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Aggie Softball Hosts San Jose State This Weekend
April 3, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - Complete Release in PDF Format
San Jose State (20-20, 2-1 WAC) at Utah State (8-20, 0-5 WAC) Utah State's Weekend Schedule QUICKLY - Utah State softball (8-20, 0-5 WAC) wraps up its nine-game homestand with a three-game conference series against San Jose State on Friday and Saturday, April 4-5. Action starts at 3 p.m. (MT) on Friday, while the doubleheader on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. (MT) at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. Admission to all home games is free. SERIES HISTORY - Utah State holds a 21-20 (.512) advantage in the all-time series, USU's second-most games against a Western Athletic Conference foe. The two teams first met in 1988. Prior to 2006's WAC series, the Aggies and Spartans didn't meet since 2002. SJSU won all three of 2006's meetings, after USU had won three of the previous four match-ups. Last year, Utah State was 1-3 vs. San Jose State. In 2006 at Longan, SJSU won three one-run games, 2-1 on April 21, followed by 9-8 and 3-2 victories on April 22. Last season at San Jose, SJSU won, 3-1, on April 20, while the teams split games on April 21 with the Spartans winning the first game, 5-0, and the Aggies won, 2-0, after eight innings. USU also paired up with SJSU in the second game of the WAC Tournament falling, 9-1, after five innings due to the run-rule, eliminating USU from the tournament. RED BLUFF REUNION - This weekend marks a special reunion for USU senior 3B Amy Schaible and junior 1B Aubrie Stroman, who will reunited with two former teammates from high school. The Aggie duo are both from Red Bluff, Calif., and will reunite with San Jose State's Kasey Igarta and Brittany McConnell who are also both from Red Bluff. ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 8-20 overall and 0-5 in conference action, entering the weekend in seventh-place. USU has won five of its last eight games, four of which have come against Utah Valley. Utah State swept UVU in a doubleheader Wednesday, taking the first game in come-from-behind-fashion to win, 9-4, and then ended the second game early on senior 3B Amy Schaible's grand slam to run-rule the Wolverines, 10-1, after five innings. ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE - The Spartans are 20-20 overall and 2-1 in WAC play, and they are fourth in the league overall. SJSU has won four of its last five games, going 2-1 last week against Sacramento State and Saint Mary's (Calif.). The Spartans beat Sacramento State, 4-3, on March 25 while they split at Saint Mary's, winning the first game, 11-10, before losing the second game, 8-5, on Saturday. SEASON 33 - The 2008 season marks the 33rd year of softball at Utah State... The Aggies enter the season with a 758-804-3 (.485) 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 third year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). ADMISSION - All games at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field are free admission to the public. TIDBITS ABOUT UTAH STATE - - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching with a 5.71 ERA, yielding 241 hits, while the Aggies are also seventh in strikeouts (98). - Freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro leads Utah State and is seventh in the WAC, hitting .382, while sophomore CF Emily Reilly is second on the team with a .359 batting average and ranks 11th in league... Kaneshiro leads the team with a .735 slugging percentage, which ranks second in the league. - Reilly leads the Aggies with 28 hits and six sacrifice hits overall, to rank third in the conference in sacrifice bunts. - Kaneshiro leads the team in HRs this season with six to tie for sixth in the WAC stats, while she also leads USU with 19 RBI, six doubles and 50 total bases... She has also made her way onto the USU single-season home run list, tying with Sara Fleming (2006) and Breanne Smith (1999, 2002) for the seventh spot. - Junior 1B Aubrie Stroman is sixth in the league with 16 walks, while junior DP Kayla Dunn is second on the team with 15 and seventh in the WAC stats. - Junior P Lindsey Benson is fourth in the WAC in innings pitched (111.1) and tied for eighth in K's (74), while she leads the team with a 4.84 ERA. - Sophomore P Stacey Ellingsworth is second on the team with a 5.73 ERA and has 13 strikeouts. - Senior 3B Amy Schaible belted her third home run of the season, a game-winning grand slam in game two against Utah Valley on Wednesday and now has 17 in her career... She needs one more home run to tie Jennifer Power (1991-94) and Breanne Smith (1999-02) for third on USU's career home runs list. - Schaible has also collected 69 RBI in her career at USU, including 13 this season and holds sole possession of the ninth spot on the Utah State Career RBI list, surpassing Kelly Smith (1984-86, `88, 66) after posting five against Utah Valley on Wednesday... She needs one to tie Kristie Skoglund (1984-87, 70). - Kaneshiro has the longest active hitting streak at 10 games, the longest this season... Schaible had a four-game hitting streak snapped at Colorado State on March 9, while Reilly had a five-game hitting streak stopped in the second game against Utah on Wednesday and Kaneshiro had a five-game hitting streak broken in the first game against Nevada on March 21. - Reilly leads USU with seven multi-hit games, while Kaneshiro and Schaible have five multi-hit games... Kaneshiro, Reilly and Dunn lead the team with three hits in a game each. - Kaneshiro leads the team for multi-RBI games with three against Tulsa on Feb. 15 and again on March 25 in game one against Utah Valley. - Kaneshiro also leads the Aggies with seven multi-RBI games, as she is second on the team with a .379 (11-for-29) average with runners in scoring position while Reilly leads with a .467 average (7-for-15) and Reilly leads the team with runners on base (.435, 10-for-23) - Sophomore RF Michelle Workman owns the best average with two outs on the team (.500, 4-for-8), while Kaneshiro is averaging a team-best .438 (14-for-32) with the bases empty. - Reilly has the most success advancing runners for USU (.688, 22-for-32), while Rupp follows averaging .682 (15-for-22). - In Benson's 23 appearances and 22 starts, she has recorded a team-high 74 strikeouts including a season-best 10 in the first game against Utah in the Aggies' home opener on March 26, one short of her career-high and eight against No. 13 Fresno State in game one of a doubleheader on Friday... She has also yielded a .305 opponent batting average. - Benson is now eighth on the USU Career Strikeout list with 228 K's... She needs one strikeout to tie former teammate Leslie Higley (2003-06, 229) for seventh-place. - Rupp and Stroman lead the team with six stolen bases each, while Reilly is second on the squad with four... Overall, the team has stolen 28 bases this season. - Schaible is USU's leading returner in batting average, hitting .293 last season, and led the team in runs scored (29), RBI (27) and home runs (11), as well as second among returners in doubles with five. - Last season, Schaible also led the team and ranked sixth in the WAC 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). - USU had only one player receive weekly honors from the WAC last season, as Reilly earned Hitter of the Week honors on March 5, after posting .