BRIDGES, OAKES NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Boise State’s Devon Bridges and Fresno State’s Mackenzie Oakes have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 21-27. This is the first-ever honor for Bridges and the second honor of the season and third of her career for Oakes.
Bridges, a freshman right fielder/first baseman from Danville, Calif. (San Ramon Valley HS), hit .714 with a .800 on-base percentage and a 2.429 slugging percentage in three games against Nevada last week. She recorded five hits, including four home runs, and tallied 10 RBI on the week. Bridges hit her second grand slam of the season in game three, becoming the only Bronco with multiple grand slams in a career. She also set a single-game school record with six RBI in the game, when she tied her career high with three hits. All of Bridges’ team-best eight homers have come at Mountain Cove Softball Field, with a round-tripper in the last five games.
Oakes, a junior from Bakersfield, Calif. (Stockdale, HS), went 2-0 with a 0.44 earned run average in a pair of complete-game road wins at Louisiana Tech. She tossed a Friday night complete-game shutout for a 2-0 win to open WAC play and completed the sweep for the Dogs with a nine-inning 2-1 victory in the second game on Saturday. On the week, Oakes tossed 16.0 innings with eight strikeouts, only three walks and a lone run. The Bulldogs are now 10-0 in her 10 starts, which have all been complete games.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Fresno State’s Nicole Angene hit .333 on the week with a game-winning sacrifice fly … Jasey Jensen of Hawai`i hit .500 with one double, one home run and three RBI on the week … New Mexico State’s Teresa Conrad hit .750 with one double, two home runs and six RBI on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Boise State’s Lela Work went 2-0 in three relief appearances ... Stephanie Ricketts of Hawai`i went 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts ... Louisiana Tech’s Meghan Krieg went 1-2 with a 1.12 ERA and 26 strikeouts ... Alex Newman of New Mexico State went 2-0 with a 2.76 ERA on the week ... Utah State’s Mandy Harmon went 0-1 with 10 strikeouts in two appearances.
ESPNU TO BROADCAST HAWAI‘I AT FRESNO STATE GAME FRIDAY
ESPNU will televise the Hawai`i at Fresno State game this Friday, April 1. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. (PT). Last year, the two teams finished first and second, respectively, in the regular-season standings and played for the WAC Tournament title, with Hawai`i winning 14-3 and advancing to its first-ever Women’s College World Series. Both teams are currently undefeated in WAC play with identical 3-0 records.
NOHARA LEADS NATION IN HOME RUNS
New Mexico State senior Hoku Nohara currently leads the nation in home runs with 19. She has 16 multiple-RBI games and 12 multi-hit games on the year.
WORK TOPS NCAA IN SAVES
Boise State sophomore hurler Lela Work currently leads the nation with five saves in 15 appearances this season. She made relief appearances in all three games last week, earning the win in both games on Saturday. She struck out career-high 11 in game two, making her the third Bronco to record double-digit strikeouts in a game.
KRIEG RECORDS 700TH CAREER STRIKEOUT
Last Wednesday, Louisiana Tech senior Meghan Krieg tallied her 700th career strikeout in a win over McNeese State. With 719 career strikeouts, the righthander currently ranks sixth all-time in the WAC record books. She is 52 shy of fifth place, 90 away from fourth and 132 strikeouts shy of third place.
RICKETTS EXTENDS WAC WIN STREAK TO 18 GAMES
After winning both of her appearances last weekend, Hawai`i junior Stephanie Ricketts has now earned victories in 18 straight WAC games, dating back to April 25, 2009, when she lost to New Mexico State. She then won her last three WAC games before posting a perfect 13-0 mark as a sophomore last season.
NOHARA CLIMBING WAC CAREER CHARTS
New Mexico State’s Hoku Nohara is inching towards several WAC career records. She currently ranks second in home runs (59), three away from the all-time record of 62 held by Fresno State’s Christina Clark. She’s also third in RBI (190) and eighth in total bases (409).
FOUR NO-HITTERS THROWN IN THE WAC THIS SEASON
Four different WAC pitchers have thrown no-hitters this season, including one perfect game. Boise State’s Aubray Zell started things off on March 4, when she pitched a five-inning no-hitter in the second half of a doubleheader vs. Southern Utah. The following day, Hawai`i’s Kaia Parnaby tossed a perfect game in a 6-0 victory over Weber State. The day after that, March 6, Nevada’s Mallary Darby threw a no-hitter vs. Boston College, as the Wolf Pack won 9-0 in five innings. The final no-hitter this season was March 12, when Stephanie Ricketts of Hawai`i tossed a no-hitter in a five-inning win against South Dakota State.
