the week, earning the win on the road at No. 17 Virginia Tech and both the Pirates' wins over UAB. She notched an ERA of 1.00 and struck out seven in 21 innings of work.

AUTUMN MITCHELL - Marshall
Mitchell earned a one-hitter after going five innings, while walking zero Georgetown batters on Saturday. She collected five strikeouts to achieve Marshall's first one-hit performance since 2006.

SAMANTHA DAVIS - Southern Miss
Davis went 1-1 against UCF. She finished with a 1.00 ERA and totaled 15 strikeouts in 14 innings or work. The victory was her 15th of the season.

JORDAN KINARD - Tulsa
Kinard finished the week with a 1.50 ERA and totaled 17 strikeouts. She became just the fifth TU freshman to record over 100 K's in a season and her 138 strikeouts are the most by a TU rookie and rank fourth all-time in a single season at Tulsa.

JENNIFER NELSON - UAB
Nelson became the fifth C-USA Pitcher to amass 800 strikeouts and picked up the Blazers victory in game two against East Carolina. She also moved into a tie for the most career wins at UAB.

C-USA NOTEBOOK
EAST CAROLINA
MOVIN' ON UP
The East Carolina softball team entered the final weekend of conference play in sixth-place. However, that changed as the Pirates won their series with UAB while UTEP suffered a sweep at the hands of No. 10 Houston to allow ECU to move past the Miners and clinch the five seed for the upcoming C-USA Tournament in Houston.

STRONG FINISH
Junior Brooke Swann had quite a finish to the regular season as she tallied a record of 3-0, including a road win over No. 18 Virginia Tech. The Callao, Va. native also led the Pirates to a series victory over UAB as she picked up both wins. Swann posted an ERA of just 1.00 for the week while also breaking into the ECU single season and career pitching charts. She now stands 10th in the career ledger for wins and complete games while also finding herself ninth for the same statistics in the single season list.

HOUSTON
COUGARS No. 1
The host Cougars will face the winner of game one between No. 8 UAB and No. 9 Memphis in the first evening contest of the 2008 C-USA Softball Championship at 5:30 p.m on Thursday. UH has won 13 of its last 16 games and will enter the championship with a program record 48 wins. Houston also became the fourth team in C-USA Softball history to win 20 league games and first team since DePaul in 2002 and 2003 to win to win every league series during the regular season in back-to-back seasons.

SHAMBLIN IN SECOND
Houston senior pitcher Angel Shamblin is now tied for second on the all-time C-USA victories (88) list and has also just moved into third on the all-time C-USA strikeout list (826). Shamblin registered three wins last week to improve to 30-2 and a perfect 15-0 in conference play. The senior is one win away from tying UH's single season win record of 31 she set in 2007. Shamblin's 15 wins in league play are tied for the most all-time. Shamblin has 16 total career weekly honors as both a hitter and a pitcher, which ties the career record set by Lindsay Chouinard of DePaul (2000-04). The six honors in 2008 also tie Chouinard for the second-most weekly honors in a single season.

MARSHALL
FOLDEN IN SECOND
Senior All-American Rachel Folden smacked another home run last week and is now alone in second place on the C-USA career homer list with 49. Folden went 4-for-8 last week and increased her season batting average to a conference-best .433. She has 17 round trippers in 2008, one away from her personal season best.

HERD GRAB NO. 4 SEED
Marshall (26-28, 11-11), which has gone an impressive 14-5 in April and May, claimed the No. 4 seed in the C-USA Championship. The Herd battled Georgetown over the weekend cruised to a 12-7 victory in game two to conclude its 2008 regular-season.

MEMPHIS
BOSSOM LEADS C-USA
Freshman Kimber Bossom leads C-USA in fewest home runs allowed with three. The RHP did not allow a home run in conference play in nearly 60 innings pitched. The last home run off Bossom came on March 5 against Central Arkansas. She totals four shutouts in 146.1 innings pitched with 101 strikeouts.

CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD
Memphis is 1-2 all-time in the Conference USA Championship after makings its first appearance last season. The Tigers won their final six league games to qualify for the final spot in the then six-team tournament and earned a 2-1 come-from-behind thrilling victory against third seeded Tulsa in the opening round. Memphis then had a perfect game into the ninth inning against 2007 runner-up East Carolina before losing 1-0 in the 10th inning. The U of M was knocked out of the tournament by Marshall in another 1-0 defeat.

SOUTHERN MISS
GOLDEN NUGGETS
Southern Miss concluded the regular season with a 25-29 overall record and 9-15 in league play. The Golden Eagles were 1-2 during the week, posting a win over UCF in the opening game of the C-USA series before losing the last two. Megan Hill finished the week batting .375 with three hits, including one double, extending her hitting streak to eight

DAVIS GETS 15
Samantha Davis finished the final weekend series with a 1-1 record against UCF. She scattered six hits over seven innings, giving up one run, walking one batter and striking out two in game one. Davis then lost on Sunday, 1-0, allowing only five hits over seven innings. The hurler did not walk a single batter and struck out three. She finished with a 1.00 ERA and recorded her 15 victory of the season.

TULSA
LINDSAY TOPS COUNTRY IN DOUBLES
Sophomore Lauren Lindsay currently leads Conference USA with 22 doubles. Not only is that mark the most in C-USA, it also tops the nation. Last season, current senior Sara Dyer posted the most doubles in the country with a school record 25.

FRIENDLY CONFINES
The Golden Hurricane moved into its current campus home in time for the 2002 softball season. Since that time TU has posted a 115-43 record at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex, including a 15-3 record this season. This season has seen TU win the Holiday Inn Select-Tulsa Festival and defeat No.9 Oklahoma for the second straight season in Tulsa. TU recently had an 11 game home-winning streak, the best stretch in program history.

UAB
NELSON REACHES 800 K's
Southpaw Jennifer Nelson joined an exclusive club Sunday, becoming the fifth pitcher to in Conference USA history to strikeout 800 or more in her career. Her fourth-inning strikeout of East Carolina's Charina Sumner on Sunday gave her 219 on the season. Nelson became the third C-USA pitcher to reach the plateau this season. UCF's Allison Kime also joined the club Sunday and Houston's Angel Shamblin achieved the mark on April 27.

MORE ON NELSON
Nelson also moved into tie with former UAB pitcher Kerri Foster for most wins in a career with her win on Saturday. The lefty, who already holds the single-season recorded for wins, gave up only two hits and struck out five for her 58th career victory and 14th of the season. She's record a winning season in each of her first three years, winning nine games in 2005, 15 in 2006 and 20 in 2007. The Morris, Ala. native will have a shot to go for the outright lead at the Conference USA Championship.

UCF
KIME GETS 300
Allison Kime appeared in all four games last week, posting a 3-1 record. The senior threw all three games in the series with Southern Miss, including two complete-games and one game in relief. With her third strikeout of game one, Kime recorded her 300th strikeout of the season and finished the game with her 12th double-digit strikeout mark of the season. In the non-conference contest at Bethune-Cookman, Kime tied her season-high strikeout mark with 15, while also tying her career and the UCF program record for strikeouts in seven innings of work. Kime now has 319 K's on the season.

KIME IN ELITE COMPANY
Kime joined an exclusive club Sunday, becoming one of five pitchers to in Conference USA history to strikeout 800 or more in her career. Kime became the third C-USA pitcher to reach the plateau.this season. UAB's Jennifer Nelson also joined the club Sunday and Houston's Angel Shamblin achieved the mark on April 27.

UTEP
MINERS IN THE C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Miners will be making their first-ever league championship appearance as they participate in the 2008 Conference USA Softball Championships May 8-10 as they grabbed the No. 6 seed. Since its inaugural season, the Miners have failed to qualify, but this season the league is taking all nine teams. The Miners will face No. 3 Tulsa who swept the Miners earlier in the season.

DAVIS IN THE OUTFIELD
Jennifer Davis recorded a school record seven putouts against Houston on Saturday. The feat was the most by an outfielder in school history. Davis' performance included an over-the-fence catch that prevented a home run by the Cougars. Davis also saw time at second base.

