NEW MEXICO STATE’S FINAU, WALKER NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State’s Fiana Finau and Celisha Walker have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 17-23. This is the first-ever honor for both.
Finau, a sophomore utility player from Chula Vista, Calif., hit .545 with six RBI, four runs scored, two doubles and two home runs as the Aggies went 5-0 at the UTEP Invitational last week. She had a hit in all four games in which she played and posted a 1.273 slugging percentage for the week. In a win over Houston Baptist on Saturday, she led off the bottom half of the second with a solo homer, then hit the game-winning two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. She closed out the weekend with a pair of doubles in a six-inning win over Incarnate Word.
Walker, a senior right-hander from Santa Monica, Calif., went 1-0 in two appearances last week, allowing just two hits and no runs while posting three strikeouts in nine innings of work. She threw three hitless innings in relief in an 8-3 win over Houston Baptist last Friday. On Sunday, she earned a complete-game win, allowing just two hits over six innings while striking out two in an 8-0 run-rule win over Incarnate Word. She ended the week with a 0.00 ERA and held opponents to a .074 batting average.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon’s Nicole Newbury hit .533 with two doubles, four RBI and a .667 slugging percentage ... Bubba Morrow of Seattle U hit .417 with one home run, two RBI and a stolen base.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon’s Stephanie Pesqueira went 1-1 with a 4.72 ERA and nine strikeouts over 13.1 innings ... Lindsay Davis of Seattle U went 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 6.2 innings of work.
GRAND CANYON’S WARTMAN ON 15-GAME HITTING STREAK
Grand Canyon freshman infielder Camree Wartman is currently on a 15-game hitting streak, nearly three times that of the next closest player in the conference (6). Included in the streak are hits in two games against No. 24 Arizona and one against No. 4 Alabama, as well as six multi-hit games during. Wartmann leads the Antelopes with a .368 batting average on the season.
RODOLPH EARNS 300TH WIN AT NEW MEXICO STATE
New Mexico State head coach Kathy Rodolph picked up her 300th victory at NM State with an 11-2 win over Incarnate Word on Feb. 22. She is 301-286 (.513) in 11 seasons with the Aggies.
GRAND CANYON’S PIERSON PICKS UP 300TH CAREER WIN
Grand Canyon head coach Ann Pierson tallied her 300th career victory on Feb. 22 with a 9-4 win over Southern Utah. In her 11th season of coaching, Pierson has a 301-248-2 (.548) record, all with the Antelopes.
SEATTLE U'S POWERS EARNS 250TH CAREER WIN
Seattle U head coach Dan Powers picked up his 250th career victory on Feb. 16 in a 4-2 win over Akron. In his 11th season at the helm, Powers has a 252-252-1 (.500) career record.
NEW MEXICO STATE POSTS BACK-TO-BACK WALK-OFF WINS
New Mexico State posted a pair of walk-off wins on Feb. 15 over Northern Colorado and Iowa State. The first was a walk-off grand slam by junior Staci Rodriguez for the 4-3 win over the Bears followed by a walk-off single by sophomore Brennalyn Nakamura to beat the Cyclones 5-4.
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.