SHOWDOWN ? In week 10 of WAC softball, WAC-leader, Hawai?i takes on second-place Fresno State in Honolulu. The Bulldogs are only 1.5 games behind the Rainbow Wahine, who took last week off. The battle for first place will begin on April 20 with a single game followed by a doubleheader on April 21. Last year, the Bulldogs swept the Rainbow Wahine in Fresno. In other WAC action, third-place Utah State travels to San Jose State for a three-game set. New Mexico State looks to break a six-game losing streak on the road against Nevada. The Lady Techsters will step away from conference play to take on Arkansas on the road.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Nevada’s Sarah Hunt and Jordan McPherson have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. This is the first honor this season for Hunt and the second for McPherson.
Hunt, a sophomore from Reno, Nev. (McQueen), led the Wolf Pack in Nevada’s series win over San Jose State, recording four hits on six at-bats. She drove in half of the team’s 10 runs in the Wolf Pack’s 10-0 five- inning win. She went 2-for-2 in the first game of the series. In the series finale, she also went 2-for-2 with a three-run home run, a double off the leftfield fence, and ended the game with five RBI. The five RBI are a season high and a career high for Hunt. The outfielder ended the three-game series with a 1.333 slugging percentage and a .677 on base percentage. Three of her four home runs this season have come at home.
McPherson, a junior from Simi Valley, Calif. (Royal), threw the first no-hitter in Nevada softball history in Nevada’s 10-0 five-inning win over San Jose State. She was one walk away from a perfect game as she issued a walk to the first batter of the game before retiring 15-straight batters. She is the first WAC pitcher this season to throw a no-hitter in conference play and is just one of three WAC pitchers to throw a no-hitter this season. She went 1-1 last week recording a 0.58 ERA, throwing two complete games, allowing just one earned run in the Wolf Pack’s 2-1 loss to San Jose State in the first game of the series. She pitched 12.0 innings in two games, allowing five hits while recording six strikeouts. After a slow start, McPherson is 8-1 in her last nine starts.
Other hitter of the week nominees included: Haley Perkins of Fresno State hit .417 with two home runs and three RBI and Amy Schaible of Utah State hit .455 as the Aggies earned their first conference sweep with three wins against Louisiana Tech.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Merryann Barr of Fresno State went 1-0 as the Bulldogs swept New Mexico State.
NEVADA’S MCPHERSON THROWS FIRST NO-HITTER ? Nevada junior Jordan McPherson threw the first no-hitter in Nevada softball history on April 14 in Nevada’s 10-0 five inning win over San Jose State. After walking the first batter of the game, McPherson retired the next 15 batters. She is the first pitcher this season to throw a no-hitter in a conference game and is just the third WAC pitcher to throw a no-hitter this season along with Fresno State’s Robin Mackin and New Mexico State’s Vanessa Fitzgerald. The 16 batters McPherson faced recorded eight groundouts, five flyouts, two strikeouts and one walk. McPherson is 8-1 in her last nine starts.
BULLDOGS TIE WAC RECORD ? The Bulldogs tied a WAC record with six home runs in a WAC game on April 13 against New Mexico State. Fresno State originally set the record against Nevada in 2004. Hawai?i also hit six long balls against Loyola Marymount on Feb. 21. In the three-game series, Fresno State hit nine home runs, including two apiece from Haley Perkins, Jenna Cervantez and Kristin Sylvester. Nichole Willis, Shannon Garvin and Ashley White each hit one home run on Friday.
WAC RECORD SHATTERED ? Hawai?i has broken the WAC record for home runs in a season with 64 home runs in only 48 games. The record was 50 set by Fresno State in 2004. Last season, the Rainbow Wahine hit a school-record 42 in 54 games. Hawai?i has 257 RBI thus far this season. Kate Robinson’s grand slam last week against New State on April 7 was her first and the team’s eighth this season. Robinson is closing in on former Fresno State All-American Christina Clark’s single-season home run record. Robinson currently has 15 home runs. Clark had 23 long balls in 2004. The Hawai?i record is 17 by Stacey Porter in 2003.
TOUGH TAUSAGA ? Senior Tyleen Tausaga’s home run against New Mexico State was her 12th of the year which ties her season-high from last year. It was also her 30th career home run which passes Dana Degen for second place in the all-time career home run list. Stacey Porter holds the record at 38. Tausaga’s seven RBI in the New Mexico State series pushes her career total to 146, which is just two shy of Degen’s all-time school record of 148.
