In week six of the WAC season, first-place Fresno State travels to Louisiana Tech for a three-game series. Second-place San Jose State looks to extend its eight-game winning streak in non-conference games against Santa Clara. Hawai'i has already swept Saint Mary?™s and will now travel to Nevada for a three-game series. In the final series of the weekend, Utah State will host New Mexico State. Utah State is looking for its first WAC win and are looking to break a 13-game losing streak.
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PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ?“ San Jose State?™s Mandy Winkley and Fresno State?™s Robin Mackin have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. Both freshmen have been honored before.
Winkley, a freshman from Fremont, Calif., had at least one hit in every game last weekend. She had two hits in Friday?™s game against Utah State. In game one on Saturday, she hit a three-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to give San Jose State the victory. In game two on Saturday, she started off the Spartans scoring with a solo home run to left field in the second inning. The outfielder now leads the team with six home runs. She has an .846 slugging percentage and a .429 on-base percentage. The freshman has a five-game hitting streak. She helped San Jose State increase its winning streak to eight games, the longest since the 1993 season when the Spartans won 10 straight.
Mackin, a freshman from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada, pitched the Bulldogs into first place in the WAC standings after going 2-0 in the circle with a shutout and 17 strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched. While notching her 11th shutout victory of the season in the Bulldogs 1-0 win over Hawai?™i, she also tallied her 15th 10-strikeout game in the shutout win as well. Lowering her ERA to 1.35, Mackin went undefeated in the circle for the third straight week and has won her last seven starts. In WAC play, Mackin is 6-1 with a shutout and 72 strikeouts in 49.0 innings while averaging 10.28 strikeouts per 7/IP and opponents batting .161 against. She continues to lead the league in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
Other hitter of the week nominees included: Christina Clark of Fresno State hit .625 with five hits with two doubles as the Bulldogs swept Hawai'i … Regan Clark of Louisiana Tech went .438 with seven hits as the Lady Techsters went 3-3 … Rishelle Gastelum of New Mexico State had six hits in 11 at bats last week as the Aggies 2-1 against Nevada ... Sara Fleming of Utah State hit .333 with four hits and three RBI.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Sarah Seagraves of New Mexico State went 2-0 last week as the Aggies went 2-1 … Courtney Lewis of San Jose State was 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA with a career-high eight strikeouts against Utah State.
THE STREAK GOES ON ?“ San Jose State enters the week with an eight-game winning streak including a seven-game WAC winning streak. This is the longest streak for the team since the 1993 team won 10-straight. The Spartans look to extend the streak against rival Santa Clara on April 26.
MACKIN HITS 300 STRIKEOUT MARK ?“ With 315 strikeouts to date, Fresno State freshman pitcher Robin Mackin already ranks No. 3 in Fresno State single-season history. She became the third Bulldog hurler to tally 300 or more strikeouts in a season against Hawai?™i. In WAC single-season history, her total also ranks third-best. With an average of 10.65 strikeouts/7 innings, Mackin?™s current mark ranks No. 1 in school and WAC single-season history (single-season school and WAC mark is 9.27 by Jamie
Southern in 2005). Mackin is 14th in the nation in strikeouts per game, averaging 10.7. Mackin is also seventh in the nation in wins with 23. With a current team average of 9.22 strikeouts/7 innings, the Bulldogs?™ mark ranks 15th-best in NCAA Division I single-season history.
LEADERS OF THE WAC ?“ In WAC games, San Jose State?™s Courtney Lewis is first in the league in wins with eight. Freshman Robin Mackin of Fresno State is first in league games in strikeouts with 72, overall she is also first with 315 strikeouts. Mackin is the first 20-game winner in the league with a 23-8 record with a 1.35 ERA.
At the plate, reigning WAC Player of the Year, Christina Clark, leads the league in hitting (.443). She is also first in WAC games in hitting (.545). Clark is also first in hits (54) and runs scored (45). In league games, New Mexico State?™s Kristi Randall is first in hits with 18.Her teammate, Stacey Lien, is first in WAC games, in RBI with 13.
SPARTANS NEAR RECORD ?“ With 24 home runs as a team, San Jose State is just one shy of tying the school record for home runs in a season. The 2000 team hit 26 that season, which is also the season that Kara Kanney set the single season record with 11. This year?™s team has 25 home runs including six from Mandy Winkley and five each to Brittany McConnell and Sarah Smith.
RETURN OF THE WAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT ?“Fresno State will host the 2006 WAC Softball Tournament, May 11-13, at Bulldog Diamond. The three-day double-elimination championship will see the top six teams battle it out to capture the WAC?™s NCAA automatic bid. All-Tournament Tickets and Day Passes are currently on sale through the Bulldog Ticket Office. Tickets can be purchased online at www.gobulldogs.com or by calling (559) 278-3647. This is the second time that the Bulldogs have hosted the tournament. Fresno State hosted the 1999 tournament and won both the 1999 regular-season and tournament titles. Fresno State and Hawai?™i are the two lone current conference schools to have participated in the last WAC Softball Championship. The Bulldogs own a composite record of 3-0 while UH owns a composite record of 2-2 in championship play.
FRESNO STATE PICKED TO WIN 2006 WAC TITLE ?“ The Western Athletic Conference softball coaches selected Fresno State to win the 2006 WAC regular season crown. Fresno State has been picked to take the preseason crown 10 out of the last 11 years. In 2002, Hawai'i was chosen to win the title. The coaches also voted on 2006 preseason award winners. Fresno State swept both categories when shortstop Christina Clark was voted preseason Player of the Year and Robin Mackin earned preseason Pitcher of the Year honors. This is Clark?™s third-straight Preseason Player of the Year honor. This is the first Preseason Pitcher of the Year honor for Mackin.
