SJSU’S COLLINS, LANG NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
San Jose State’s Markesha Collins and Allison Lang have been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 4-10. This is the first-ever honor for both.
Collins, a senior outfielder from Citrus Heights, Calif., led the Spartans to a 4-2 record at the Kajikawa Classic last week. She was 9-for-16 (.563) with a double, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored over the six games. Collins also posted three multi-hit games, stole two bases and walked four times.
Lang, a sophomore from Fountain Valley, Calif., threw a two-hit shutout in her only appearance on the week. She posted a 0.00 ERA, allowing just two hits with one walk in 6.0 innings of work. She also struck out three. Lang had a no-hitter through the first five and 2/3 innings and faced just three batters over the minimum.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: New Mexico State’s Staci Rodriguez hit .364 with two homers and seven RBI ... Rogin Hardy of Seattle U hit .429 with three doubles, one homer and four RBI … UTSA’s Vivian Tijerina hit .625 with two home runs and three RBI ... Kassandra Uchida of Utah State hit .500 with four walks on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Louisiana Tech’s Michelle Jones went 1-0 with a 0.40 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 17.2 innings of work ... New Mexico State’s Alex Newman went 2-1 with a 1.31 ERA and four strikeouts on the week ... Richelle Ashburn of Seattle U went 2-0 with a 3.11 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 18.0 innings of work.
NM STATE’S RODRIGUEZ HITS GRAND SLAM, HOMER IN CONSECUTIVE AT BATS
New Mexico State outfielder Staci Rodriguez hit her first career grand slam in an 8-1 win over Illinois-Chicago on Feb. 8. The sophomore then came back in her next at bat and hit a solo home run. She had five homers last season.
UTSA’S TIJERINA HITS PAIR OF HOMERS IN LAMAR FINALE
After playing in just seven games last season with 11 at-bats, UTSA sophomore Vivian Tijerina led the way last weekend with a .625 batting average and 1.375 slugging percentage. She hit a pair of homers in Sunday’s series finale to become the first Roadrunner to have a multi-homer game since Jori Fox on April 22, 2011.
LOUISIANA TECH TO HOST 2013 TOURNAMENT
Louisiana Tech will host the 2013 WAC Softball Tournament. The top six teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament, which will be held at the Lady Techsters Softball Complex from May 7-10. It is the first time the Lady Techsters have hosted the event.
Second-seeded Brigham Young claimed its first-ever WAC Tournament title last season in Las Cruces, N.M., to earn the WAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
TEXAS STATE PICKED TO WIN 2013 WAC TITLE
In a preseason vote of the WAC softball coaches, league newcomer Texas State edged out San Jose State by one point to win the 2013 WAC regular-season crown. The Bobcats took the top spot in the preseason poll with 43 points and five first-place votes, just ahead of San Jose State in second place with 42 points and two first-place votes. New Mexico State was third with 39 points and one first-place vote. UTSA came in fourth place with 30 points, followed by Louisiana Tech in fifth with 22 points and Utah State in sixth with 20 points. UT Arlington and Seattle U rounded out the poll with 15 and 13 points, respectively.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Three of the first team All-WAC players from last year return for the 2013 season in Louisiana Tech’s Melanie Goff, San Jose State’s Amanda Pridmore and Utah State’s Christine Thomsen. Michelle Cox of San Jose State is the lone returner from the second team.
Seattle U’s Bubba Morrow and Sarah Petosa were named first team All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference Mountain Division, while teammates Lisa Maulden, Brianna Guerrero and Mandie Sugita were named to the second team. Megan Low of UTSA was named first team All-Southland. Meanwhile, Texas State’s Haley Lemons, Anna Hernandez, Brooke Baker and Anne Marie Taylor, along with Teri Lyles of UT Arlington, were named second team All-Southland. UTSA’s Courtney Buchman and Haylee Staton, and Texas State’s Selena Hernandez were named third team All-Southland.