NM STATE'S PADILLA, UTAH VALLEY'S MOORE NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State's Malena Padilla and Utah Valley's Bailey Moore have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for March 16-22. This is the first-ever honor for both.
Padilla, a senior outfielder from Oakley, Calif., finished with a .571 batting average, a 1.429 slugging percentage and a .571 on-base percentage in three games last week, posting a pair of home runs and seven RBIs. She belted a couple of home runs on the week, her seventh and eighth of the season, tying her for second-most on the team this season. Padilla's first long ball came in a come-from-behind win versus I-10 rival UTEP, a grand slam that was part of an eight-run sixth inning for the Aggies, who trailed 6-4 entering the inning. It was her third grand slam this season and she tied her season high with five RBIs in the game. Padilla then got a hit during each game against No. 17 Arizona, extending her current hitting streak to seven games. In the second game against the Wildcats, she hit her second home run of the week and picked up two more RBIs to now lead the squad with 36 RBIs on the season.
Moore, a sophomore from Ely, Nev., threw the first no-hitter in the WAC this season and just the second in program history last week. After suffering two losses prior in the week, she turned it around against Brigham Young, as she did not allow a hit in 5.0 innings of work en route to the no-hitter. Moore, who struck out two in the contest, helped Utah Valley pick up its first-ever win over BYU in Provo in 16 tries. For the week, she went 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA with nine strikeouts in three starts, five appearances and 25.0 innings of work.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon's Haley Walker hit .440 with three doubles, a home run and six RBIs last week ... Brianna Gatlin of Utah Valley hit .600 with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs in five games last week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon's Kailey Regester went 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA and nine strikeouts over 23.2 innings ... Dallas McBride of New Mexico State went 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA and five strikeouts in 4.2 innings on the week.
UTAH VALLEY'S MOORE THROWS WAC'S FIRST NO-HITTER IN 2015
Utah Valley sophomore Bailey Moore threw Utah Valley's second no-hitter in program history on March 21 against neighboring foe Brigham Young. She did not allow a hit in the 13-0 five-inning shutout of the Cougars. Moore, who struck out two in the contest, helped UVU pick up its first-ever win over BYU in Provo in 16 tries.
UVU'S GATLIN TIES LONGEST HIT STREAK IN WAC THIS SEASON
Utah Valley sophomore outfield Brianna Gatlin is currently on a 16-game hitting streak dating back to Feb. 27 vs. Stanford. She has had multi-hit games in eight of the 16 games during the streak, which ties Missouri-Kansas City's Cinda Ramos for the longest streak in the WAC this season. Ramos had hits in 16 straight games from Feb. 20-March 20.
BAKERSFIELD OUT TO BEST START SINCE 2009
Bakersfield, which is currently on a four-game winning streak, is 11-12 on the season, just one game below .500, a win percentage they have not been at or higher than since March of 2010 (9-9). With 11 wins in their first 23 games, CSUB is out to its best start since the 2009 season (13-10).
GCU HAS SEASON-BEST 17 HITS AGAINST LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
Grand Canyon tallied a season-best 17 hits in its run-rule victory over Loyola Marymount on March 13. Seven Lopes had multiple hits in the game, led by Kayla Henry and Bianca Boling with three apiece.
BAKERSFIELD SETS PROGRAM DIVISION I RECORD FOR TRIPLES IN A GAME
During the second game of the Boise State doubleheader on March 15, Bakersfield's Alexandrea Simmons led off the third inning with her second triple of the day, while Jo Larios' three bagger was the second of the game for the ‘Runners, a CSUB single-game Division I record. In that game, CSUB also earned its first run-rule win since March 10, 2012, a 12-3 win over Maine.
NM STATE RANKS IN TOP 50 IN SIX OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
New Mexico State currently ranks eighth nationally in both batting average (.352) and slugging percentage (.603). The Aggies also rank 12th in scoring (7.56), 13th in home runs per game (1.56), 16th in on-base percentage (.441) and 17th in doubles per game (1.79).
UMKC'S KELLEY SETS PROGRAM RECORD FOR RBIS IN A GAME
Missouri-Kansas City's Katie Kelley set program marks for RBI in a single game with seven against Connecticut on March 7 and RBI over a five-game span with 16 from March 6-8.
CSUB'S RAEBER TIES PROGRAM SINGLE-GAME DOUBLES RECORD
Bakersfield junior outfielder Sydney Raeber tied the CSUB Division I record for doubles in a game in Game 1 of the Lobo Classic on March 6. She finished with three doubles against host New Mexico.
SU'S MORROW APPROACHING CAREER DOUBLES RECORD
Seattle U senior Bubba Morrow has 31 doubles on her career, good for second place all-time in program history. She is one shy of the Seattle U all-time career record of 32 held by Allegra Wilde.
BAKERSFIELD'S MONROE BECOMES ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
With a win complete-game shutout of Pacific on Feb. 28, Bakersfield's Kelsie Monroe set the CSUB Division I record for career wins with 25. She now has 27. She also became the CSUB Division I all-time leader in innings pitched earlier this season and currently has 461.0. Monroe recently posted five straight complete-game wins, including three shutouts.
UVU 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 on Feb. 15. The win marked UVU's first in program history over a ranked opponent at the NCAA Division I level.
NM 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 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 (2010, 2012).