ON DECK ? In week three of WAC softball, six of the seven teams are in action with Utah State taking the week off. Both Fresno State and Hawai?i have 5-1 records so far in this young season. Both the Bulldogs and the Rainbow Wahine will travel to Cathedral City, Calif. for the Palm Springs Classic hosted by Oregon State. New Mexico will host the Troy Cox Tournament in Las Cruces. Nevada, fresh off a win against then-No. 1 Arizona, will travel to the San Diego Tournament. Louisiana Tech and San Jose State will play in doubleheaders.
IN THE POLLS ? Hawai?i remains the only WAC team ranked in both polls. The Rainbow Wahine are No. 14 in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches’ Poll the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Fresno State and Nevada are receiving votes in both polls.
HAWAI?I’S ROBINSON DRAFTED ? Hawai?i senior first baseman/pitcher Kate Robinson became the first Rainbow Wahine to be drafted to the National Pro Faspitch league. She was selected in during yesterday’s NPF Senior Draft in the second round, No. 11 overall by the Akron Racers.
Robinson, a 2007 first team Easton All-American and second team NFCA All-American, is already off to a strong start in her senior campaign. Last week in the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic, Robinson hit .389 with two doubles, two home runs, four RBI, and three runs scored. She also went 2-1 on the mound with a 1.33 ERA in 21.0 innings pitched. She is the preseason choice as WAC Player of the Year and is also one of 50 players to be on the prestigious 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
Robinson had a record breaking season in 2007 as she helped lead the Rainbow Wahine to their first ever NCAA Super Regional. The senior from Honolulu, O`ahu and Kamehameha Schools product, set new school single-season records with 19 home runs and 72 RBI. Robinson was seventh in the nation in RBI with 1.13 per game and 16th with .30 home runs per game. Overall, Robinson hit .358 (67-for-187) with 37 runs scored, 13 doubles, and had a slugging percentage of .733. She had career highs in almost every offensive and pitching statistical category.
NEVADA EARNS WIN AGAINST NO. 1 ARIZONA ? Nevada earned the biggest win in program history with a 1-0 victory over No. 1 Arizona on Sunday at the Kajikawa Classic at Arizona State.
The lone run of the game came in the second inning when Michelle Beach came off the bench for a pinch-hit single to give Nevada all the offense it would need for one of the biggest upsets in school history, regardless of sport. Kim Silagyi, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, scored the run for Nevada.
Senior Jordan McPherson started and got the historic win for Nevada. The co-captain went five innings and gave up three hits while walking three and striking out five. Sophomore Katie Holverson earned the save with two innings of relief.
After a perfect sixth inning, Holverson ran into trouble in the seventh. She gave up a leadoff double before retiring the next two batters. Two walks later, however, Arizona had the bases loaded. But Holverson struck out Callista Balko looking to seal the victory.
STRONG PERFORMANCE ? Junior designated player Stacey Lien had a break-out Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces Tournament. She batted a solid 8-for-18 from the plate over the weekend and recorded a .444 batting average. She also had fi ve RBI and scored a run, along with a triple and a double.
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.