NM STATE’S GREEN, GRAND CANYON’S REGESTER NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State’s Corrin Green and Grand Canyon’s Kailey Regester have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for Feb. 23-March 2. This is the first-ever WAC Hitter of the Week honor for Green and the first Pitcher of the Week honor of the season and second of her career for Regester.
Green, a freshman infielder/catcher from Glendale, Ariz., helped the Aggies go undefeated at the Alexis Park Resort Classic in Las Vegas. In four games, she hit .500 with a 1.071 slugging percentage and a .467 on-base percentage. She had a hit in all four games, posting two doubles, four runs scored and two crucial home runs that led to two Aggie victories. With NM State down 6-5 to Louisiana-Monroe in the sixth inning, Green belted a two-run shot over the left-field wall that gave the Aggies a 7-6 lead they would not relinquish. Although Green had only one hit the following day against Wisconsin, it was another two-run shot, this time a walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh to give NM State a thrilling 8-7 win over the Badgers. She concluded the week by going 2-for-3 against DePaul with one RBI and a run scored as NM State once again won in the final inning, with Green leading off the inning with a single and then scoring what was the game-winning run.
Regester, a junior from Chandler, Ariz., shined over the weekend in San Diego, picking up a pair of wins in the circle. The right-hander posted a complete-game shutout against North Dakota and combined for the shutout against San Diego. Regester did not allow a run (0.00 ERA) in 11 innings of action, striking out five, while issuing just one walk. Against USD, she had a no-hitter heading into the sixth inning, before USD got a single in the bottom of the sixth.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Bakersfield’s Karsyn Guzman hit .417 with a home run and two RBIs last week ... Camree Wartman of Grand Canyon hit .429 with three doubles, a triple, one home run and seven RBIs as the Antelopes went 4-0 last week ... Seattle U’s Breanna Timmons hit .429 with a double and two RBIs over five games last week ... Jaylen Watson of Utah Valley hit .421 with a homer and two RBIs in seven games.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Bakersfield’s Kelsie Monroe went 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA and seven strikeouts in 14 innings of work ... Dallas McBride of New Mexico State went 2-0 with a 1.91 ERA with six strikeouts in 14.2 innings pitched ... Seattle U’s Mandie Sugita went 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and seven strikeouts over 21.0 innings ... Bailey Moore of Utah Valley went 2-2 with a 2.45 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 25.2 innings of work.
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. Earlier this season, she became the CSUB Division I all-time leader in innings pitched and currently has 433.2. Monroe now has five straight complete-game wins, including three shutouts.
SEATTLE U’S MORROW APPROACHING PROGRAM 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 two shy of the Seattle U all-time career record of 33 held by Allegra Wilde.
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.
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.