PLAYER OF THE WEEK Nevada's Candice Rainwater was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week, respectively. Rainwater is earning her first Player of the Week honor after taking Pitcher of the Week honors on April 26.
Rainwater, a sophomore from Dana Point, Calif., (Dana Hills), was 7-for-13 with nine RBI in four games last week. She had the game-winning hit in the three wins, getting all four RBI in the 4-0 shutout against Tulsa. She contributed giving up just three hits and then hit a double in the eighth in game one against Louisiana Tech to give the Pack a 6-5 win. She came back to homer in the third, which proved to be the game-winner, and added another hit and RBI in the 7-3 win.
Other player of the week nominees included: Shasta Lewis, Fresno State; April Crowell, Hawai'i; Amber Miles, Louisiana Tech and Kelly Miller, Tulsa.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Tulsa's Maren Genow was named the WAC Pitcher of the Week. This is the fifth honor for Tulsa pitchers this season and the second for Genow.
Genow, a sophomore from Moore, Okla. (Moore), won her 20th game of the season against Fresno State on Saturday, tying the school record for wins in a season. It was the first time Tulsa beat the Bulldogs in Fresno. She held the No. 14 Bulldogs hitless for four innings, not allowing a baserunner until a lead off single in the fifth inning. The sophomore picked up her sixth save of the season in the second game, breaking the school record for saves in a season and tying the school mark for career saves (7).
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Laura Ferreira, Fresno State and Tiffany Hoeft, Nevada.
BATTER UP This is the final week of regular season action before NCAA Regionals are announced on May 16. Hawaii has finished regular season action with a 10-14 WAC record and an overall record of 28-33. Fresno State closes out the regular season with one doubleheader against Nevada on May 15. Tulsa and Louisiana Tech will both host San Jose State and UTEP to end the regular season. The Miners look to win their second WAC game. In its inaugural season, UTEP is 1-19 in league play.
FRESNO STATE CLINCHES WAC TITLE Despite losing a doubleheader to Tulsa, Fresno State clinched its seventh WAC title. The Bulldogs, 19-3, last won a WAC regular season title in 2002. Last season, Hawai`i captured its first title. With the regular season crown, Fresno State earns the WAC's automatic bid. Fresno State has advanced to 23-straight NCAA Regionals. The regular-season title is the program's 18th overall as head coach Margie Wright collects her 14th overall at Fresno State.
FIRST TIMER This week, Tulsa was ranked No. 25 in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches poll. This is the first time in program history that Tulsa has been ranked in the top 25. The Golden Hurricane, 43-18, defeated No. 16 Fresno State twice last week to cement its second-place finish.
Fresno State remains ranked in both polls. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 16 in both the NFCA poll and the ESPN.com/Collegiate Softball poll. Fresno State has been ranked every week in both polls.
LOVING THE LONG BALL With 21 total home runs and nine WAC home runs Fresno State sophomore Christina Clark has set WAC records in both categories. The previous overall record was 17 set by Hawaiis Stacey Porter, who is a member of Australias Olympic team. Clark also tied Porters nine home run mark set last season. Clark has two games to break that record.
SINGLE-GAME HIGHS The 14-inning marathon between Nevada and Hawaii on April 24 was the longest game of the season. Fresno States Jamie Southern holds the single-game high for strikeouts in a game, striking out 15 twice this season against Texas A&M on Feb. 15 and Campbell on Mar. 8. Offensively, Louisiana Techs Alison White leads the WAC with her seven RBI in a win over Jackson State on Feb. 7. Fresno States Christina Clark leads the league in total bases in a game with 12 against Hawaii on April 10. Clark also set the WAC record with three home runs in a game against the Rainbow Wahine on April 10.
NCAA REGIONAL SITES ANNOUNCED Eight regional sites were selected for the 2004 NCAA Division I Softball Championship. The eight regional sites, with host institutions are: Tucson, Ariz. (Arizona); Waco, Texas (Baylor); Los Angeles, Calif. (UCLA); Tallahassee, Fla. (Florida State ; Athens, Ga. (Georgia); Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan); Lincoln, Neb. (Nebraska) and Stanford, Calif. (Stanford). Each regional field will feature eight teams, playing a double-elimination format. All regional games are scheduled to be conducted May 20-23. ESPN will air three regional games live from the UCLA site and CSTV will air up to five games live from the Arizona site.
BETTER THAN EVER Four WAC teams have already past last seasons league game win total. Last season, first place Fresno State ended the WAC season, 14-4. This year after 22 games, the Bulldogs are 19-3. With the addition of UTEP, there are four more WAC games for a total of 24. Tulsa was 8-12 in league games last year, and already sports a record of 14-5 this season. First-year program Nevada was 5-15 last season, and is already 12-10 during its sophomore campaign. Finally, Louisiana Tech is currently 8-11 in league play after winning only six WAC games last season.