MACKIN ATTACKIN’ ? Fresno State sophomore Robin Mackin has shown no signs of a sophomore slump. She leads the WAC in pitching with a 1.26 earned run and a 26-8 record. She is the first WAC pitcher to reach the 20-win plateau. The Canadian’s 26 wins is fourth in the nation in wins. Mackin has recorded 286 strikeouts in 228.1 innings pitched. She is 32nd in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings, averaging 8.8. Last year, she set the WAC record for strikeouts per seven innings, averaging 10.97.
BEST OF THE BEST ? There are several individuals and teams among the leaders in this week’s NCAA statistics. This is the second week of NCAA stats. Fresno State’s Robin Mackin is fourth in the nation in victories (26). She is also 26th in ERA (1.26) and seventh in saves (4). Hawai?i’s Kate Robinson is 19th in home runs per game (1.08), while New Mexico State’s Ashley Roszkos is 19th in doubles per game (0.33). As a team, Fresno State is sixth in fielding percentage (.976). Hawai?i is sixth in win/loss percentage (.833) and 14th in slugging percentage (.507). The powerful Rainbow Wahine are also fifth in the country in home runs per game (1.33).
TWO WAC TEAMS EARN RANKINGS ? The Rainbow Wahine are No. 16 this week in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll after taking a week off. The No. 15 ranking last week was the highest Hawai?i ranking since 1998, when head coach Bob Coolen’s squad finished the season at No. 14 with a 44-15 record. This is the sixth time UH has hit the 40-win mark, first since 2003 when Hawai?i won its first and only WAC championship.
Fresno State returned to the Top 25 rankings three weeks ago and have remained in since. This week, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 25 in both the USA Today/NFCA Poll and the ESPN. com/USA Softball Poll. After a five-week hiatus from the top 25 rankings, Fresno State (35-14) worked its way back into the poll with a three-game conference sweep of Utah State.
POWER SURGE ? WAC teams have turned on the power as of late.Hawai?i has now out-scored their opponents 284-99 in 48 games. The team’s record breaking home run total continues to pile up. The old record set last season was 42 and the 2007 team now has 64 on the year. After hitting just 10 home runs in its first 29 games of the season, the Nevada has recorded 19 homers in its last 17 games. Four players have hit at least three home runs this season, Brittany Puzey (10), Sam Bias (nine), Sarah Hunt (four) and Kelsey Starr (four). Twelve of Nevada’s 29 home runs this season have come at home. Kristin Stith and Michelle Beach have each recorded one home run this season for Nevada. The Pack hit a game-high three home runs in its 9-0 five-inning win at Utah State and have recorded five multiple home run games.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE NIGHT IN FRESNO ? On Friday, April 27, Fresno State will host its Fourth Annual Domestic Violence Night when the Bulldogs play Louisiana Tech in a single game at 6:00 p.m. from Bulldog Diamond. This night is in honor and memory of Bulldog head coach Margie Wright’s sister Betty. In conjunction with the Marjaree Mason Center and the Fresno Women’s Resource Center, there will be a fund drive to collect bedding items, checks or loose change in memory of Wright’s sister. If you donate bedding or money in Coach Wright’s sister’s name, you will receive a free ticket to any remaining regular season home game.
NEW HOME FOR WOLF PACK ? Christina Hixson Softball Complex was named after the benefactor whose donation allowed Nevada to purchase the land for the softball complex. The land for the facility was purchased from Bishop Manogue Catholic High School and is located adjacent to campus. The 23-acre site is also home to the field events for Wolf Pack women’s track and field. The softball facility has 168 permanent chair backs behind home plate. The facility can hold up to 1,000 fans comfortably with room for lawn chairs on the burms behind the first and third base lines.
FRESNO STATE TO HOST 2007 TOURNAMENT ? For the second-straight season, the WAC Softball Tournament will be held in Fresno, Calif. This will be only the second tournament since 1999. This season, all seven teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament. The tournament will be held at Bulldog Diamond from May 10-12.
Fourth-seeded Nevada captured its first WAC Tournament last season. The Wolf Pack defeated third-seeded Hawai?i twice on the final day to win the tournament. Nevada was led by pitcher Jordan McPherson who pitched all 41 innings of the WAC Tournament without allowing an earned run.
