WAC Softball Weekly Release - April 14
BAKERSFIELD'S BUNDY, NM STATE'S McBRIDE NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Bakersfield's Madison Bundy and New Mexico State's Dallas McBride have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 6-12. This is the first-ever honor for both.
Bundy, a senior outfielder from Anacortes, Wash., hit .636 with two doubles, two home runs, five RBIs and six runs scored in a series win at Grand Canyon last week, the first-ever WAC series loss for the Antelopes. She posted a 1.364 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage over the three games. Bundy, who entered the week hitting .303 on the season, had multiple hits in all three games, posting two of her eight doubles on the year and both of her homers of the season during the week. In the series finale, she hit two home runs to help the Roadrunners take their second-ever WAC series. The pair of jacks tied the CSUB Division I record for home runs in a single game.
McBride, a freshman from Scottsdale, Ariz., went 2-0 with a 2.47 ERA over 11.2 innings to improve to 10-5 on the season. She began the week by pitching the final 3.2 innings in the Aggies' 6-4 win over No. 19 Arizona State, only allowing the Sun Devils one run on four hits. In game two against ASU, McBride came into the game in the fourth with the bases loaded and proceeded to get the final out without allowing a run to score. She also pitched a scoreless fifth inning. She capped off the week with her 10th win of the season after starting in game two against UMKC. Other than being relieved for four batters in the fifth, McBride went the whole game, only allowing three runs and striking out a career-high seven batters. For the week, she held opponents to a .220 batting average.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: Grand Canyon's Kayla Henry hit .455 last week ... New Mexico State's Staci Rodriguez hit .688 with a double, three home runs and five RBIs ... Sara Dominguez of Seattle U hit .667 with one double and two RBIs ... Utah Valley's Jaylen Watson hit .538 with two doubles, two homers and six RBIs on the week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Bakersfield's Kelsie Monroe went 2-0 with a 5.50 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 14.0 innings ... Makayla Shadle of Utah Valley went 1-0 with a 1.75 ERA and three strikeouts in two appearances and 8.0 innings of work.
BAKERSFIELD-GRAND CANYON COMBINE FOR 50 RUNS, 62 HITS
In the three-game WAC series between Bakersfield and Grand Canyon April 10-11, the two teams combined for 50 runs (29 by Bakersfield and 21 by Grand Canyon) on 62 hits (36 by Bakersfield and 26 by Grand Canyon).
UTAH VALLEY'S HENSLEY SETS PROGRAM SINGLE-SEASON ASSISTS MARK
Utah Valley junior shortstop Tiani Hensley recently broke the single-season assist record for UVU with 146. The previous record of 127 was set by Samantha Telarroja in 2010.
NEW MEXICO STATE HAS WON 16 OF ITS LAST 19 GAMES
NM State has now won 16 of its last 19 games, with the only losses coming to No. 17 Arizona (twice) and No. 19 Arizona State. The Aggies split the doubleheader with the Sun Devils to pick up their second win over a ranked opponent this season as they defeated No. 18 Nebraska on Feb. 6.
UTAH VALLEY LEADS NATION IN DOUBLE PLAYS PER GAME
Utah Valley turned three more double plays last week to remain in first place nationally with 0.75 double plays per game. The Wolverines have 33 double plays this season through 44 games.
NEW MEXICO STATE'S RODOLPH APPROACHING 100TH WAC WIN
With her team's sweep of Missouri-Kansas City last weekend, New Mexico State head coach Kathy Rodolph improved her all-time WAC record to 99-81 (.550). She is one win away from 100 in conference play during her 10 years in the league.
GRAND CANYON'S HENRY APPROACHING PROGRAM HITS RECORD
Grand Canyon senior Kayla Henry currently has 261 career hits. The outfielder needs three more hits to tie Randi Johns' all-time career hits mark of 264.
UVU'S VANSWAY SETS SINGLE-SEASON MARK FOR DOUBLE PLAYS
Utah Valley sophomore second baseman Brittney Vansway tied a single-season record against BYU on April 7 for the most double plays turned in a year with 18. Junior shortstop Tiani Hensley is just one back of Vansway, as she has turned 17 double plays so far this season.
NM STATE'S FINAU SETS PROGRAM RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH A HOMER
New Mexico State junior Fiana Finau hit a home run in six straight games - against Arizona on March 21, at New Mexico on March 24, in all three of the WAC games against Utah Valley on March 27-28 and in the series opener at Seattle U on April 3 - to set a school record. Finau fell just short of the NCAA record of seven games.
NM STATE'S RODRIGUEZ BECOMES SECOND AGGIE EVER WITH 50 HOMERS
New Mexico State senior outfielder Staci Rodriguez belted her 50th career home run, a grand slam in the second game of the series at Seattle U on April 4 to become just the second Aggie ever to reach the milestone. She now has 53 homers on her career, 11 shy of all-time home run leader Hoku Nohara, who finished her career with 64.
SU'S MORROW SETS PROGRAM CAREER DOUBLES RECORD
Seattle U senior catcher Bubba Morrow set the Seattle U all-time career doubles record with her 33rd in game two vs. Portland State on April 1 and now has 35. Lisa Maulden (34) and Jenny Hurst (30) are also in the Top 5 in the same category. Morrow also sits in second place with 30 career home runs and 122 RBIs, trailing record holder Jane Purdy (2005-08) in both categories (37 homers, 162 RBIs).
NM STATE RANKS IN TOP 10 NATIONALLY IN SIX OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES
New Mexico State ranks in the top 10 nationally in six offensive categories. The Aggies are seventh in both batting average (.355) and slugging percentage (.620), ninth in doubles per game (1.76), scoring (7.59) and home runs per game (1.67), and 10th in on-base percentage (.448).