NEW MEXICO STATE’S ADAMS, UMKC’S KELLEY NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State’s Emma Adams and Missouri-Kansas City’s Katie Kelley have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 9-15. This is the first-ever honor for Adams and the first-ever Pitcher of the Week honor for Kelley, who was named WAC Hitter of the Week once last season.
Adams, a junior third baseman from Corrales, N.M., had a hit in each of the Aggies’ five games last weekend, including two against Kansas and three against Bradley. She had eight hits in 18 at bats for a .444 batting average. Adams had two doubles, one home run, eight RBIs and two stolen bases over the five games and posted a .722 slugging percentage and .524 on-base percentage.
Kelley, a junior from Coweta, Okla., went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in back-to-back appearances in which she allowed no earned runs. She allowed only one unearned run while striking out nine and walking none. In 12.1 innings of work, she allowed just four hits, limiting opponents to a .095 batting average.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Bakersfield’s Sydney Raeber hit .500 with two RBIs ... Kayla Henry of Grand Canyon hit .545 with one stolen base ... UMKC’s Emily Bevin hit .389 with two doubles and four RBIs as the Kangaroos went 4-1 on the week ... Bubba Morrow of Seattle U hit .375 with a double, three home runs and five RBIs in five games ... Utah Valley’s Haley Harrison hit .429 with a double and two RBIs.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Bakersfield’s Kelsie Monroe went 2-1 with a 1.67 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 21.0 innings of work ... Mandie Sugita of Seattle U went 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA and eight strikeouts over 14.0 innings ... Utah Valley’s Makayla Shadle went 1-1 with a 3.11 ERA and six strikeouts in 9.0 innings of work.
UTAH VALLEY PICKS UP FIRST-EVER WIN OVER RANKED OPPONENT
Behind three home runs and a complete-game shutout from Bailey Moore, Utah Valley handed No. 25 Cal State Fullerton a 9-0 defeat in the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic finale on Feb. 15. The win marked UVU’s first in program history over a ranked opponent at the NCAA Division I level.
BAKERSFIELD’S MONROE BREAKS INNINGS PITCHED RECORD, APPROACHING ANOTHER
With 21.0 innings pitched last weekend, Bakersfield’s Kelsie Monroe moved into first place in the CSUB Division I record books for innings pitched in a career (412.2). She also has 22 career wins, just three away from breaking the CSUB Division I record of 24.
NEW MEXICO STATE SCORES MOST RUNS EVER AGAINST NEBRASKA
When it defeated No. 18 Nebraska 16-11 on Feb. 6, it was the most runs ever allowed by the Huskers in a game in the 39-year history of the program. The Aggies had 11 extra base hits in the game – five doubles, a triple and five home runs.
NEW MEXICO STATE PICKED TO WIN 2015 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 23 points and three first-place votes, edging out Grand Canyon in second place with 22 points and the other three first-place votes. Seattle U was third with 14 points, while Utah Valley and UMKC tied for fourth place with 13 points each. Bakersfield rounded out the poll with five points.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
New Mexico State senior outfielder Staci Rodriguez was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year and Missouri-Kansas City’s Katie Kelley was selected as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in a vote of the league’s six head coaches, who could not vote for their own players.
New Mexico State placed the most players on the Preseason All-WAC Team with four, while Grand Canyon and Seattle U had three apiece and UMKC had two.
Joining Rodriguez and Kelley on the Preseason All-WAC Team are Grand Canyon’s Kelsey Barak, Kayla Henry and Nicole Newbury; UMKC’s Cinda Ramos; New Mexico State’s Emma Adams, Fiana Finau and Lacey Rother; Seattle U’s Izzy Geronimo, Lisa Maulden and Bubba Morrow; and Utah Valley’s Brittney Vansway.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
Of the 13 first team All-WAC players from last year, 11 return for the 2015 season, including reigning WAC Player of the Year Lacey Rother of New Mexico State. Also returning are Rother’s teammates Fiana Finau and Alyssa Ruiz; Grand Canyon’s Kelsey Barak, Nicole Newbury and Lauren Regester; Isabella Geronimo, Lisa Maulden and Bubba Morrow of Seattle U; and Missouri-Kansas City’s Katie Kelley and Cinda Ramos.
Nine of the second team All-WAC selections return for 2015, including four from New Mexico State (Emma Adams, Makayla McAdams, Brennalyn Nakamura and Staci Rodriguez). Also returning are Lindsay Davis and Jenny Hurst of Seattle U, Bakersfield’s Madison Bundy, Kayla Henry of Grand Canyon and Utah Valley’s Brittney Vansway.
NEW MEXICO STATE TO HOST 2015 WAC TOURNAMENT
New Mexico State will host the 2015 WAC Softball Tournament. The five eligible teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament, which will be held at the NM State Softball Complex May 7-9. This is the third time the Aggies have hosted the event, as they did so in 2010 and 2012.