DENVER ? Hawai?i’s Tyleen Tausaga and Justine Smethurst have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. These are the first softball player of the week honors this season. Tausaga was the WAC Preseason Player of the Year and both Tausaga and Smethurst were named to the preaseason all-WAC team.
Tausaga, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, hit .412 (7-for-17) during the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic. She had team highs in hits (seven), home runs (3), RBI (9), total bases (16), slugging percentage (.941), and had a 1.000 fielding percentage at first base. But it was her late game heroics that separates her. Against No. 24 Auburn, Tausaga hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Tigers, 2-1. Then in a see-saw battle against No.15 Nebraska that saw five lead changes, Tausaga took an outside pitch and stroked it to the opposite field for a two-run home run over the leftfield fence. The two runs put UH up for good in a 6-5 win over the Cornhuskers. Against Portland State, she went 2-for-2 with a walk, a two-run single, and a two-run home run. In the loss against DePaul, she was 3-for-3.
Smethurst, a sophomore from Victoria, Australia got victories over No. 24 Auburn and Portland State. Against the Vikings, she threw a complete, five-inning shut-out, striking out 10 of the 15 batters she faced, allowing only two hits. Against No. 24 Auburn, Smethurst threw her second complete game in her second start, allowing one unearned run scored in the top of the first. She held the Tigers scoreless for the rest of the game, at one point, retiring 10 in a row. She scattered five hits, walked two and struck out three.
Other hitter of the week nominees included: Nichole Willis of Fresno State hit .533 with eight hits and two RBI as the Bulldogs went 3-2 last week... Amberly Waits of Louisiana Tech went 4-for-6 with one home run and four RBI for the Lady Techsters ... Brittany Puzey of Nevada hit .333 with four hits and three RBI ... Stephanie Herrera of New Mexico State had 10 hits in 21 at bats for a .476 batting average ... Sarah Smith hit .500 with three hits and three RBI as the Spartans went 1-2. Amy Schaible of Utah State hit .600 with nine hits and five RBI.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Robin Mackin of Fresno State went 2-1 with 22 strikeouts and one save ... Mandi Bertsch of Louisiana Tech won her first collegiate game for the Lady Techsters ... Kim Watson of New Mexico State went 3-1 last week as the Aggies advanced to the finals of the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Invitational ... Roxanne Bejarano of San Jose State was 1-0 with a complete game and a 2.79 ERA.