NM STATE’S ROTHER, BAKERSFIELD’S RAEBER NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State’s Lacey Rother and Bakersfield’s Sydney Raeber have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 3-9. This is the first-ever honor for both.
Rother, a junior catcher from Long Beach, Calif., got a hit in each of the Aggies’ five games last weekend at the Hotel Encanto Invitational. She had two home runs on Sunday, including a game-winning grand slam against cross-border rival UTEP, helping the Aggies to an 8-6 win. She finished the weekend hitting .385 with three runs and five RBI while slugging .846.
Raeber, a sophomore from Hanford, Calif., earned a pair of saves in four appearances last week. In the team’s first game against, a 1-0 shutout, she entered in the top of the seventh with runners on first and second, fanned two Flyers and induced a line out to earn the save. She also drove in the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly to center field. Raeber collected her second save of the year the following day against Dayton, throwing two perfect innings to close out the game. For the week, she posted a 2.17 ERA, allowing three runs on eight hits while striking out six. In 9.2 innings of work, she limited opponents to a .222 batting average.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Bakersfield’s Karissa Veiga hit .474 with three doubles and two RBI ... Camree Wartmann of Grand Canyon hit .400 with one double and one RBI ... Kansas City’s Katie Kelley hit .417 with three doubles and six RBI ... Bubba Morrow of Seattle U hit .500 with a double, a homer and six RBI.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon’s Stephanie Pesqueira went 1-2 with a 3.50 ERA and eight strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work ... Katie Kelley of Kansas City went 1-1 with a 2.71 ERA and 17 strikeouts on the week ... New Mexico State’s McKayla McAdams went 1-0 with a 2.03 ERA and eight strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
KANSAS CITY’S PARKER SWIPES SIX BASES IN OPENING WEEKEND
Kansas City’s Brooke Parker stole six bases in seven attempts over five games last week, bringing her one third of the way to her team-leading 18 total stolen bases a season ago. Parker currently has three more steals than the next closest WAC opponent.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Three of the first team All-WAC players from last year return for the 2014 season in New Mexico State’s Staci Rodriguez, the reigning WAC Player of the Year, and Seattle U’s Bubba Morrow and Isabella Geronimo. New Mexico State’s Emma Adams and Malena Padilla are the lone returners from the second team.
Bakersfield’s Shay Fryer and Karissa Veiga were named first team All-Pacific Coast Softball Conference (PCSC) last year, while Amber Mills was named to the second team and Kelsie Monroe was an honorable mention honoree. Utah Valley’s Amanda Robinson was named first team All-PCSC, while teammate Jamie North was named to the second team and Kelli Fox and Josi Summers were honorable mention honorees.
Katie Kelley of Kansas City was named first team All-Summit League. Meanwhile, Grand Canyon’s Stephanie Pesqueira, Kayla Henry and Claire Zampini were named first team All-PacWest, with Pesqueira also earning Pitcher of the Year honors. Teammates Kiki Sepulveda, and Kailey Regester were named second team All-PacWest, while Lauren Regester and Nicole Newbury were third team selections.
NEW MEXICO STATE PICKED TO WIN 2014 WAC TITLE
In a preseason vote of the six WAC softball coaches, who could not vote for their own team, New Mexico State was selected as the preseason favorite to win the title. The Aggies took the top spot in the preseason poll with 25 points and five first-place votes, followed by Seattle U in second place with 19 points and the other first-place vote. Utah Valley was third with 14 points, just ahead of Bakersfield in fourth place with 13 points. Kansas City and Grand Canyon rounded out the poll with 10 and nine points, respectively.
SEATTLE U TO HOST 2014 WAC TOURNAMENT
Seattle U will host the 2014 WAC Softball Tournament. The five eligible teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament, which will be held at Logan Field May 8-10. It is the first time the Redhawks have hosted the event.