PLAYER OF THE WEEK Hawai'i's Denise Dahlberg was named the WAC Player of the Week. This is Dahlberg's first honor of the season after earning the award once in 2003.
Dahlberg, a junior from Chandler, Ariz., (Desert Vista), started all four games behind the plate for the Rainbow Wahine. She batted .429 (6-for-14) with a double, two home runs, three runs, and four RBI. She swiped 1-for-1 bases and fielded 1.000 (25 total chances). She sparked Hawai'i with a three-run home run in the last game of the four game series which the Rainbow Wahine won, 5-4. She hit a 2-0 pitch over center field to put UH up 5-0 and won the game, 5-3.
Other player of the week nominees included: Christina Clark, Fresno State; Amber Miles, Louisiana Tech; Jiliane Hartfiel, Nevada and Courtney Lewis, San Jose State.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Hawai'i's Shannon Tabion was named WAC Pitcher of the Week. This is Tabion's third player of the week honor this season.
Tabion, a junior from Wailuku, Maui, (Baldwin), threw two complete games, pitching a 3-0 shutout in the second half of the doubleheader on April 30 against Louisiana Tech. In the shutout, she tossed a two-hitter, striking out eight and walking one. In the second game of the doubleheader on May 1, she had a one-hit shutout going until the seventh when Louisiana Tech scored three unearned runs on two UH errors. She struck out three with no walks. During the weekend, she posted 11 strikeouts in 14 innings, allowing no extra-base hits. Opponents hit a mere .135 against her.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Lori Hoffman, Fresno State; Marla Pinkston, Louisiana Tech; Candice Rainwater, Nevada and Carol Forbes, San Jose State.
BATTER UP Four wins this week would clinch Fresno States seventh WAC title in nine years. The Bulldogs will host Louisiana Tech and second-place Tulsa this weekend. Fresno State swept both Louisiana Tech and Tulsa on the road earlier this season. Nevada will also host both the Lady Techsters and the Golden Hurricane. San Jose State will host a four-game series with Hawaii.
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.
WAC SOFTBALL ON TV College Sports Television has announced its 2004 softball line up and part of its softball package this season will feature Fresno States conference match up against Tulsa on May 8 in Fresno, Calif. CSTV will broadcast the first game of the WAC doubleheader and will re-air the game the next day on DirecTV.
SOUTHERN AND CLARK FINALISTS Fresno State All-Americans Christina Clark and Jamie Southern were named finalists for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The initial list of 25 finalists was announced on April 7. This award is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. The initial list of 25 finalists was announced on April 7.
The eight other finalists listed in alphabetical order, are: Monica Abbott, Tennessee; Autumn Champion, Arizona; Alicia Hollowell, Arizona; Caitlin Lowe, Arizona; Iyhia McMichael, Mississippi State; Brooke Mitchell, Louisiana Lafayette; Kristen Rivera, Washington and Jessica van der Linden, Florida State . Three finalists will be announced May 11th, with the winner being announced May 26 at the Womens College World Series in Oklahoma City. Southern was a final three finalist as a freshman in 2002.
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, Arizona (Arizona); Waco, Texas (Baylor); Los Angeles (UCLA); Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State ; Athens, Georgia (Georgia); Ann Arbor, Michigan (Michigan); Lincoln, Nebraska (Nebraska) and Stanford, California (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.
TOPPING LAST SEASON 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 18 games, the Bulldogs are 17-1. 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 11-4 this season. First-year program Nevada was 5-15 last season, and is already 9-9 during its sophomore campaign. Finally, Louisiana Tech is currently 8-7 in league play after winning only six WAC games last season.
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 With two home runs hit last week, Christina Clark is the first Bulldog and WAC player to hit at least 20 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 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 .400. She is also the WAC leader in hits (76), runs scored (55), RBI (49), home runs (20) and total bases (153). Southern is the league leader in wins (28), strikeouts (280) and ERA (0.42). Nevadas Jiliane Hartfiel still leads the league in doubles. She is tied with Tulsas Heather Hiar with 16. Hartfiel is still the leader in triples (5). Louisiana Techs Amber Miles leads the WAC in stolen bases with 25 in 29 attempts. As a team, Tulsa leads the WAC in batting average (.287) and team ERA (1.27).