Overall, Tulsa has had a big improvement. Last season, the Golden Hurricane was 34-29 (.540). This seasons club is 43-18 with three wins over ranked teams. Nevada is 10 games over .500 this season with two games remaining (37-27). Last season, the Wolf Pack was 22-35.
SOUTHERN REACHES 1,000 STRIKEOUTS Fresno States Jamie Southern became the 22nd NCAA Division I player to have 1,000 or more career strikeouts. She accomplished the feat in the Bulldogs 3-0 victory over UTEP on April 15. In the first game of the doubleheader, Southern struck out 10 to move her career total to 1,005. Tallying 25 strikeouts in four appearances last week, her career total stands at 1,020, which places her No. 21 all-time in NCAA Division I history. In a 15-day span in the month of April, five current Division I hurlers have reached the 1,000 career strikeout plateau. Southern is the only junior. She and four other senior right-handed pitchers have eclipsed the 1,000 mark.
CLARK CONTINUES TO REWRITE WAC RECORDS Christina Clark is the first Bulldog and WAC player to hit 21 home runs in a season. She tied the WACs single-season record for most home runs in conference play with nine as she shares the mark with Hawaiis Stacey Porter, who hit nine in 2003. After hitting her second grand slam of the year and third of her career against UTEP on May 1, Clark is the second Bulldog to hit two grand slams in a season as four-time All-American and 2000 USA Olympic softball alternate Amanda Scott belted two on the road in 1998 against Oklahoma and New Mexico. Hitting three long balls in the Bulldogs' game one 5-2 win against Hawaii on April 10, she also set a new Fresno State and league record for most home runs (3) in a contest. The old WAC mark was two by several different players, most recently in 2003 (Nevada's Lindsey Hall and Fresno State's Lori Hoffman).
EXTRA FRAMES Hawaii lost its first extra inning game on April 24 in a 14-inning epic battle with Nevada, 4-3. Hawaii is now 4-1 in extra frames this season. The Rainbow Wahine defeated Wisconsin 7-5 in nine innings on Feb. 14, then turned around the next day and beat No. 13 DePaul, 8-7, in eight innings. Both of those games were a part of the Rebel Classic at UNLV. The last two extra-inning wins came against the College of Charleston in the Kipa Aloha Malihini Tournament. UH won 5-4 March 4 and 3-2 March 7 as both games went eight innings.
Tulsa is the only school to have not played an extra inning game this season. Nevada is the only other WAC school to have a winning record in extra inning games with a 6-4 record. With a 6-5 win against Saint Marys on April 5, San Jose State won its first extra inning game. The Spartans are 2-3.
LEAGUE LEADERS Going into the final weekend of league play, Fresno State All-Americans Christina Clark and Jamie Southern continue to dominate the WAC leader board. Clark, looks to write her name all over the WAC record, as she continues to lead the league in hitting. This week, Clark is batting .396. She is also the WAC leader in hits (80), runs scored (57), RBI (53), home runs (21) and total bases (161). Southern is the league leader in wins (28), strikeouts (280) and ERA (0.42). Nevadas Jiliane Hartfiel still leads the league in doubles with 16. Hartfiel is still the leader in triples (5). Louisiana Techs Amber Miles leads the WAC in stolen bases with 28 in 33 attempts. As a team, Tulsa leads the WAC in batting average (.281) and team ERA (1.36).
AGAINST THE BEST The WAC is 12-33 against non-conference ranked teams so far this season. Hawaii is 2-6 against ranked teams. Hawaii has two wins with wins against Oregon State and DePaul. The Rainbow Wahine also have a losses to Tennessee, No. 4 California and most recently two road games to the Cardinal. Fresno State is 8-7 against ranked teams with its most recent wins coming against No. 7 Oklahoma and No. 13 Pacific. The Bulldogs also have wins against South Carolina, Arizona State and Texas to name a few. Fresno State has losses against No. 2 UCLA, No. 1 Arizona, No. 4 Florida State and No. 12 Stanford.
Louisiana Tech is 0-7 with a loss most recently to No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette. The Lady Techsters also have losses to then-No. 12 Louisiana-Lafayette and another instate rival No. 13 LSU. The Lady Techsters also lost twice to Tennessee. Nevada lost to both No. 3 Arizona and No. 23 Arizona State. The Wolf Pack have also lost a pair of games to Louisiana-Lafayette. San Jose State has played the toughest schedule this season. The Spartans are 1-7 with six losses to teams in the top 10, including Stanford, Alabama and California. San Jose States win came against Long Beach State. Tulsa also has a loss to Alabama and a win against Oklahoma.
UTEP has lost to UCLA, Georgia Tech and No. 13 Tennessee. The Golden Hurricane is 1-2. With a win and a loss to Oklahoma and a loss to Alabama.