TWO BULLDOGS NAMED TO NCAA 25TH ANNIVERSARY TEAM ?“ The NCAA announced its Division I Softball 25th Anniversary Team and Fresno State was honored with two selections on the ten-player squad in former Bulldog All-Americans Laura Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) and Amanda Scott (Clovis, Calif.).
Based on their outstanding achievements during NCAA championship competition, Berg was one of two outfielders selected while Scott was one of four four-time NCAA First Team All-Americans and one of six pitchers voted to the prestigious list.
Berg, who also helped the 1994 Bulldogs squad to a fifth place showing, batted .471 (8-17) with three runs, two RBI, a stolen base and eight total bases as the lead off batter in the 1998 WCWS. She would go on to be a three-time USA Softball Olympic gold medalist as well as currently serving as a Bulldog assistant coach. In her collegiate career, Berg finished with a .414 batting average and ranks No. 2 all-time in NCAA Division I history with 396 career hits.
Scott, who also was part of the 1999 Bulldogs team that placed fifth at the WCWS, garnered WCWS MVP honors after pitching a three-hit shutout victory over two-time NCAA defending champion Arizona in the 1998 title game. At the WCWS that year she would 3-1 with a pair of shutout and 16 strikeouts in 23.2 innings for a perfect 0.00 ERA. In her collegiate career, Scott would end up being the university?™s first NCAA Top VIII Award winner, a NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipient and a two-time Honda Awards Softball finalist.
Also named to NCAA Division I Softball 25th Anniversary Team were pitcher Shawn Andaya (Texas A&M), catcher Leah Braatz (Arizona), pitcher Debbie Doom (UCLA), third baseman/pitcher Lisa Fernandez (UCLA), pitcher Jennie Finch (Arizona), pitcher Lisa Longaker (UCLA), outfielder Leah O?™Brien (Arizona) and shortstop Natasha Watley (UCLA). In addition, Arizona head coach Mike Candrea was selected as the coach of the anniversary team.
Fresno State Bulldogs (31-13, 9-1 WAC)
Head coach Margie Wright tallied her 1,200th Division I victory on April 22 in the Bulldogs?™ 5-2 win over Hawai?™i ... Wright, who is the NCAA all-time winningest softball coach, is now the first Division I coach to reach the 1,200-career win plateau for fastpitch victories ... four years ago, she was the first Division I coach and 24th Division I head coach, regardless of sport, to notch 1,000 Division I wins ... the Bulldogs closed out their regular-season home schedule with a 20-1 mark, making it the 13th consecutive year and 22nd overall that a Bulldog squad has posted a 20-win home record.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (25-17, 7-4 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine responded nicely after being swept by Fresno State last week by hitting a school- record five home runs in a 10-1 six-inning win against Saint Mary?™s on the road ... Hawai'i captured the first game of the doubleheader, 10-3 ... the Rainbow Wahine will literally take to the road, driving to Reno for a three-game series with the Wolf Pack starting on Friday ... Tyleen Tausaga and Brandi Peiler both have 14 mulitple-hit games ... Valana Manuma is third on the team with 13 multiple-hit games.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (16-26, 4-8 WAC)
Louisiana Tech freshman Emma Barnes and junior Christine Echols are among the leaders in the country in the current NCAA statistical standings ... Barnes is fourth in the nation in triples per game at 0.17, having registered seven triples ... she needs only one more triple to tie Christie Wilson (8 in 1996) for most triples in a single season in the Tech record books ... Echols is tops in the in the country in hit by pitch per game at 0.51, having been hit 21 times already this season ... she has already shattered the Louisiana Tech single season record of eight set by Timber Keys (1989) and Amber Miles (2005).
Nevada Wolf Pack (20-27, 5-7 WAC)
After a couple of long weekends of travel, Nevada returns home for the final two weekends of the regular season ... first up for the Pack will be a make-up double-header on Wednesday at 1 p.m. to make up for the previously postponed games ... Nevada will return to WAC play as the Wolf Pack hosts third-place Hawai?™i in a double header on Friday and a single game on Saturday both beginning at 1 p.m. ...Nevada?™s Jordan McPherson is still second in WAC games in strikeouts with 54 strikeouts ... the sophomore is 4-6 in league games ... Brittany Puzey is third in overall games in RBI with 32.
New Mexico State (24-18, 7-7 WAC)
The Aggies wrap up conference play this weekend with a three-game series at Utah State Friday and Saturday ... the two teams will play one game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday at 12 p.m. ... if the Aggies sweep USU, that will ensure a winning conference record for the first time since completing Big West play in 1997 at 22-11 ... NMSU is also scheduled to take on non-conference foe Utah for the fourth time this season Sunday at 12 p.m. in Salt Lake City.
San Jose State Spartans (22-20, 10-4 WAC)
Four Spartans rank among San Jose State career leaders ... Courtney Lewis is listed in nine offensive categories and seven pitching categories, including seventh in hits with 193, tied for fifth in runs scored at 97, second in saves with seven and first in no-hitters with two ... Carlie Hill is tied for fifth in home runs with eight and sixth in putouts at 708 ... Kasey Igarta is tied for fifth in hit by pitch with 10, while Sarah Smith is tied for seventh in home runs with seven.
Utah State Aggies (5-35, 0-11 WAC)
The Aggies will wrap-up the home portion of their 2006 schedule this week as Utah State hosts New Mexico State in a three-game series ... the Aggies will look to snap their current 13-game losing streak, and will be searching for their first home win of the season, as well as their first ever WAC victory ... Utah State is coming off an 0-5 performance last week as Brigham Young took two games from the Aggies, and San Jose State swept the three-game series against Utah State winning each game by just one run.