WAC LEADERS ? Hawai?i’s Clare Warwick leads the WAC in hits with 65. Her teammate, Kate Robinson, leads the conference in RBI with 52. New Mexico State’s Stephanie Herrera currently leads the WAC in hitting, batting .412. Hawai?i’s Tausaga is second, hitting .401. In the circle, Fresno State’s Robin Mackin leads the conference with a 26-8 record. Mackin already has 286 strikeouts. Last season, Mackin set a WAC record with 400 strikeouts during her rookie campaign. The Bulldog All-America also leads the conference in ERA (1.26) and saves (4).
Fresno State Bulldogs (35-14, 8-1 WAC)
Fresno State sophomore shortstop Haley Perkins helped lead the Bulldogs to a three-game sweep of New Mexico State last week as Fresno State went 3-1 ... Perkins hit .417 (5 for 12) with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored in the leadoff spot. She had a .917 slugging percentage and a .533 on base percentage ... the Bulldogs have been on a roll lately, having won 10 out of their last 12 games and seven straight WAC games.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (40-8, 11-1 WAC)
No. 15 Hawai`i will play its final home games of 2007 this week ... they will battle No. 24 Fresno State in a crucial three-game WAC series starting on Friday, Apr. 20. It will be Senior Night for two Rainbow Wahine, Alana Power and Tyleen Tausaga, who will be honored following Saturday’s double header that starts at 2:00 p.m....Three-time all-WAC and Easton All-America Tausaga leads the Rainbow Wahine into battle this weekend ... she is hitting .401 thus far overall (57-for-142) and .439 (18-for-41) in the WAC ... Tausaga has eight doubles, 12 home runs, and 42 RBI thus far in 2007.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (20-24, 3-6 WAC)
Louisiana Tech looks to rebound from a six-game losing streak ... last week, the Lady Techsters were swept in a doubleheader by McNeese State and lost a three-game series to Utah State in Logan ... Amberly Waits is first in the WAC in triples with four which places her 41st in the nation ... Emma Barnes is hitting .355 this season with 54 hits ... Barnes is also first in the WAC in stolen bases with 19 in 21 attempts.
Nevada Wolf Pack (20-26, 4-8 WAC)
The Pack is 8-0 when the team scores at least seven runs a game ... over the last three weeks dating back to March 29, Nevada has outscored its opponents 84-27 in 14 games during that span...during the San Jose State series, the Pack recorded a .966 fielding percentage as a team...Nevada committed three errors in 87 total chances and did not record an error in the final two games of the series...the Pack has five starters batting at least .300; Kym Silagyi, Tyler Schafer, Sam Bias, Brittany Puzey and Kelsey Starr...the Pack has won 12 of its last 14 games.
New Mexico State Aggies (22-23, 4-8 WAC)
New Mexico State has lost eight-straight games and looks to get back on track this week on the road against Nevada ... The Aggies are 4-8 in conference play and 7.0 games behind WAC-leader Hawai?i ... the Wolf Pack are 5-7 in WAC games and are 6.0 games behind the Rainbow Wahine ... Stephanie Herrera leads the WAC in hitting with a .412 average ... she is one of two WAC players hitting over .400 ... Ashley Rozkos is 19th in the nation in doubles per game (0.33).
San Jose State Spartans (19-21, 4-8 WAC)
The Spartans won one of three games against Nevada last week ... this week the Spartans take on Utah State at home ... both teams are 4-8 in conference play, 7.0 games behind WAC-leader Hawai?i ... pitcher Roxanne Bejerano is 14th in the nation in saves with three ... she is second in the WAC behind Fresno State’s Robin Mackin who has four ...the Spartan pitching staff is third in the conference in ERA (3.27), but San Jose State is seventh in hitting, batting .250 as a team.
Utah State Aggies (14-25, 4-5 WAC)
The Aggies moved from seventh to third in the WAC standings with a sweep of Louisiana Tech last week ... on April 17, Utah State was swept by in-state foe Utah Valley State in a twinbill, 7-6 and 4-2, snapping USU’s season-long four-game win streak ... the two losses drop the Aggies to 14-25 overall, while UVSC improved to 20-24 and winning for the 10th time in last 13 games. With the wins, USU is now 2-4 against UVSC this season.