PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Nevada’s Tyler Schafer and Katie Holverson have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively. This is the first WAC Player of the Week of the 2008 season.
Schafer, a senior from Star, Idaho (Eagle), led Nevada to a 3-2 start to the 2008 season by hitting .412 at the Freeway Series Tournament hosted by UCLA and Cal State Fullerton. Schafer had seven hits in the tournament and recorded a hit in four of the five games. She went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI as Nevada topped No. 21 Cal State Fullerton, the sixth time in program history that the Wolf Pack has beaten a ranked opponent.
Holverson, a sophomore from Anthem, Ariz. (Cactus), appeared in four games and went 2-1 for Nevada with a 1.56 earned-run average. She picked up her first win with a complete-game, one-earned run effort against UC Santa Barbara. Against No. 5 Oklahoma, Holverson was solid, yielding six hits and just one walk while striking out six and giving up just one run. The sophomore came on in relief against No. 21 Cal State Fullerton and tossed 2.2 innings of scoreless ball to pick up the victory. In the tournament, she struck out 20, walked just five and yielded only three earned runs.
Other hitter of the week nominees included: Caitlin Stiglich of Fresno State hit .667 with four hits in two Bulldog wins ... Amberley Waits for Louisiana Tech hit .364 with four hits ... Stephanie Herrera of New Mexico State hit .438 with one RBI as the Aggies went 1-4 last week.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Morgan Melloh of Fresno State was 2-0 last week with 16 strikeouts ... Kim Watson of New Mexico State went 1-2 with one complete game.
ON DECK ? In week two of WAC softball, both Fresno State and Utah State will travel to the Campbell Cartier Classic in San Diego. Both teams will take on former WAC foe, Tulsa and Indiana among others. Hawai?i opens the 2008 season this week at home at the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic. New Mexico State is also hosting a tournament, the Hotel Encanto Invitational. Nevada will take on No. 1 Arizona at the Kajikawa Classic, while Louisiana Tech will travel to the Louisiana-Monroe Tournament. San Jose State will travel to the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas.
IN THE POLLS ? Hawai?i remains the only WAC team ranked in both polls. The Rainbow Wahine are No. 16 USA Today/NFCA Coaches’ Poll and No. 15 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Fresno State is receiving votes in both polls.
OFF TO A FAST START? With a 2-0 sweep of Pacific on Saturday, the Bulldogs earned their first season-opening win since 2005 and their first 2-0 start since then as well. Freshman pitcher Morgan Melloh was named the Toyota/gobulldogs.com Student-Athlete of the Week as she earned both wins on the day with 16 strikeouts and a 1.40 ERA. She also hit .500 at the plate with two RBI’s. Freshman catcher Caitlin Stiglich led the team going 4-6 from the plate.
HAWAI?I SET TO BEGIN SEASON ? The No. 16 University of Hawai?i softball team opens its 24th season hosting the 11th Annual Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic. The tourney runs from Thursday through Sunday with all games being played at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Hawai?i starts with a single game against Southeastern Conference member Kentucky (2-2). Also in the tournament is long-time rival Long Beach State (2-2) out of the Big West and Central Florida (3-2) out of Conference USA. Head coach Bob Coolen (597-367-1; 669-460-1 overall) enters his 17th year at the helm of the Rainbow Wahine softball program. In 2007, he guided a powerful UH squad to a 50-13 overall record, won the Western Athletic Conference title, and advance all the way to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in school and conference history. Among the many awards bestowed upon the Rainbow Wahine after their run through the NCAA tournament was the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year and was one of four teams named as an Easton Team of the Year.
FRESNO STATE’S MACKIN COMPETES FOR TEAM CANADA ? Fresno State junior pitcher Robin Mackin was named to the 2008 Canadian Softball Olympic Team. Mackin will redshirt this season as she prepares to play for her country.
Mackin, an All-American as a sophomore, pitched for Canada during the summer and pitched during tryouts in October at the China Cup. Mackin is the ninth Fresno State player to make an Olympic team. She is also the third to make an Olympic team from a country outside the US.
The junior will continue to go to school in the fall, but will leave in the spring to join the Canadian team as they prepare for the Beijing Olympics in August. She will have two years left of eligibility when she returns next year.
This will be the last year softball will be played in the Olympics, an even bigger opportunity for Mackin. Canada is one of eight teams competing.
The Canadian team will travel to Las Vegas in late January to begin centralized training and play several games against NCAA competition. They will then travel to Australia in March where they will continue their training at the site of the 2000 Olympic Games in Blacktown, Australia and will play against the Australian and Japanese national teams.
HAWAI?I TO HOST 2008 TOURNAMENT ? For the first time ever the WAC Softball Tournament will be held in Honolulu, Hawai?i. This will be only the third tournament since 1999. All seven teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament. The tournament will be held at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium from May 7-10.
Second-seeded Nevada captured its second WAC Tournament last season at home in Fresno. The Bulldogs were outstanding in the tournament not dropping a single game.
HAWAI?I PICKED TO WIN 2008 WAC TITLE ? The Western Athletic Conference softball coaches selected Hawai?i to win the 2008 WAC regular season crown. This is the second time that Hawai?i has been picked to take the preseason crown. The Rainbow Wahine were also picked to take the title in 2002. The coaches also voted on 2008 preseason award winners. For the first time, Nevada’s senior Jordan McPherson earned preseason Pitcher of the Year honors. Hawai?i senior Kate Robinson became the second-straight Hawai?i first baseman to earn preseason Player of the Year honors. Last season, Tyleen Tausaga earned the honor.
Hawai?i edged out Fresno State with 36 points to the Bulldog’s 30 for the preseason crown. For the third-straight season, Nevada was picked to finish third with 26 points. The Rainbow Wahine and the Bulldogs were the only WAC teams to advance to the NCAA Tournament last season. Fresno State is the only team in the nation to play in all 26 NCAA Tournaments, while Hawai?i became the first WAC team to advance to a NCAA Super Regional, losing in three games to Tennessee in Knoxville.
New Mexico State finished fourth with 20 points followed by San Jose State with 17 points. Utah State was picked to finish sixth with 10 points, while Louisiana Tech was picked to finish seventh with eight points.
Hawai?i placed the most on the preseason all-WAC team with six. Besides Robinson, fellow senior Valana Manuma was named to the team at shortstop. Catcher Katie Grimes, third baseman Clare Warwick and outfielder Kaulana Gould were also named to the team. Utility player Audrey Andrade was named at-large. There were three Bulldogs named to the team, including second baseman Jenna Cervantez. Shortstop Haley Perkins and utility player Nicole Angene were named at-large. There were three named at-large due to a tie.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS ? The WAC will feature eight players who were 2007 first team all-WAC performers. Fresno State returns junior third baseman Haley Perkins and junior second baseman Jenna Cervantez. Hawai?i returns senior first baseman Kate Robinson, senior outfielder Kaulana Gould and junior third baseman Clare Warwick. Louisiana Tech returns its only first-team all-WAC honoree from last season in junior outfielder Emma Barnes. Also coming back this season are San Jose State outfielder Liz Perez and Nevada outfielder Brittany Puzey. Second team returnees include: catcher Katie Grimes, Hawai?i, second baseman Kym Silagyi, Nevada, third baseman Stephanie Herrera, New Mexico State, shortstop Valana Manuma, Hawai?i, outfielder Sarah Hunt, Nevada, outfielder Tanisha Milca, Hawai?i, outfielder Brandi Peiler, Hawai?i, designated player Michelle Beach, Nevada and pitcher Kim Watson, New Mexico State.