Boise State Broncos (5-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Broncos went 4-0 at the State of Idaho Tournament last weekend with wins over Northwest Nazarene (11-4, 13-1), Idaho State (7-4) and College of Idaho (4-3) ... The tournament was the first home games of the season for the Broncos ... Christina Copabianco hit .909 (10-of-11) with one double, five home runs and 12 RBI on the week. She hit home runs in three straight games and had four RBI in two games ... Aubrey Zell won her sixth game of the season with a five-inning relief appearance against Northwest Nazarene. She has won five straight decisions, including two complete-game victories ... Boise State has outscored opponents 57-44 in games in which Zell makes an appearance ... The Broncos host Utah Valley and Idaho State for doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 3-2 at the Bayer CropScience Classic last week, defeating Providence (1-0), Northern Illinois (6-1) and No. 9 California (3-2), and falling to Brigham Young (2-0) and Providence (13-5) ... Haley Perkins had the winning hit and RBI in the bottom of the seventh vs. Cal ... Morgan Melloh went 2-2 on the week with 39 strikeouts ... The Bulldogs host Temple for a doubleheader on Tuesday before playing in the Judi Garman Classic hosted by Cal State Fullerton this weekend. There they will face Michigan, Florida State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Washington and DePaul.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (6-11, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine went 3-2 in the Pepsi Malihini Classic last week, defeating Mount St. Mary’s (8-0), Santa Clara (9-0) and Oregon State (3-2), and falling to Mississippi State (14-11) and Florida Gulf Coast (5-4) ... Amanda Tauali`i led UH in batting average (.625), hits (10), doubles (3), home runs (2), total bases (19), slugging percentage (1.188) and on-base (.667) percentage ... Stephanie Ricketts threw her third career shutout against Mount St. Mary’s. She also came in relief against Oregon State with UH behind 2-0 with one out and proceeded to shut down the Beavers for 6.2 innings, spacing two hits with six strikeouts ... The Rainbow Wahine host the Chevron Spring Fling Tournament this week, where they will face Utah, Wisconsin, California, Radford, Memphis and St. John’s.
Louisiana Tech Techsters (8-8, 0-0 WAC)
The Lady Techsters went 4-1 last week, taking a doubleheader at Southeast Louisiana (2-0, 10-1) before going 2-1 at the Texas A&M Aggie invitational, where they defeated Stephen F. Austin twice (7-2, 4-3) and fell to host Texas A&M (11-0) ... Amberly Waits hit .643 on the week with nine hits in 14 at bats. She recorded a 1.571 slugging percentage, hit four home runs and registered 10 RBI on the week ... The Techsters play a doubleheader at Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday and host Alcorn State for a doubleheader on Thursday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (12-9, 0-0 WAC)
The Wolf Pack went 4-0 at the Wolf Pack Classic last weekend, defeating Pacific (9-1), Oregon (8-7, eight innings) and Southern Utah twice (10-2, 9-5) ... Puzey was named the Wolf Pack Classic’s Most Valuable Player after batting .667 (8-for-12) with four doubles, two home runs, seven runs and seven RBI. She recorded 18 total bases in just 15 plate appearances, a 1.500 slugging percentage and a .733 on-base percentage ... Katie Holverson went 3-0 with 22 strikeouts and also recorded a save en route to earning all-tournament team honors ... Also named to the all-tournament team were Noelle Micka, Britton Murdock and Kym Silagyi.. Nevada hosts Santa Clara for a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (16-6, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies were idle last week .. NMSU is receiving votes in the USA Softball poll ... The Aggies lead the WAC in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.605), on-base percentage (.440), runs (150), hits (225), RBI (154) and home runs (34) ... NMSU had the first three WAC Hitters of the Week of the season ... The Aggies play in the San Diego State Tournament this weekend, where they will face Texas Tech, Connecticut, Miami (Ohio), Iowa State and host San Diego State.
San Jose State Spartans (4-10, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans went 1-3 against Cal State Bakersfield last week, winning 1-0 and losing 5-4, 4-2 and 5-0 ... Elyssa Fox won her first Division I game, pitching a complete game two-hitter ... The Spartans host Illinois State on Tuesday and Vermont for a doubleheader on Wednesday. This weekend, SJSU hosts the National Invitational Softball Tournament, where it will face Colorado State, Long Beach State, Canisius and UNLV.
