PLAYER OF THE WEEK Hawaii's Stacey Porter was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week.
Porter, a sophomore from Tamworth, NSW, Australia (Peel Technology) hit .556 as the Wahine finished the week with a 5-1 record, improving to a lead-leading 7-1 in the WAC.
The first baseman had 10 hits in six games with eight RBI. Her three-run home run against San Jose State on March 29 made her Hawai`i's single-season leader, surpassing Cheyenne Thompson (1994) and Dana Degen (2000) who both had nine home runs. During her offensive outburst she had one home run, one double and scored three runs. This is the second player of the week honor for Porter, who first earned the honor in May of 2001.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Louisiana Tech's Sabra Warner was named the WAC Pitcher of the Week. Warner, a sophomore right-hander from Santee, Calif., (West Hills) earned her first pitcher of the week honor by leading the Lady Techsters to their first WAC win with a 2-1 home win over Portland State. Warner went 2-1 with a 1.00 ERA, earning her first two wins of the season.
The sophomore pitched three complete games, including a one-hit shutout against Centenary. Warner struck out 21 batters in 21 innings.
WAC HEADLINERS Other player of the week nominees included: Casie Phillips, Loyola Marymount and Lindsey Dyer, Tulsa.
Phillips hit .444 in three games for the Lions with four hits, including a double. She scored one run as Loyola Marymount ended the week 1-2 in WAC play.
Dyer hit .500 in three games for the Hurricane. The freshman had four hits, including a double and a triple. She scored three runs, while driving in two.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Melissa Coogan, Hawaii, Jennifer Heliotes, Loyola Marymount, Megan Herscher, Portland State and Jenny Magill, Tulsa.
Coogan went 2-0 in two starts for the Wahine, starting two games at San Jose State. The Wahine won by 8-1 and 9-2 scores. The freshman pitcher is now 4-0 in WAC games this season.
Heliotes had a 0.39 ERA with a 1-2 record with two losses to Tulsa and a win over Louisiana Tech. The senior allowed only one earned run in 18.0 innings pitched.
Herscher pitched a complete game one-hit shutout against Louisiana Tech for the Vikings. In two appearances, she allowed three runs, none earned with five strikeouts.
Magill finished the week with a 1.65 ERA and a 2-1 record. She allowed four earned runs in 17.0 innings pitched with 12 strikeouts. The senior pitched her 10th shutout of the season.
IN THE POLLS Fresno State is the only WAC team ranked in the fourth USA Today/NFCA top 25 poll. The Bulldogs dropped to No. 12 with 366 votes the week of March 27. The NFCA/USA Today poll is released on Wednesdays.
CLIMBING THE LADDER Viking head coach Teri Mariani now has 593 wins, just five shy of 600 career wins. She is looking to become the third WAC coach with at least 600 wins. Fresno State head coach Margie Wright and Louisiana Tech head coach Bill Galloway both have over 800 Division I career wins. Wright reached the 1,000 win mark earlier this season. Galloway is nearing the 900 plateau in Division I wins.
TULSA'S WINNING STREAK ENDS AT 19 Tulsas league high 19-game winning streak came to an end when the Hurricane fell to No. 9 Oklahoma, 14-6 on March 27. It was Tulsas first game against a ranked opponent. The Hurricane recovered to go 3-1 in league play.
Tulsas 32 wins are just one shy of the number of wins the Hurricane had for the previous two season combined. Tulsas 19-game win streak was the sixth best in the country this season. Tulsa is regionally ranked for the first time in the programs history.
STOLEN BASES (NOTES AROUND THE LEAGUE) FRESNO STATE will play its 13th ranked opponent on April 2 when the Bulldogs take on No. 3 Stanford. The Bulldogs are 7-8 against ranked teams this season. Fresno State leads the league in wins against ranked teams ... HAWAII continues to hold the slight edge over Tulsa and Fresno State after a 3-1 weekend. The Wahine won three of four from San Jose State. Overall, Hawaii ended the week 5-1 with non-conference wins over Northwestern and Hofstra ... LOUISIANA TECH won its first ever WAC game with a 2-1 win over Portland State at home. The Lady Techsters having been battling the weather this season. Tech lost its second game against Loyola Marymount due to weather ... LOYOLA MARYMOUNT went 1-2 last week with a win over Louisiana Tech and two losses to Tulsa. With the win, the Lions improved to 17-24 overall and 4-7 in the league, 4.5 games behind Hawaii ... portland state was led by designated player Kayla Lewis and pitcher Morgan Seibert. The freshman designated player went 5-12 with two RBI over four games last week, while Seibert has a solid 0.96 ERA in conference games ... SAN JOSE STATE snapped Hawaiis seven-game winning streak with its 2-1 win over the Wahine. It is also the first time since March 7, 1998, that San Jose State has defeated the Wahine. The Spartans won that game 5-4 in Hawaii ... TULSAs strong play has been due to solid pitching. The teams 1.15 ERA is the lowest it has been this late in the season in program history. No Tulsa pitching staff has ever had an ERA under 1.00. The Hurricane have also had 19 shutouts this season.
WEST REGIONAL RANKINGS Five of the seven WAC schools were ranked in the first West Regional poll.Cal Poly
Cal State Fullerton*
Cal State Northridge*
Fresno State
Hawaii
Long Beach State*
Louisiana Tech
Loyola Marymount
Pacific (California)*
Tulsa
Bold = WAC schools
* = WAC opponents
IMPROVEMENTS Two WAC teams have already surpassed their win total from the 2001 season. With 32 wins in 36 games, Tulsa has exceeded last years win total of 26 by six wins. Six league games into the season, the Hurricane have matched the win total of last season. So far this season, Tulsa is 5-1 in conference action. In 2001, Tulsa ended the WAC season 5-15.
