FRESNO STATE GOES 2-2 AT LOS ANGELES REGIONAL
The Bulldogs went 2-2 at the Los Angeles Regional. Morgan Melloh struck out 16 batters in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over UNLV in the first game of the Los Angeles Regional. The following day, Melloh struck out eight, but gave up four runs on five hits in a 4-2 loss to host UCLA. The Bulldogs had just three hits - one apiece by Lisamarie Coronado, Brooke Phipps and Ryane Peterson - in the loss. Later that night, the Bulldogs belted 14 hits, including two doubles, a triple and a grand slam, in a 12-2 win over Long Beach State. Haley Perkins was 4-for-5 with three runs and four RBI, while Michelle Moses was 2-for-5 and drove in five runs. Melloh picked up her 30th win of the season, allowing two runs on six hits, while fanning 10. After taking a 3-1 lead in the first inning, the Bulldogs gave up seven runs in the second inning and stranded seven runners on the game in a 9-5 loss to UCLA, bringing their season to an end. Perkins went 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI, while Moses had a two-RBI double and a triple. Melloh suffered the loss, ending the season with a 30-16 record.
NEVADA GOES 1-2 AT PALO ALTO REGIONAL
The Wolf Pack rattled off 12 hits in a 4-1 win over Cal Poly in the first game of the Palo Alto Regional. Brittany Puzey was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double and a stolen base, while Danielle Patrick was 3-for-3 with a double and one RBI. Katie Holverson picked up the win, striking out four and improving to 28-9 on the year. The following day, Jessica Haight hit a solo homer to account for Nevada’s only run in a 9-1 loss to host Stanford. The Wolf Pack managed just two hits in the five-inning defeat. Holverson suffered the loss in the circle, throwing 3.2 innings. She gave up six runs, three earned, on six hits and struck out five. Later that night, Sarah Hunt hit a solo homer to score Nevada’s only run in a 6-1 loss to Cal Poly, ending the season for the Wolf Pack.
ELEVEN WAC PLAYERS NAMED ALL-REGION
Eleven WAC softball players were named to the Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I All-Region teams. A total of 264 players from 121 different institutions comprise the 10 regional teams. Nevada pitcher Katie Holverson, third baseman Sam Bias, and outfielders Britton Murdock and Brittany Puzey were named to the All-Pacific Region team to give the Wolf Pack the most honorees in the WAC with four. Joining them on the Pacific Region team was third baseman Kathy Cox of Boise State. Hawai?i placed three players - pitcher Stephanie Ricketts, first baseman Amanda Tauali?i and outfielder Tanisha Milca - on the All-West Region team. Fresno State pitcher Morgan Melloh, Louisiana Tech shortstop Amberly Waits and New Mexico State second baseman Tiare Jennings were also named to the West Region team. The all-region teams were chosen by NFCA member coaches from each region.
FRESNO STATE CLAIMS 2009 WAC TOURNAMENT
Haley Gilleland singled to left field in the bottom of the eighth inning to drive in the winning run as top-seeded Fresno State defeated No. 2 Nevada 3-2 in the title game of the WAC Tournament. The Bulldogs defeated Boise State 4-0 and Louisiana Tech 5-0 earlier in the tournament and posted a 3-0 record. It was Fresno State’s third WAC Tournament championship in program history. Morgan Melloh earned MVP honors after going 3-0 with 27 strikeouts and allowing just two hits in three complete games.
2009 WAC Softball All-Tournament Team
Lisamarie Coronado, Fresno State
Kelli Fangonilo, San Jose State
Haley Gilleland, Fresno State
Katie Holverson, Nevada
Noelle Micka, Nevada
Hoku Nohara, New Mexico State
Danielle Patrick, Nevada
Kylie Randall, New Mexico State
Kelly Sweeney, Boise State
Amberly Waits, Louisiana Tech
MVP: Morgan Melloh, Fresno State
2009 ALL-WAC TEAMS
The 2009 all-WAC softball teams and individual awards as selected by the league’s head coaches were announced May 6. Louisiana Tech junior Amberly Waits was named WAC Player of the Year, while Nevada junior Katie Holverson was named Pitcher of the Year and Stephanie Ricketts of Hawai?i earned Freshman of the Year honors. Meanwhile, Fresno State’s Margie Wright was named WAC Coach of the Year.
Waits, a junior shortstop from Cleburne, Texas (Cleburne), led the WAC with a .433 batting average in WAC play. In 20 conference games, she tallied 29 hits, 17 runs, 18 RBI, six doubles, 57 total bases and six home runs. She had multiple hits in 10 of 20 WAC games.
Holverson, a junior right-hander from Anthem, Ariz. (Cactus), posted a 12-2 record with a 1.07 ERA in WAC play. She had 79 strikeouts and just 21 walks over 104.1 innings of work, surrendering just 16 earned runs. She posted three shutouts in conference games and led the WAC in innings per game.