Utah State Aggies (3-12, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 2-3 at the Cal Poly Tournament last weekend, defeating UC Riverside (4-1) and Temple (2-1), and falling to Sacramento State (5-2, 10 innings) and twice to Cal Poly (8-0, six innings; 2-1, 13 innings) ... Jasmine Harris was the sole source of offense in the Aggies’ 2-1 win over Temple. She hit a towering home run that left the park to give the Aggies the 1-0 lead and eventually hit the game-winning home run to give USU the 2-1 win. She scored four of Utah State’s nine runs ... The Aggies split a doubleheader at Cal State Bakersfield on Monday, falling 12-0 in the front end and winning the nightcap 6-3 ... USU is idle until March 20, when it hosts Boise State for the start of WAC play.
BOISE STATE’S CAPOBIANCO, NEVADA’S HOLBERSON EARN WAC HONORS
Boise State’s Christina Capobianco and Nevada’s Katie Holverson have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 2-8. This is the first career honor for Capobianco, while Holverson earns the honor for the second time this season and the fourth time in her career.
Capobianco, a freshman first baseman/designated player from Laguna Niguel, Calif. (El Toro), hit .909 with one double, five home runs and 12 RBI as the Broncos went 4-0 on the week. She was 10-of-11 on the week and was retired only one time, on a fly ball caught in deep right center. In a 13-1 win over Northwest Nazarene, Capobianco was 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs and four RBI. She then posted another pair of homers and four RBI in a 7-4 win over Idaho State. Capobianco capped the weekend with the go-ahead home run in the top of the seventh inning in a 4-3 win over College of Idaho. She is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak and has at least one RBI in each of the last five games.
Holverson, a senior from Anthem, Ariz. (Cactus), went 3-0 and also recorded a save en route to all-tournament team honors at the Wolf Pack Classic over the weekend. She struck out 22 in 16 innings of work with just five walks and five earned runs. Holverson made two starts during the week and pitched Nevada to a pair of run-rule victories in those starts ? 9-1 in five innings over Pacific and 10-2 in six innings over Southern Utah. Against Oregon on Saturday, she came on in relief in the fifth inning with Nevada trailing by four. She earned the victory in as the Wolf Pack came back for an 8-7 win. On Sunday against Southern Utah, Holverson came on in relief with Nevada ahead 6-5 and pitched two scoreless innings to earn her seventh career save.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Haley Perkins of Fresno State had the winning hit and RBI in the bottom of the seventh in the Bulldogs’ 3-2 win over No. 9 California ... Hawai?i’s Amanda Tauali?i hit .625 with three doubles and two home runs as the Rainbow Wahine went 3-2 on the week ... Amberly Waits of Louisiana Tech hit .643 with nine hits, four home runs and 10 RBI as the Techsters went 4-1 on the week ... Nevada’s Brittany Puzey was named MVP of the Wolf Pack Classic after batting .667 with four doubles, two homers and seven RBI as Nevada went 4-0 on the week ... Jasmine Harris of Utah State hit .375 on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Boise State’s Aubray Zell went 3-0 with eight strikeouts on the week ... Morgan Melloh of Fresno State went 2-2 with 39 strikeouts ... Hawai?i’s Stephanie Ricketts went 2-1 with 25 strikeouts on the week
IN THE POLLS
After being ranked 12th (USA Softball) and 14th (NFCA) in the preseason polls, Fresno State is currently ranked 21st by USA Softball and 24th by the NFCA. Meanwhile, Nevada is receiving votes in both polls and New Mexico State got one vote in the USA Softball poll.
PUZEY NAMED TO LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS WATCH LIST
Nevada’s Brittany Puzey is one of 30 softball student-athletes selected as candidates for the 2009 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition. From the list of 30 candidates, a national media committee will select 10 finalists at the end of March. Those 10 names will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning March 30 and concluding May 7. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches and media to determine the recipient of the award. Winners will be announced during the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., scheduled for May 28-June 3.