AGAINST THE BEST The WAC is 12-32 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 earned a home win against No. 13 Oklahoma on April 5.
ON THE BASEPATHS Fresno State senior Lori Hoffman was effective in the circle last week after scattering four hits and yielding one run (unearned) with a walk and two strikeouts in 11.2 innings. Opponents batted .105 against her. Posting her first shutout victory on the year over San Jose State on April 29, Hoffman made her third start of the year and pitched a one-hitter against the Spartans. She recorded her second career one-hitter after posting her first as a freshman against Loyola Marymount in 2001. Against UTEP, Hoffman recorded a win in relief and improved to 4-1 of the year. At the plate, she tied for the second-best batting average last week. In the four WAC games, she batted .385 (5-13) with a run, a walk, a sacrifice fly and two RBI.
Hawaii will end the regular season this week on the road with a four-game series against San Jose State May 7-8. The Rainbow Wahine have a 47-21 series lead over the Spartans. Hawaii has three pitchers in the top 20 in earned run average this season. Paula Banning is fifth (1.30 ERA), while Shannon Tabion is 11th (2.12 ERA). Last yearss co-WAC Pitcher of the Year, Melissa Coogan, is 15th (2.49 ERA). She is also second in the league in strikeouts with 150.
Louisiana Tech remained a game over .500 in WAC games after splitting a four-game series with Hawaii last week. The Lady Techsters are three games under .500 overall, but still have won nine games more than last seasons 16-42 team did. In league games, sophomore Mary Cohn leads the WAC with a .436 batting average. Junior Amber Miles is tied for first in triples in WAC games with two. She is also first overall and in league games in stolen bases. She has 25 steals overall and 12 in WAC games. If Miles continues to lead the league, it will be the third time in as many years that Louisiana Tech has lead the league with Brittany Stanley leading in the last two seasons.
Nevada has now won seven of their last 10 games and has assured themselves of a winning season. The Pack play host to Tulsa and Louisiana Tech this week, and then league-leader Fresno State is in Reno on May 15 to conclude the season. Nevada owns an even 3-3 mark against WAC rivals Tulsa and Louisiana Tech. The Pack and the Golden Hurricane split the contests in Oklahoma earlier this year as well as the two games earlier in Louisiana. The Wolf Pack pitching has been very strong this season. Tiffany Hoeft has the lowest ERA on the club with a 2.06 listing. Candice Rainwater has the most victories with 12, the most appearances with 31 and the most innings pitched with 150.
San Jose State has won three of its last six games. The Spartans are 7-9 just two game below .500. This week, San Jose State will host a four-game series against Hawaii. The Spartans are a game ahead of the Rainbow Wahine for fifth in the WAC. San Jose State needs to win one more game to match last seasons WAC win total. Last year, the Spartans were 8-10 in league play and 26-33 overall.
UTEP broke its 27-game losing streak and a 17-game WAC losing streak last week against Nevada. In the second game of the doubleheader on April 29, the Miners stopped the Wolf Pack, 5-4. Freshman Malia Simmons went the distance for UTEP, tossing a three-hitter and got a solid defensive effort behind her, as her outfielders made several diving stabs throughout the contest in earning her first win of the season. This season, the Miners are hitting .213 this season overall. UTEP has a team ERA of 4.75 which is seventh in the league.
Tulsa is averaging 4.20 runs per game. In 2002, Tulsa averaged 4.03 runs per game for a school record. The Golden Hurricane is averaging 7.23 hits per game, while in 2002 Tulsa averaged 6.88 hits per game for a school record. Tulsa broke the school record for home runs in a season against UTEP. TU now has 39 home runs in 2004, last season the Hurricane set the record with 31. The Tulsa pitching staff has broken into the school record books. TU hurlers currently have the program's lowest ERA ever at 1.27, the fewest walks (54) and lowest opp. Batting average (.207). TU has also broken the school record for saves in a season with seven.
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 7-32 this season. New Mexico State is 9-37. The Aggies have two wins over UTEP and loss to San Jose State.