MOSES HITS FIRST CYCLE IN FRESNO STATE HISTORY
Michelle Moses hit the first cycle in Fresno State softball history in the first game of a doubleheader against Sacramento State on Feb. 12. She opened her production at the plate with a two-run home run in the third inning, then followed with a double in the fifth, a single in the seventh and a triple in the ninth inning.
FRESNO STATE TO HOST 2011 TOURNAMENT
Fresno State will host the 2011 WAC Softball Tournament for the second time in the last three years. The top six teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament, which will be held at Bulldog Diamond from May 11-14. It is the fifth time the Bulldogs have hosted the event.
HAWAI`I PICKED TO WIN 2011 WAC TITLE
The WAC softball coaches selected Hawai`i to win the 2011 WAC regular-season crown. This is the third time the Rainbow Wahine have been the favorite to take the crown (2002, 2008).
Reigning WAC champion Hawai`i took the top spot in the preseason poll with 48 points and six first-place votes. Fresno State came in second, picking up two first-place vote and 43 points, followed by Boise State in third place. New Mexico State edged Louisiana Tech for fourth place. Nevada was picked to finish sixth (24), followed by San Jose State in seventh with 13 points. Utah State rounded out the poll in eighth place with eight points.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC
Hawai`i junior hurler Stephanie Ricketts was selected in a vote of the league’s eight coaches as the preseason Pitcher of the Year, while teammate sophomore outfielder Kelly Majam earned preseason Player of the Year honors.
Hawai`i placed the most players on the preseason all-WAC team with five, while Fresno State had three and New Mexico State had two. Joining Ricketts and Majam on the preseason team are Hawai`i’s Melissa Gonzalez, Jessica Iwata and Jenna Rodriguez, Fresno State’s Haley Gilleland, Michelle Moses and Caitlin Stiglich, New Mexico State’s Tiare Jennings and Hoku Nohara, Meghan Krieg of Louisiana Tech, Allie Crump of Boise State and Amanda Pridmore of San Jose State.
All but one member of the preseason all-WAC team was named to the 2011 all-WAC team. Ten members were first team all-WAC honorees a year ago (Gilleland, Gonzalez, Iwata, Jennings, Krieg, Majam, Moses, Ricketts, Rodriguez and Stiglich), while two 2010 second-team honorees are on the team (Crump and Nohara).
TWO WAC PLAYERS ON PLAYER OF YEAR WATCH LIST
Two WAC softball players – Hawai`i’s Melissa Gonzalez and Kelly Majam – have been named to the watch list for the 10th annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award.
Gonzalez, a 2010 first team NFCA All-American, had a breakout season last year as a junior, posting career highs in batting average (.394), hits (81), doubles (13), home runs (25), RBI (60) and slugging percentage (.807). She was ranked fourth nationally in home runs (25) and 17th in slugging percentage (.457) while leading UH with 25 multiple-hit games, five in which she hit two home runs.
Majam, an NFCA and ESPN.com All-American and reigning WAC Freshman of the Year, had one of the best individual seasons in UH history. She finished the season as the NCAA home run leader while setting new WAC and UH single-season home run records with 30. Nationally, she ranked fourth in runs per game (81), fifth in slugging percentage (.919), 27th in on-base percentage (.519) and 42nd in batting average (.400). Majam broke the UH single-season records for runs scored (88) and walks (44).
The award, which is considered the most prestigious honor in Division I women’s collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by collegiate softball players across the country. The 2011 Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 36 schools and 15 different conferences.
A list of 10 finalists will be named and released on May 11. The three finalists will be announced May 25, while the winner of the 2011 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced prior to the start of the 2011 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
MAJAM NAMED ESPN.COM PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
After leading the nation with 30 home runs last year, Hawai`i’s Kelly Majam was selected to the ESPN.com Preseason All-America first team.
Majam has also been named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Award “Watch List,” is the WAC Preseason Player of the Year and was selected to the preseason all-WAC team.
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
The WAC features 10 players who were 2010 first team all-WAC performers. Five of the returners are from Hawai`i - senior third baseman Melissa Gonzalez, sophomore shortstop and reigning WAC Player of the Year Jessica Iwata, sophomore outfielder and reigning WAC Freshman of the Year Kelly Majam, junior pitcher and reigning WAC Pitcher of the Year Stephanie Ricketts and senior outfielder Jenna Rodriguez. Fresno State has three returning all-WAC players (Haley Gilleland, Michelle Moses and Caitlin Stiglich). New Mexico State returns Tiare Jennings, while Louisiana Tech returns Meghan Krieg.
Second team returnees include: Kellie Caplan, Boise State; Allie Crump, Boise State; Kandis Jones, New Mexico State; Hoku Nohara, New Mexico State; Andrea Ortega, Fresno State; Danielle Patrick, Nevada; and Kylie Randall, New Mexico State.