PUZEY SETS NEVADA CAREER RECORDS
Brittany Puzey’s seventh-inning home run against Oregon State on Saturday at the DeMarini Invitational moved her into first place on Nevada’s all-time home run list with 24. She passed Candice Rainwater, who had 23 from 2003-06. Puzey also set Nevada’s all-time runs record. She now has 106 run in her career, as she passed Cindy Elkins, who had 104 from 2003-06.
McCONNELL SETS, TIES SAN JOSE STATE RECORDS
San Jose State senior Brittany McConnell set the SJSU career mark for RBI (119) and tied the career home run mark of 27 on a three-run homer in the Spartans’ 7-4 loss to Cal State Northridge at the UTEP Invitational Feb. 20. Both records are/were held by Kara Kanney (1996-00).
USA SOFTBALL TOP 50 WATCH LIST
Fresno State’s Haley Perkins and Morgan Melloh, and Nevada’s Noelle Micka were named to the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA) Watch List for the eighth Annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award. The 2009 Preseason Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 32 schools and 13 different NCAA Division I Conferences. Fresno State is one of 10 schools to have two student-athletes on the list, while four schools placed three student-athletes on the list. On May 6, just days before the start of postseason play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released. Three finalists will be announced May 20, while the winner will be announced prior to the start of the 2009 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
FRESNO STATE TO HOST 2009 WAC TOURNAMENT
Fresno State will host the WAC Softball Tournament for the fourth time in 2009. The top seven teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament, which will be held at the Bulldog Diamond from May 6-9.
Fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech captured its first-ever WAC Tournament last season in Honolulu. The Techsters were outstanding, winning four straight games against top 25 teams over four days.
FRESNO STATE PICKED TO WIN 2009 WAC TITLE
The Western Athletic Conference softball coaches selected Fresno State to win the 2009 WAC regular-season crown. This is the 12th time in the last 14 years that the Bulldogs have been the preseason favorite to take the crown. Fresno State is the only team in the nation to play in all 27 NCAA Tournaments.
The coaches also voted on 2009 preseason award winners. Fresno State sophomore hurler Morgan Melloh earned preseason Pitcher of the Year honors, while Hawai?i senior outfielder Clare Warwick earned preseason Player of the Year honors.
Fresno State took the top spot in the preseason poll with 48 points. Nevada edged Hawai?i for second place with 40 points to the Rainbow Wahine’s 39.
Last year’s WAC Tournament champion Louisiana Tech tied with New Mexico State for fourth place with 28 points. San Jose State was picked to finish sixth with 21 points, while Utah State was picked to finish seventh with 12 points. League newcomer Boise State rounded out the poll in eighth place with eight points.
Hawai?i and Nevada placed the most players on the preseason all-WAC team with three each, while Fresno State, Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State had two apiece. Joining Melloh and Warwick on the preseason first team are Nevada’s Noelle Micka, Kym Silagyi and Brittany Puzey, Hawai?i’s Audrey Andrade and Tanisha Milca, Amberly Waits and Krissi Oliver of Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State’s Kristi Randall and Stacey Lien, Haley Perkins of Fresno State and Brittany McConnell of San Jose State.
LETTERWINNER/STARTER CAPSULE
This season, all seven teams return at least 10 letterwinners. Hawai?i and Louisiana Tech return the most letterwinners with 15. New Mexico State returns 14, while Nevada returns 13. Utah State and Fresno State have 12 returning letterwinners, while San Jose State returns 10. Louisiana Tech, Nevada and New Mexico State all return eight starters.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
The WAC will feature six players who were 2008 first team all-WAC performers. Four of the returners come from Nevada - sophomore catcher Noelle Micka, junior first baseman Kelsey Starr, sophomore shortstop Danielle Patrick and senior outfielder Brittany Puzey. Fresno State returns sophomore pitcher Morgan Melloh, while Louisiana Tech returns utility player Jessica Kirby.
Second team returnees include: pitcher Katie Holverson, Nevada, first baseman Audrey Andrade, Hawai?i, second baseman Kym Silagyi, Nevada, third baseman Clare Warwick, Hawai?i, shortstop Amberly Waits, Louisiana Tech, outfielder Tanisha Milca, Hawai?i, outfielder Sarah Taylor, San Jose State, utility player Britton Murdock, Nevada, pitcher Krissi Oliver, Louisiana Tech, and catcher Stacey Lien, New Mexico State.