San Jose State has also surpassed its 2001 win total with 14 wins, compared to last seasons final record of 13-42. The Spartans need one more WAC win to tie last seasons conference win total of three.
TOP COMPETITION Fresno State has played 13 teams ranked in the NFCA Top 25 in its first 39 games. The Bulldogs have recorded 16 shutout victories in 28 wins on the year. Nine of Fresno State's 11 losses this season have come by two or less runs, including seven one-run losses. Fresno State is 9-7 in one-run decision games with 6-2 record in two-run decision games. This trend continued on March 25 when the Bulldogs dropped the opening game of a road doubleheader to No. 1 UCLA, 1-0.
BATTER UP The WAC begins its tenth week of the 2002 season. With every team with at least one WAC loss, Tulsa and Fresno State look to inch closer to first place Hawaii.
The Bulldogs return to WAC action after a week off. After taking on No. 3 Stanford, Fresno State will meet Tulsa head-to head, battling for second place. The Hurricane currently hold a one game lead over Fresno State. First place Hawaii takes the week off, leaving the other teams room to inch closer.
Portland State takes the week off from WAC action, but will be in competition against No. 10 Washington, Saint Marys and Santa Clara during a California road trip.
ALL STAR TEAMS Several players earned all-tournament honors the last few weeks. Fresno States standout pitcher Jamie Southern was named to the Hedricks Hallowell Chevrolet Classic All-Tournament team.
Four Wahine players were named to the all-tournament team at the Chevron Malihini Softball Tournament: Stacey Porter, Denise Dahlberg, Stacey Hirano and April Crowell. Pitcher Sheri Oronoz earned Most Outstanding Pitcher honors. At the same tournament, LMUs Sami Strinz, Danielle Kaminaka and Christy Cerecedes earned all-tournament honors.
Portland States Monica Martell, Megumi Hackett and Morgan Seibert were selected to the Kansas Holiday Inn Invitational All-Tournament team where the Vikings finished in second place.
San Jose States Shannon Anderson earned all-tournament honors at the Capital Classic.
At the Chevron Invitational in Hawaii, junior Kate Judd earned all-tournament honors along with senior Stacie Hirano.
FRESNO STATES WRIGHT EARNS 1,000 DIVISION I WIN Notching a 2-1 victory in the night cap over the Tennessee Tech, Fresno State softball head coach Margie Wright became the first NCAA Division I softball coach and the 24th head coach overall, regardless of sport, to amass 1,000 NCAA Division I victories.
Wright, who became the NCAA's all-time winningest coach in 2000, owns a 23-year career record of 1000-329-3 and joins 23 other head baseball coaches in the elite 1,000 win club.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK WAC teams are 116-84 (.580) in non-conference games. The WAC is 12-30 against teams that have been ranked in the NFCA poll. San Jose State is 1-8 with losses to No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Washington, No. 23 San Diego State and No. 3 Arizona. The Spartans have upset No. 7 Arizona State, but fell to Oregon State on March 25.
Fresno State is 7-8 with wins over No. 5 California and No. 23 San Diego State and losses to No. 8 Arizona State and No. 10 Cal State Fullerton. At the NFCA Classic, the Bulldogs went 2-2 against ranked teams with wins over No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 6 Washington. Fresno State fell to No. 2 Stanford and No. 5 LSU. Fresno State also added wins over No. 10 Pacific and No. 18 Louisiana Layfayette. On March 25, the Bulldogs fell to No. 1 UCLA in a doubleheader.
Hawaii is 3-5 with two wins over No. 23 San Diego State and a win over No. 14 Oregon State. Portland State is 0-3 against ranked teams. Loyola Marymount (1-5) captured its first win over a ranked team with a win over No. 10 Fresno State.
Tulsa played its first ranked team with a 14-6 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma. (Ranking on date played).
UH PICKED TO WIN WAC TITLE The Western Athletic Conference softball coaches selected Hawaii to win the 2002 WAC regular season crown. This is the first time in seven years that a team other than Fresno State was voted to take the top spot in the WAC. The coaches also voted on 2001 preseason award winners today. Hawaii shortstop Kate Judd was voted preseason Player of the Year, while Fresno States Jamie Southern earned preseason Pitcher of the Year honors.
Hawaii earned 34 points, edging Fresno State by one point. Both the Wahine and the Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season. Hawaii advanced for the fifth time, while the Bulldogs are the only team to have advanced to all 20 NCAA Tournaments.
Loyola Marymount was picked third with 25 points after a 37-22 season. The WACs other affiliate member Portland State earned the fourth spot with 19 points. With 14 points, Tulsa took fifth, while San Jose State and newcomer Louisiana Tech tied for sixth with 11 points.
The preseason all-WAC team included five Fresno State players: junior catcher Pam West, senior third baseman Lindsay Fossatti, senior outfielder Tiffany Whipple, red-shirt freshman pitcher Jamie Southern and senior utility player Vanessa Czarnecki.
Hawaii placed four players on the preseason all-WAC team, including 2001 WAC Player of the Year Kate Judd. The sophomore shortstop earned preseason Player of the Year honors after driving in 31 runs and scoring 32 runs last season. Judd was joined by sophomore first baseman Stacey Porter and senior outfielder Stacie Hirano. Natalie Gonzales tied with Portland State Megumi Hackett for second base honors. Loyola Marymount outfielder Christy Cerecedes rounded out the team.