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 .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 against 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 against the Bears on March 3. - Benson is the Aggies' leading returner on the pitching staff, as she made 29 appearances last season, recording 129 K's with a 3.61 ERA. - USU had the latest home opener in the WAC last season (April 3 vs. Utah Valley) and does again this season, as the Aggies' make their 2008 home debut on March 26 against in-state foe Utah. - Utah State had five student-athletes earn academic all-WAC honors last season. KANESHIRO NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Kelley Kaneshiro has been named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, March 16, it was announced on March 17. The award is voted on by a state media panel. Kaneshiro, a freshman shortstop from Auburn, Wash., led Utah State at the Cascade Clash Invitational in Oregon, as she hit .625 (5-8) with a double and a home run, to go along with four RBI and three runs scored. In the Aggies' 11-3 run-rule loss in six innings at Oregon State, Kaneshiro hit a two-run home run and was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate. Against No. 20 Washington, she was 1-for-2 with a walk in the 9-3 loss in game one of the doubleheader and 1-for-3 with a run and two RBI in a 5-4 loss in game two against the Huskies. Overall Kaneshiro had a 1.125 slugging percentage and .667 on base percentage during the weekend. She also tallied five assists defensively and had a perfect fielding percentage. RETURNING - Second-year head coach Candi Letts returns five starters among 10 returning letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 17-36 overall record and a 5-13 WAC ledger... Senior 3B Amy Schaible (5-5, Red Bluff, Calif.) headlines the returners, as she batted .293 with five doubles, 11 home runs and 27 RBI last season... Heather Haak (SR, C, 5-7, Salem, Ore.) hit .288 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI, and did not commit an error last season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage... Tara Evans (SR, SS, 5-6, Bountiful, Utah) had a .281 average with eight doubles, one triple, five home runs and 21 RBI, as well as leading the team with 13 stolen bases... Aubrie Stroman (JR, 1B, 5-9, Red Bluff Calif.) hit .250 last season recording eight doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI... Lindsey Benson (JR, P, 5-7, Novato, Calif.) is USU's leading returning pitcher, posting a 3.61 ERA last season in 29 appearances with 149.1 innings and recorded a team-high 129 strikeouts... Stacey Ellingsworth (SO, P, 5-9, Richland, Wash.) threw 52.0 innings in 17 appearances and posted a 5.12 ERA. LETTS' BITS - Letts won her first game last season at the helm of the Aggies with an 11-2 win against Southern Utah on Feb. 9, 2007. Letts became the first USU head coach to win their opener since Pam McCreesh won her first game in 1998. - 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. 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 338-413-1 (.449) in 13 seasons, reaching the 200 and 300 win milestones while at Ole Miss. - This is Letts' second go-round in the WAC, as she posted a 79-62 (.560) mark in WAC games while at Colorado State and is now 84-80 (.512) in six seasons. - As a head coach, Letts has coached four All-Americans, seven all-region players, 13 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. ABOUT SAN JOSE STATE - The Spartans are 20-20 overall and 2-1 in WAC play, entering the weekend in fourth-plce. SJSU has won four of its last five games, going 2-1 last week against Sacramento State and Saint Mary's (Calif.). The Spartans beat Sacramento State, 4-3, on March 25 while they split at Saint Mary's, winning the first game, 11-10, before losing the second game, 8-5, on Saturday. SJSU is led by junior IF Kelli Fangonilo with a .347 average. Fangonilo is fifth in the WAC in runs scored (27) and eighth in hits (42). Brittany McConnell, a junior C/OF, leads the Spartans with seven home runs and 63 total bases, while she is third on the team with a .333 batting average. In the circle, senior Roxanne Bejarona has a 2.85 ERA and ranks fifth in the league with 97 strikeouts, while posting a 6-10 record. Junior P Deanna Mauer has a 3.04 ERA and is fourth in the WAC with 123 K's and holds an 11-7 ledger. SJSU head coach Pete Turner is in his second season at the helm of the Spartans and has compiled a 43-48 record overall. Turner took the SJSU position after four years as head coach at San Joaquin Delta College, where he recorded a 99-30 record and his 2005 team won the league championship. The Spartans assistant coach Vicky Galind0 is a member of the USA National Softball team and represented the United States during the 2007 World Cup and Pan American Games. Galindo will join the 2008 USA Softball Women's National Team who will defend their three gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Bejing, China. SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENT -UP NEXT - The Aggies head out on the road once again playing at Idaho State in Pocatello, Idaho on Wednesday, April 9 for a doubleheader starting at Noon (MT). USU returns home to play conference-foe New Mexico State in a three-game series on Friday and Saturday, April 11-12. Game one starts at 3 p.m. on Friday, while the twinbill on Saturday is scheduled for 1 p.m. (MT). All home games will be played at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field and admission is free. |
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