Ricketts, a right-handed pitcher from San Jose, Calif. (Archbishop Mitty), led the conference in wins (13) and innings pitched (118.1) in WAC play. She started 15 games and had 69 strikeouts. She also tossed a pair of no-hitters against conference opponents.
Wright earned Coach of the Year honors for the sixth time (1996, '98, '99, '01, '05) after leading her team to its 10th WAC regular-season title and the top seed in the WAC Tournament. In WAC play, the Bulldogs led the conference in hits, at-bats, opponent batting average and strikeouts.
Nevada and Hawai?i led the way with six total players on the all-WAC teams, while Louisiana Tech had five and Fresno State and New Mexico State had four apiece. Nevada led the way with four players on the first team. Ten of the players were repeat selections from a year ago, while six of the eight schools were represented.
SIX WAC PLAYERS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
Six WAC softball players earned ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District honors. New Mexico State’s Kandis Jones led the way as a first-team honoree. Haley Perkins of Fresno State, Julie Franklin and Clare Warwick of Hawai?i, Brittany Puzey of Nevada and Kim Watson of New Mexico State received second-team accolades.
Jones, a sophomore from La Mirda, Calif., boasts a 4.00 grade-point average as a community health major. She was named to the 2008 Academic All-WAC Freshman Team. She posted a .382 batting average with 41 runs, eight doubles, two homers and 24 RBI.
Perkins, a senior kinesiology major from Fresno, earned the honor for the third time in her career as she boasts a 3.59 GPA. She was a 2008 NFCA Scholar-Athlete, is a two-time WAC Scholar Athlete, a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree and a three-time Fresno State Scholar Athlete. She has been on the Dean’s List four times.
Franklin, a senior psychology major from Temple City, Calif., has a 3.96 GPA and graduated in May. She is three-time NFCA and UH Scholar-Athlete and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Warwick, a senior from Canberra, Australia, boasts a 3.89 GPA as a kinesiology and rehabilitation science major. She is a two-time Academic All-District first team honoree and three-time NFCA Scholar-Athlete.
A three-time Academic All-WAC honoree, Puzey has a 3.3 GPA as a psychology major. She is a senior from Carson City, Nev., and was one of 30 national candidates for Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
A Spokane, Wash., native, Watson has a 3.89 GPA and graduated in May with a degree in marketing and a minor in Spanish. This is the third consecutive year that she has been named to an Academic All-District team. She is a three-time Academic All-WAC honoree and a two-time NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete selection.
NM STATE LEADS NATION IN BATTING AVERAGE
With two players hitting above .400 and eight with batting averages of .300 or better, New Mexico State finished the season with the nation’s best batting average at .340. It is the first time a WAC team has led the country in that category. It was a single-season record for the Aggies and tied the 1998 Fresno State team for the highest team batting average in WAC history.
NEVADA’S SILAGYI TOPS NATION IN TRIPLES
With eight triples on the year, Nevada’s Kym Silagyi not only set a Wolf Pack single-season record, but she led the nation in that category. It is the second year in a row that a WAC player has tallied the highest number of triples in the nation, as Louisiana Tech’s Amberly Waits was tops in the country last year with 10.
WAITS EARNS WAC TRIPLE CROWN
WAC Player of the Year Amberly Waits of Louisiana Tech won the WAC triple crown this year, leading the league in batting average (.488) and RBI (62), and tying for the most home runs with New Mexico State’s Tiare Jennings (17). In doing so, Waits became just the third player in WAC history to win the triple crown, joining Scia Maumausolo (Cal State Northridge in 1995) and Christina Clark (Fresno State in 2004).
SJSU’S GALINDO NAMED WEST VALLEY COLLEGE HEAD COACH
San Jose State assistant coach and U.S. Olympian Vicky Galindo accepted the position of head coach at West Valley College in Saratoga, Calif. A three-time first team All-American at California, Galindo played one season at West Valley, where she led the 2002 team to the State Championship title.
MELLOH RECORDS 900TH CAREER STRIKEOUT
Fresno State sophomore hurler Morgan Melloh notched her 900th career strikeout in the bottom of the third inning against Long Beach State in the NCAA Regional May 16. In doing so, she became just the second WAC pitcher and first sophomore ever to have 900 strikeouts. Melloh now has 904 on her career, good for second place all-time in the WAC.
WAITS NAMED LSWA HITTER OF THE YEAR
WAC Player of the Year Amberly Waits was named Louisiana Sports Writers Association Hitter of the Year. The LSWA panel made the selection based on statistics and performances through the teams’ conference tournaments. Waits set Louisiana Tech single-season records in batting average (.488), hits (81), home runs (17), RBI (62), total bases (155) and slugging percentage (.934).
