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Softball Travels to Utah And Louisiana Tech This Week
April 14, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - Complete Release in PDF Format
Utah State (11-24, 2-9 WAC) at Utah (22-19, 5-3 MWC) Utah State (11-24, 2-9 WAC) at Louisiana Tech (24-23, 4-7 WAC) Utah State's Week Schedule QUICKLY - Utah State softball (11-24, 2-9 WAC) heads out on the road this week, traveling to Salt Lake City, Utah and Ruston, La. The Aggies face Utah (22-19, 5-3 MWC) on Tuesday, April 15 in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. (MT) and then plays in just its second Western Athletic Conference road series this season at Louisiana Tech (24-23, 4-7 WAC) on Friday and Saturday, April 18-19. Friday's single game starts at 5 p.m. (MT) and the twinbill on Saturday is set for 12 p.m. (MT). ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 11-24 overall andin seventh-place in the WAC with a 2-9 record. USU picked up its first shutout of the year at Idaho State, winning, 7-0, on April 9 before falling in a three-game conference series to New Mexico State on Friday and Saturday, losing, 5-3, 5-4, and 14-1 after five innings. ABOUT UTAH - The Utes are 22-19 on the season after going 3-1 last weekend at San Diego State and UNLV. Utah fell to SDSU, 3-2, before winning the second game, 1-0, while the Utes won both games at UNLV, 4-3, and 4-0. Diana Phillip, a senior OF, leads the Utes with a .400 average and 52 hits, while sophomore UT Kara Foster is hitting .339 and leads the team in home runs (13), runs scored (26) and RBI (30). The Utes have two others hitting above .300 with junior IF Angie Boardman, hitting .327 and senior UT Devina Quintero is batting .307. In the circle, sophomore Ashley Smuda has posted a 2.71 ERA with a 13-9 record in 32 appearances, striking out 136 batters in 152.1 innings. Smuda has 14 complete games and has recorded three shutouts. Freshman P Brittany Parker has a 2.93 ERA and a 9-10 ledger, while she has tallied 120 K's in 114.2 innings of work. Parker has tallied two saves and eight complete games. Utah head coach Amy Hogue (Utah, 1994) is in her first year at the helm of the Utes, coming to Utah after a six-year stint building the Salt Lake Community College softball program, where she went 197-82 with the Bruins. Hogue was also an assistant coach for Utah from 1996-99. ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH - The Lady Techsters are 24-23 on the year and are currently in fifth-place in the WAC with a 4-7 record. Louisiana Tech has won two of its last five games as it defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 6-1, on Tuesday, April 8 before falling to Northwestern State, 5-4, on Wednesday, April 9 in eight innings. LTU went 1-2 against then No. 12 Fresno State, beating FS, 5-3, in game one of the doubleheader on Friday, April 11 and then getting run-ruled in game two, 9-0, after five innings. The Bulldogs won the third game of the series, 1-0, on Saturday, April 12. LTU is led by sophomore SS Amberly Waits' .428 batting average, as she leads the team in hits (59), RBI (35), runs scored (33) and triples (7). Waits ranks first in the WAC in batting average, tied for first in hits and triples, tied for third in runs scored and tied for fourth in RBI. Junior IF Kylie Bassett is second on the team in hitting (.333), while junior OF Emma Barnes ranks second in runs scored (32), hits (47) and triples (3). Barnes ranks sixth in the league in runs scored and tied for fourth in triples. In the circle, freshman Meghan Krieg holds a 1.20 ERA and has posted a 4-2 record which ranks third in the league in ERA. Krieg has struck out 62 batters in 52.1 innings. Sophomore P Mandi Bertsch ranks fifth in the WAC with a 1.90 ERA and has an 8-7 ledger, while junior P Krissi Oliver has done the bulk of LTU's pitching and has posted a 2.29 ERA and an 11-11 overall record. Oliver is eighth in the conference in ERA, while she is ninth in K's with 79. Sixth-year LTU head coach Sarah Dawson (UL Monroe, 1997) has a 125-216 record. Dawson was a member of the Women's Professional Fast-pitch League in the summer of 1997, where she earned the first year league's inaugural most valuable player award, ranking No. 1 in wins (30) and saves (4).
SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS -
FIRST LAST
OPPONENT W L T PCT GAME GAME
Utah 54 83 0 .394 1976 March 26, 2008
Louisiana Tech 4 5 0 .444 1985 May 9, 2007
SERIES HISTORY - UTAH STATE vs UTAH - Utah State is 54-83-1 all-time versus Utah, USU's most-played series. Utah State picked up just its second win in the last 14 games against Utah earlier this season on March 26 as it won the first game, 3-1, and the Utes defeated the Aggies, 9-4 in the second game. The teams first met in 1976, USU's first season of softball. Before the March 26 meeting, the Aggies last won in 2005's only meeting, 6-1, snapping the Utes' nine-game winning streak in the series. UTAH STATE vs LOUISIANA TECH - Utah State is 4-5 all-time vs Louisiana Tech, having won three out of the four meetings last season after losing the previous four in a row. The teams first met in 1985, with USU winning 2-0, before La Tech won, 6-2, in 1989, both at neutral fields. The Aggies and Lady Techsters didn't face each other again until 2006's three-game WAC series at Ruston, La., with La Tech winning all three, 5-0, 6-4, and 9-1, on April 14-15. Last year, USU swept La. Tech in a three-game WAC series, winning the first game 7-6 after nine innings on April 13, run-ruling the Lady Techsters, 12-4 after five innings and then hung on for a 6-5 victory in the third game of the series. The series sweep was the first for the Aggies since the 2004 season. Louisiana Tech won the fourth game last season, 8-1, in the first round of the WAC Tournament. 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 5.60 ERA, yielding 307 hits, and seventh in strikeouts (135). - Freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro leads Utah State and is fifth in the WAC, hitting .386, while junior DP Kayla Dunn is second on the team with a .370 batting average and ranks eighth in league... Kaneshiro leads the team with a .705 slugging percentage, which ranks third in the conference, while she ranks sixth in WAC only games in hitting (.417) and third in slugging percentage (.710)... Dunn ranks second in WAC only games in batting (.458) and fourth in slugging percentage (.708). - Kaneshiro leads the team in HRs this season with seven to tie for seventh in the WAC stats, while she also leads USU with 23 RBI, seven doubles and 62 total bases... She has also made her way onto the USU single-season home run list and is in sole possession of seventh-place... She needs one to tie Shontinese Huey (1996, 8) for the sixth spot. - Dunn is fifth in the league with 20 walks, while junior 1B Aubrie Stroman is second on the team with 19 and sixth in the WAC stats. - Junior P Lindsey Benson is third in the WAC in innings pitched (148.1) and fifth in strikeouts (105), while she leads the team with a 4.77 ERA. - Sophomore P Stacey Ellingsworth is second on the team with a 6.45 ERA and has 15 strikeouts. - Senior 3B Amy Schaible belted her fourth home run of the season and now has 18 in her career to put her in a three-way logjam for third with Jennifer Power (1991-94) and Breanne Smith (1999-02) on USU's career list... She needs three to tie former teammate Sara Fleming (2003-06, 21) for second. - Schaible has also collected 76 RBI in her career at USU, including 19 this season and is in a three-way tie with Juanita Clayton (1988-91) and Breanne Smith (1999-02) for sixth on USU's career list... She needs two more to tie Jennifer Power (1991-94) for fifth. - Dunn has USU's longest active hitting streak at nine games, while Schaible is on an eight-game hitting streak... Kaneshiro's 15-game hitting streak was snapped in game one against New Mexico State on Saturday, as she tied for the second longest streak in the WAC... Sophomore 2B Nicole Rupp had a six-game streak broken in game one against NMSU Saturday. - Reilly and Schaible lead USU with eight multi-hit games each, while Kaneshiro and Stroman have seven multi-hit games each and Dunn has six... Kaneshiro, Reilly, Schaible and Dunn lead the team with three hits in a game each. - Schaible leads the team for multi-RBI games with four in game two against Utah Valley on April 2, as she hit a walk-off grand slam to end the game after five innings due to the run-rule. - Kaneshiro leads the Aggies with eight multi-RBI games, as she is third on the team with a .371 (13-for-35) average with runners in scoring position, while Reilly leads the team with runners on base (.407, 11-for-27). - Sophomore RF Michelle Workman owns the best average with two outs on the team (.444, 4-for-9), while Kaneshiro is averaging a team-best .432 (19-for-44) with the bases empty. - Junior 2B Jeanine Hernandez has the most success advancing runners for USU (.650, 26-for-40), while Reilly and Rupp follow averaging .625 each. (20-for-32 - Reilly, 25-for-40 - Rupp ). - In Benson's 30 appearances and 29 starts, she has recorded a team-high 105 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 she tallied 10 K's against Idaho State on April 9... She has also yielded a .302 opponent batting average. - Benson is now seventh on the USU career strikeout list with 259 K's. - Rupp leads the team with nine stolen bases, while sophomore LF Mikey Price is second on the squad with six... Overall, the team has stolen 34 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' made 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. DUNN NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (April 7)- Utah State softball player Kayla Dunn has been named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, April 6, it was announced last Monday. The award is voted on by a state media panel. Dunn, a designated player from Carson City, Nev., helped Utah State post a 4-1 record last week, as it swept Utah Valley, 9-4 and 10-1 after five innings, and then went 2-1 against San Jose State, falling in the first game, 15-8, before winning, 8-6 and 11-10, in a doubleheader. Dunn batted .667 overall, going 10-for-15 at the plate, recording 11 RBI, nine runs, four walks, three doubles and three home runs. She tallied a home run in both games against Utah Valley as she was 3-for-5 with five runs scored and four RBI on the day. In the first game against San Jose, she went 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while she was 4-for-6 in two games on Saturday, scoring three runs and adding five RBI. KANESHIRO NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (March 17) - Kelley Kaneshiro was 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 341-417-1 (.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 86-85 (.506) 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. ON DECK - The Aggies wrap up non-conference action at home next week, hosting Idaho State in a doubleheader on Thursday, April 24 at 2 p.m., while USU hosts Northern Colorado for a four-game series in two days on Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27. Saturday's action starts at 1 p.m., while Sunday's games are scheduled for 12 p.m. All home games are played at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field and admission is free. |
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