AROUND THE HORN
EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (35-27, 10-12) is going into the C-USA Championship with some momentum as it defeated UAB 3-2 in the regular season finale, taking the three-game series, 2-1. The Pirates split the Saturday doubleheader, winning 3-1 in game one, and falling 2-0 in game two. The Pirates also split with No. 17 Virginia Tech on Tuesday. Stacey Andrews had two key hits on the week. She belted a two-run home run to help her team to a 4-1 win over the Hokies and ripped a double that put the winning runs in position to help her team earn the series win over UAB. Brooke Swann notched a 3-0 record on the week with three complete games, including a win over No. 17 Virginia Tech. For the week, she totaled seven strikeouts in 21.0 innings of work, while giving up just three earned runs and compiling an ERA of 1.00. The Pirates earned the No. 5 seed in the C-USA Softball Championship and will play No. 4 Marshall in Thursday's last quarterfinal at 8:00 p.m. CT.

HOUSTON
No. 9 Houston (48-8, 21-2) swept its final league series of the season against UTEP over the weekend. Houston grabbed a 2-0 win on Sunday after sweeping the Saturday doubleheader by scores of, 5-0, and, 1-0. Houston's 21 wins in C-USA are the second most single-season wins in the conference's nine years and the most since DePaul recorded 22 wins during the 2003 season. UH has won 13 of its last 16 games and will enter the championship with a program record 48 wins. Houston also became the fourth team in C-USA Softball history to win 20 league games and the first team since DePaul in 2002 and 2003 to win to win every league series during the regular season in back-to-back seasons. On Saturday, Laurie Wagner hit her 17th home run of the season. Her 17 homers are tied for the single season UH record set during the 2005 season. UH is set to host the 2008 C-USA Softball Championship May 8-10 at the Cougar Softball Stadium. The top-seeded Cougars will face the winner of No. 8 UAB and No. 9 Memphis at 5:30 p.m. CT on Thursday.

MARSHALL
Marshall (26-28, 11-11), which has gone an impressive 14-5 in April and May, claimed the No. 4 seed in this year's C-USA Softball Championship. The Herd battled Georgetown over the weekend. Junior pitcher Autumn Mitchell tossed a one-hitter against the Hoyas to guide Marshall to a 13-0 victory to conclude its 2008 regular-season, in Saturday afternoon's nonconference doubleheader finale. Mitchell (10-5) went 5.0 innings to record her first career one-hit performance, while hurling five strikeouts for the Herd. Mitchell pitched a two-hitter in the Herd's second game of the season against the College of Charleston, Feb. 9, 2007. The Herd won the first game with Georgetown 12-7. Deanna Tourville went 4-for-8 in the series and notched a two home run game in game one. Tourville finished the weekend with six runs scored and three RBI increasing her season totals to 28 runs scored and 30 RBI. The Herd earned the No. 4 seed in the championship and will play No. 5 East Carolina in Thursday's last quarterfinal at 8:00 p.m. CT.

MEMPHIS
Memphis' regular season ended with an 8-0 five-inning loss on Sunday to Tulsa at the Donna J. Hardesty Sports Complex. Tulsa swept Memphis (24-29, 4-18) in the three-game weekend series. The Tigers now head into the Conference USA Tournament on an eight-game skid. Memphis will compete in the tournament as the ninth seed and will play No. 8 UAB. The U of M began with two hits in the top of the first, but managed only one hit the remainder of the game. Junior Lyndsey Sterling started the second game of her career for Memphis in the loss. She pitched a career high 4.2 innings and gave up five earned runs on eight hits. On Saturday, sophomore Leigh Rowan led the team with a 2-for-3 performance in game one with three RBI and a run scored. Senior Melissa Nance singled in both contests and had an RBI in game one. Memphis will meet UAB to open the C-USA Championship on Thursday at 9 a.m. in Houston, Texas. The winner will play No. 1 seeded Houston that same day at 5:30 p.m.