MELLOH RECORDS 400TH STRIKEOUT OF SEASON
Fresno State sophomore Morgan Melloh’s third strikeout of the game vs. Louisiana Tech on May 9, which came in the bottom of the fourth inning, was her 400th of the season. In doing so, she became just the fourth pitcher in NCAA history to record back-to-back 400 strikeout seasons in her first two years in college. Melloh finished the season with 450, four shy of the all-time WAC single-season record of 454, which she set as a freshman.
FRESNO STATE, NEVADA SHARE REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
Fresno State and Nevada shared the WAC regular-season title, as both teams finished WAC play with identical 15-5 records. It was the 10th WAC title for the Bulldogs and second in a row for the Wolf Pack. Fresno State earned the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament by virtue of a 2-1 record vs. Nevada.
RICKETTS TOSSES ANOTHER NO-HITTER
Hawai?i’s Stephanie Ricketts tossed her second no-hitter of the season in an 8-0 win over Boise State on May 1. She faced just 16 batters - one over the minimum - with no walks and four strikeouts in the mercy-rule ended game. She threw strikes in 41 of her 61 pitches in the game and retired the final 10 batters in a row.
WRIGHT EARNS 300TH WAC WIN
Fresno State head coach Margie Wright picked up her 300th WAC victory with an extra-innings win over Nevada on April 17, becoming the first WAC coach to ever to reach the milestone. Wright is also the NCAA’s all-time winningest coach with more than 1,300 career victories.
NM STATE’S JENNINGS SETS THREE SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS
Tiare Jennings broke three NM State single-season records in the series against Boise State April 17-18. She finished the season with new marks for RBI (61), home runs (17) and runs scored (55). The freshman also tied the NM State single-game home run record with two in the series finale.
WATSON IS AGGIES’ ALL-TIME WINS, STRIKEOUTS LEADER
New Mexico State senior right-handed pitcher Kim Watson broke the school career wins record when she registered her 59th career victory on April 18. Watson also set the school strikeout record on April 10, surpassing Hall of Famer Jo Kord’s 26-year-old record of 590. Watson finished her career with 667 career strikeouts, good for sixth place all-time in the WAC record books, and 65 wins, tied for 10th place.
DARBY THROWS NO-HITTER
Nevada freshman pitcher Mallary Darby tossed the second no-hitter in the WAC this season and the third no-hitter in school history in blanking Boise State 8-0 in five innings on April 11. It was the first no-hitter of Darby’s career. She did not walk a batter and struck out eight. The only blips in the performance were a pair of hit batters in the second inning that kept if from being a perfect game. Darby’s gem is Nevada’s first no-hitter away from home.
HAWAI?I DEFEATS FRESNO STATE IN 16-INNING MARATHON GAME
The Rainbow Wahine beat No. 22 Fresno State 7-4 in 16 innings April 4 in the longest game in Hawai?i history. Kanani Pu?u-Warren’s three-run homer in the top of the 16th lifted the Rainbow Wahine over the Bulldogs. Stephanie Ricketts threw a career-high 12.1 innings in relief to earn the win, while Morgan Melloh notched career highs in innings pitched (13.2) and strikeouts (20). The game took three hours and 24 minutes to play. The next longest game in UH history was 14 innings against Cal State Fullerton on April 15, 1992 in Bob Coolen’s first season as UH’s head coach. Hawai?i fell in that game 2-1 at home to the Titans. Fresno State’s longest game ever played is 21 innings (4 hours, 25 minutes) in a 2-0 loss to UC Santa Barbara on April 9, 1982.
BOISE STATE SWEEPS FIRST-EVER WAC SERIES
Boise State swept its first-ever series in WAC play when it defeated Utah State on the road March 20-21. The Broncos won by scores of 2-0, 12-6 and 7-3.
RICKETTS THROWS FIRST NO-HITTER OF THE SEASON
Hawai?i freshman hurler Stephanie Ricketts threw the first no-hitter in the WAC this season vs. Louisiana Tech on March 22. She retired the first 12 batters before issuing a walk, the only thing that kept her from a perfect game. She then proceeded to retire the next nine batters for the no-hitter.
PUZEY ONE OF 30 LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS CANDIDATES
Nevada’s Brittany Puzey was 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 encourages those leaders to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact. To be eligible, student-athletes must be seniors and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.
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).
PUZEY SETS NEVADA CAREER RECORDS
Brittany Puzey’s seventh-inning home run against Oregon State on Feb. 28 at the DeMarini Invitational moved her into first place on Nevada’s all-time home run list. She passed Candice Rainwater, who had 23 from 2003-06, and currently has 34. Puzey also set Nevada’s all-time runs record. She now has 133 runs in her career, as she passed Cindy Elkins, who had 104 from 2003-06.
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 was comprised of 50 players representing 32 schools and 13 different NCAA Division I Conferences. Fresno State was one of 10 schools to have two student-athletes on the list.