ON THE BASEPATHS Fresno State has won six of its last eight games and 21 of their last 26. The Bulldogs posted a final 24-6 home field record in 2004, making it the 11th-straight season in which the Bulldogs have tallied at least 20 home game victories, as well as the making it the 20th time overall in which the Bulldogs have totaled at least 20 or more wins at Bulldog Diamond since softball became a varsity sports in 1978. In attendance, Fresno State collected its 12th- straight season in which it averaged 1,000 fans per date. The Bulldogs also drew more than 10,000 fans for the 17th-straight season. As a team, the Bulldogs have hit 42 home runs, two shy of the record set by the 1998 national championship team. They also have recorded 75 doubles, a mark that ranks fourth-highest in a season. With 129 walks and 666 total bases, the 2004 Bulldogs have tied for the ninth-highest season total in both categories.
Hawaii closed out the 2004 campaign spliting a WAC doubleheader with San Jose State. The Spartans took the opener, 5-1, before the Rainbow Wahine took the nightcap, 3-1. Hawaii finishes its season at 28-33 overall and 10-14 in the WAC. After losing power hitter Kate Judd and Stacey Porter, the Rainbow Wahine struggled at times this season. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine were WAC Champions and finished with a 40-20 record, advancing to regionals. This season, Hawaii ended the season 28-33. Porter, who is playing for the Australian Olympic team, should return to the Rainbow Wahine for her senior season next year.
Louisiana Tech will have the league leader in stolen bases for the third-straight season. Junior Amber Miles leads the league with 28 stolen bases in 33 attempts. Junior Brittany Stanley led the league the last two seasons with 30 and 17 stolen bases, respectively. With one more WAC win this season, Louisiana Tech will tie their win total for the last two seasons combined. In 2002, the Lady Techsters were 3-21 in league play. Last season they were 6-14. With four games remaining this season, Louisiana Tech is 8-11. The Lady Techsters will play four home games to end the regular season.
Nevada has now won 10 of their last 14 games and has assured themselves of a winning season. The Wolf Pack play host to 15th-ranked Fresno State this Saturday to conclude the season. It will be Senior Day to honor the seven Nevada seniors prior to the first game. Candice Rainwater leads the team with a .317 batting average, but freshman Jiliane Hartfiel is right behind at .313. Carrie Mackey (.310) and Stacy Mueller (.306) are the other Wolf Pack hitters over .300. Hartfiel leads in hits (67), RBI (33), total bases (100) and stolen bases (14). Mackey and Cindy Elkins lead in home runs with six, tying Mackey's school record from 2003.
San Jose State senior Kelli McCollister pitched a complete game as the Spartan softball team defeated Hawaii last week. McCollister pitched in her final home game of the year. She struck out four, including the side in the second inning, and allowed seven hits and one unearned runs. McCollister now has a 6-11 record on the season. San Jose State is now 16-33 overall and 9-11 in the WAC. The Spartans finish the season next weekend at Tulsa and at Louisiana Tech.
UTEP will conclude its first ever season this week after a week off. The Miners travel to Louisiana Tech and Tulsa. UTEP is in search of its second WAC win after defeating Nevada, 5-4, on April 29. Overall, the Miners are 8-44 this season and are in search for their first road win. UTEP is 0-10 on the road in WAC games and 0-19 overall away from El Paso.
Tulsa is averaging 4.20 runs per game in 2002 TU averaged 4.03 runs per game for a school record. The Hurricane is averaging 7.13 hits per game. In 2002, Tulsa averaged 6.88 hits per game for a school record. Tulsa broke the school record for home runs in a season this year. TU now has 40 homers in 2004, last season the Hurricane set the record with 31. The first six years of TU's program (1993-98), the Hurricane only registered 36 homers. The TU pitching staff has broken into the school record books. TU hurlers currently have the program's lowest ERA ever at 1.33, the fewest walks (58) and lowest opponent batting average (.211). TU has also broken the school record for saves in a season with 8.
FRESNO STATE PICKED TO WIN TITLE The WAC softball coaches selected Fresno State to win the 2004 WAC regular season crown. Fresno State has been picked to take the preseason crown eight out of the last nine years. In 2002, Hawaii was chosen to win the title. The coaches also voted on 2004 preseason award winners. Fresno State swept both categories when shortstop Christina Clark was voted preseason Player of the Year and Jamie Southern earned preseason Pitcher of the Year honors. Southern is the first WAC player to earn Pitcher of the Year honors three-straight years. Fresno State edged out Hawaii with 34 points to Hawaiis 33. Tulsa finished in third with 26 points. Second-year WAC team Nevada finished fourth with 18 points after a strong freshman campaign. Louisiana Tech and San Jose State tied for fifth with 15 points. UTEP, playing its first season of softball, was picked to finish seventh with six points.
WAC ADDS NEW MEXICO STATE AND UTAH STATE On Oct. 23, 2003, the WAC issued invitations to New Mexico State and Utah State effective July 1, 2005, the same date that Rice, SMU and Tulsa are moving to Conference USA. In softball, Utah State is 9-40 this season. New Mexico State is 13-47. The Aggies have four wins over UTEP and a loss to San Jose State.