|
|
Aggie Softball Wraps Up Regular Season Action At Hawai'i This Weekend
April 30, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State (14-29, 2-12 WAC) at Hawai'i (33-17, 7-7 WAC) Utah State's Weekend Schedule QUICKLY - Utah State softball (14-29, 2-12 WAC) wraps up Western Athletic Conference regular-season action at defending regular-season and conference tournament champion Hawai'i (33-17, 7-7 WAC) on Saturday and Sunday, May 3-4. Saturday's doubleheader begins at 6 p.m. (MT), while the single game on Sunday starts at 6 p.m. (MT), with all three games played at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. This is USU's final tune-up for next week's WAC Tournament at Honolulu, Hawai'i, May 7-10. LIVE STATS - Fans can follow this weekend's action through the Utah State web site at www.utahstateaggies.com via live stats. ABOUT UTAH STATE - The Aggies are 14-29 overall and in seventh-place in the Western Athletic Conference with a 2-12 record. Last week, USU posted a 3-2 record as it defeated Idaho State, 5-3, before splitting a four-game series with Northern Colorado. Against UNC on Saturday, USU won game one, 7-4, and lost game two, 7-6, after eight innings. On Sunday, the Aggies run-ruled the Bears in game one, winning, 11-3, after six innings and lost game two, 5-3, after eight innings. ABOUT HAWAI'I - The Rainbow Wahine are 33-17 on the year and are currently in third-place in the WAC with a 7-7 record, after getting swept at No. 10 Fresno State. The Bulldogs won, 4-3, on Friday and then took both games in the doubleheader after eight innings by scores of 3-2 and 2-1. Hawai'i, the defending regular-season and conference tournament champion, was tabbed the preseason favorite by the league's coaches. Hawai'i is led by senior 1B/P Katie Robinson's .376 average, which ranks seventh in the league, while she ranks first in the WAC in home runs (16), tied for first in RBI (45), second in slugging percentage (.720) and tied for second in runs scored (39). Senior P/OF Brandi Peiler ranks 10th in the conference, hitting .344, and leads the team in doubles with nine. The Rainbow Wahine have three other players batting over .300 on the season in junior OF Tanisha Milaca (.333), senior C/OF Kaulana Gould (.322), and junior 3B/SS Clare Wairwick (.320). In the circle, Robinson is third in the WAC with a 1.90 ERA and has posted a 14-6 overall record. She is sixth in the league in strikeouts with 104, while she is seventh in innings pitched (136.1). Junior P Courtney Baughman is fourth in the conference with a 2.04 ERA, while she is ninth in innings pitched (124.0). Baughman has a 14-8 ledger overall and has recorded 65 K's. Legendary Hawai'i head coach Bob Coolen (Wesleyan, 1980) is in his 21st year overall and 17th at Hawai'i. Coolen has an overall ledger of 702-477-1 and a 630-384-1 record at Hawai'i. Coolen has led UH to the 2003 and 2007 WAC Championships, as well as the 1994 Big West title, earning conference Coach of the Year honors in each of those seasons. Last season, Coolen, along with assistants John Nakamura and Dee Wisneski, were named the 2007 National Fastpitch Coaches Association West Region Coaching Staff of the Year. Under Coolen, Hawai'i has made seven NCAA Tournament appearances: 1994, `95, `98, `99, 2001, `03 and `07. SERIES HISTORY vs. OPPONENTS - FIRST LAST OPPONENT W L T PCT GAME GAME Hawai'i 16 23 0 .410 1986 April 28, 2007SERIES HISTORY - UTAH STATE vs HAWAI'I - The Aggies are 16-23 all-time vs. the Rainbow Wahine, having lost 15 of the last 20 meetings. Prior to 2006's three-game WAC series at Hawai'i, the two teams had not met since 1998. Hawai'i came to Logan last year, making its first trip since the 1996 season, when USU and UH were in the Big West Conference together. In 2006, USU took one game from UH in Honolulu, as Hawai'i won, 6-0, on May 5, before Utah State captured a 2-1 victory on May 6, while UH defeated USU in the final game ,4-1. Last season the Rainbow Wahine swept the Aggies in the conference series winning, 11-3, on April 27 and then won 11-0 and 14-2 after five innings on April 28. 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. SINGLE GAME RECORDS BROKEN OR TIED - This season the Aggies have set or tied several single game records. USU tied the record for doubles in a game with five against Utah Valley on April 2. Freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro set a new record for home runs in a game with three in game one against Northern Colorado on April 27. Kaneshiro and senior 3B Amy Schaible tied the record for RBI in a game with five each in game one against Northern Colorado on April 27. Sophomore CF Emily Reilly set a new record for doubles in a game with three at Utah Valley on April 2. Reilly and freshman LF Megan McDonald tied the record for walks in a game, as Reilly walked three times against Northern Colorado on April 27, while McDonald was walked three times at Louisiana Tech on April 19 and again versus Northern Colorado on April 26. TIDBITS ABOUT UTAH STATE - - The Aggies have belted 33 home runs this season, tying the school record for home runs in a season, set last season. - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching with a 5.14 ERA, yielding 369 hits and seventh in strikeouts (174). - Junior DP Kayla Dunn leads Utah State and is fifth in the WAC, hitting .379, while freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro is second on the team with a .377 average and ranks sixth in the league. Dunn ranks first in WAC only games in batting (.441) and seventh in slugging percentage (.647). Kaneshiro leads the team with a .726 slugging percentage, which ranks first in the conference, while she ranks 12th in WAC only games in hitting (.361). - Kaneshiro leads the team in HRs this season with 10 to tie for fifth in the WAC stats, while she also leads USU with 77 total bases. She has also made her way onto the USU single-season home run list and is tied for second with two other players: Sara Fleming (2005) and Sandy Taylor (2000 and 1999). She needs one to tie teammate 3B Amy Schaible, who set a new record last season. Kaneshiro is also tied for eighth on the USU career home run list with Quela Leonhardt (2003-06) and Kathy Beasley (1993-96) - Schaible has belted five home runs this season, including two grand slams and now has 19 in her career to put her in sole possession of third on USU's career list. She needs two to tie former teammate Sara Fleming (2003-06, 21) for second. - Schaible leads the team with 30 RBI to rank 10th on USU's top 10 single season list, while Kaneshiro is second with 29. - Schaible has collected 85 RBI in her career at USU, holding the fifth spot on USU's career list. She needs four more to tie Lynnae Brady (1989-93, 89) for fourth. - Junior 1B Aubrie Stroman is third in the league with 26 walks, while Dunn is tied for fifth with 24. Stroman ranks third on USU's top 10 single season list, while Dunn is currently tied for sixth. - Junior P Lindsey Benson is second in the WAC in innings pitched (181.0) and fifth in strikeouts (131), while she leads the team with a 4.37 ERA. - Sophomore P Stacey Ellingsworth is second on the team with a 5.66 ERA and has 28 strikeouts. - After pitching in 35 games, Benson is seventh on the USU single season games played in list, while she ranks fourth on the USU career games played list. She is also two innings pitched short of ranking in the single season top 10 list in that category. - In Benson's 35 appearances and 34 starts, she has recorded a team-high 131 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. She also tallied 10 K's against Idaho State on April 9... She has also yielded a .299 opponent batting average. - Benson is now seventh on the USU career strikeout list with 285 K's and needs 30 more to tie Kristie Skoglund (1984-87, 315) for sixth-place. She also ranks seventh on the USU single-season strikeout list, surpassing her total she set last season by two which currently ranks 10th (129). - Kaneshiro has the longest active hitting streak for the Aggies at three games, as Dunn's 14-game hitting streak was snapped in the second game of the doubleheader against Northern Colorado on April 26, as she had the third-longest streak in the WAC this season. Schaible had a 12-game hitting streak broken against Idaho State on April 24 for the fifth-longest streak in the WAC. Kaneshiro's 13-game hitting streak was snapped against Idaho State on April 9, as she has the fourth-longest streak in the WAC this season. Sophomore 2B Nicole Rupp had a six-game streak broken in game one against NMSU on April 12, while Stroman's six-game streak was stopped in game two against NMSU. - Schaible leads USU with 12 multi-hit games, while sophomore CF Emily Reilly has 10 multi-hit games. Kaneshiro leads the team with four hits in a game. - Schaible and Kaneshiro lead the team for multi-RBI in a game with five as they both tied the USU single-game record on Sunday. - Kaneshiro leads the Aggies with nine multi-RBI games, as she leads the team with a .364 (16-for-44) average with runners in scoring position, while sophomore 2B Nicole Rupp leads the team with runners on base (.359, 14-for-39). - Kaneshiro owns the best average with two outs on the team (.386, 17-for-44), while Dunn is averaging a team-best .452 (14-for-31) with the bases empty. - Reilly has the most success advancing runners for USU (.640, 32-for-50), while junior 2B Jeanine Hernandez follows averaging .633 (31-for-49), and sophomore LF Mikey Price averages .611 (22-for-36). - Rupp, Reilly and Price lead the team with nine stolen bases apiece. Overall, the team has stolen 45 bases this season. - 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. DUNN NAMED USU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK (April 7) - Utah State softball player Kayla Dunn was named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, April 6. 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, 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. 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 344-422-1 (.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 86-87 (.497) 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 - Utah State will play in the WAC Tournament May 7-10 at Honolulu, Hawai'i. The double-elimination tournament will be held at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. |
| ||||||||
|
|
|
|
||||||