SOUTHERN MISS
Southern Miss (25-29, 9-15) went 1-2 during the week, posting a win over UCF in the opening game of the C-USA series before losing the last two. Megan Hill finished the week batting .375 with three hits, including one double, extending her hitting streak to eight. Kristin Pilgrim notched her fourth home run of the season, a solo over the left field fence. Kristin Chaney recorded her second triple that eventually led to the winning run in the game one against UCF. Over the weekend, Samantha Davis went 1-1 against the Knights. She scattered six hits over seven innings in game one to grab the win, but fell in game two. She finished the week with a 1.00 ERA and notched five strikeouts in 14 innings of work. The victory was her 15th of the season. Southern Miss heads into the C-USA Championship in Houston as the No. 7 seed, playing against No. 2 UCF on thursday at 12:00 p.m. CT.

TULSA
Tulsa (34-22, 14-10) swept Memphis to finish in third place in the league standings. On Sunday, TU sent its two seniors out in style with an 8-0, five-inning run-rule victory. Seniors Sara Dyer and Lindsey Tower played in their final contests on the TU campus helping Tulsa win its 34th game of the season. The Golden Hurricane finished an impressive 15-3 at home this season. Dyer posted a team-best .375 batting average last week and led the team with six hits. She also posted a .500 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage. Jordan Kinard registered two more wins for TU and finished the week with a 1.50 ERA. She struck out 17 batters last week and is only the fifth TU freshman to record more than 100 strikeouts in a season. Her 138 total K's are the most ever by a TU rookie and the number ranks fourth all-time at Tulsa. No. 3 Tulsa will battle No. 6 UTEP at 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon in game three of the 2008 C-USA Softball Championship.

UAB
UAB (24-34, 9-15) lost its regular season finale to East Carolina, who rallied to scored three runs in the last two innings to win 3-2, Sunday at the ECU Softball Complex. Jennifer Nelson reached the 800-strikeout mark in the fourth inning with her third strikeout of the game and 219th of the season. The lefty became the fifth C-USA pitcher to reach the milestone. Nelson threw a season-low 91 pitches, giving up only two hits. Andrea Rogers and Cameron Skates both went 2-for-3 at the plate and were responsible for both of the Blazers' runs. Rogers scored on Skates' single in the second, the 20th of the year for the sophomore. Skates later scored a run in the seventh inning after her 10th double of the year. With the loss, the Blazers were locked into the No. 8-seed in the upcoming Conference USA Championship, May 8-10, in Houston and will face No. 9 Memphis Thursday morning at 9:00 a.m. CT . The winner of that game will then play No. 1 Houston later that evening.

UCF
UCF (43-18, 16-7), which has been receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 polls, claimed the No. 2 seed in the 2008 C-USA Softball Championship. The Knights used a nail-biting 1-0 win over Southern Miss on Sunday to take the series, 2-1. UCF scored on a wild pitch in the first inning and Allison Kime shut down the Golden Eagles the rest of the way to improve to 26-10 in the circle on the season. On Saturday, despite out-hitting Southern Miss, 6-3, in game one, UCF could not pull off the win, falling to the home team, 2-1, before battling back to take a 5-3 win from in the nightcap. With a double in the first game and a single in the second, Breanne Javier extended her hitting streak to 14 games and tied the UCF all-time record for most-consecutive games with a hit. UCF takes on No. 7 Southern Miss in the 12:00 p.m. game on Thursday. The Knights have the second-best overall record among league teams and have won 30 of thier last 35 contests.

UTEP
The ninth-ranked Houston Cougars defeated UTEP, 2-0, on Sunday at Cougar Softball Stadium in Houston to sweep the conference series from the Miners. With the loss, UTEP (29-23, 10-14) ends the regular season ranked sixth league standings and will face third-place Tulsa in the opening round of the Conference USA Softball Championships on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. CT in Houston. This marks the Miners' first appearance in league championships in the history of the program. Stacie Townsend received the loss and moves to 12-11 on the season. She struck out five batters on the day and scattered five hits for two runs, both earned. Ashley Perez and Ashley Ellis recorded UTEP's only hits of the day. The Miners end the regular season with 29 wins, a new program record. UTEP also won 10 conference games, four league series and split with the defending national champions despite facing injuries throughout the season.