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NM STATE'S CORRIN GREEN AND KAYLA GREEN NAMED WAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
NM State's Corrin Green and Kayla Green have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 11-17. This is the first honor of the season and second of her career for Corrin Green and the first-ever honor for Kayla Green.
Corrin Green, a sophomore designated player from Glendale, Ariz., hit .833 with five hits, one home run, four RBIs and two walks in a road series at Grand Canyon. She posted a 1.333 slugging percentage and .875 on-base percentage over the three games. In the first game of the series as a pinch hitter, she walked in her only plate appearance. In the nightcap, Corrin Green went 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk and two RBIs. She closed out the series with a 3-for-4 performance, driving in two runs.
Kayla Green, a freshman from Tucson, Ariz., went 2-0 with a 0.70 ERA over 10.0 innings in two appearances last week. She held Grand Canyon, a team that entered the week leading the WAC with 10.17 hits per game, to just one run on five hits over 10.0 innings, with three strikeouts. In the second game of the series, an 8-0 NM State run-rule victory, Kayla Green tossed a two-hit shutout, striking out two. In the series finale, she also earned the win, allowing one run on three hits over 5.0 innings. For the week, she held the Lopes to a .143 batting average and just one extra base hit.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Julea Cavazos hit .643 with a triple two RBIs over four games ... Brittany Medina of Grand Canyon hit .375 with a double and two RBIs ... Missouri-Kansas City's Bri Sims hit .480 with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs over seven games ... Brittney Vansway of Utah Valley hit .538 with three doubles, one homer and four RBIs last week.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: CSU Bakersfield's Sydney Raeber went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four appearances over 5.0 innings ... Taylor Nowlin of Grand Canyon went 1-1 with seven strikeouts over 10.1 innings last week ... UMKC's Amber Grove went 4-0 with a 2.72 ERA and 26 strikeouts over 28.1 innings last week.
CSUB'S SIMMONS TIES SEASON STEALS RECORD
With a steal in the first game of the series against Seattle U on April 15, CSU Bakersfield senior Alex Simmons set the program record for steals in a season with 13. In just two seasons with the Roadrunners, the shortstop ranks second in a CSUB Division I career history with 23. Fellow senior Sydney Raeber is close behind in third with 21 after a pulling off a double steal with Simmons against UMKC on April 9.
UMKC'S SMITH NEAL PICKS UP 200TH CAREER WIN
With her team's 9-6 win over Utah Valley on April 16, Missouri-Kansas City head coach Meredith Smith Neal notched her 200th career victory. In her 10th season at the helm, Smith Neal has a 200-293 (.406) record.
CSU BAKERSFIELD EARNS FIRST-EVER WAC SERIES SWEEP
In its April 15-16 series against Seattle U, CSU Bakersfield earned its first-ever WAC series sweep since joining the conference in 2014. The ‘Runners earned a 7-2 victory in game one, walked off on an illegal pitch in the ninth inning of game two and walked off again in game three to clinch the sweep over Seattle U.
UVU'S ROTH BECOMES PROGRAM LEADER IN HIT BY PITCH
After getting hit by a pitch against Idaho State on April 12, Utah Valley outfielder Breezy Roth became Utah Valley's all-time leader in getting hit by the pitch with 13 for her career. Roth, who is just a sophomore, broke Meghan Yocom's (2008-2011) previous record of 12 after getting plunked for the fourth time this season.
CSU BAKERSFIELD'S CARDOZA BECOMES PROGRAM LEADER IN SACRIFICE HITS
In the first game of the series against Seattle U on April 15, CSU Bakersfield redshirt senior Adrianna Cardoza became CSUB's Division I career leader in sacrifice hits with 23. She moved out of a tie for first place with Shay Fryer (2011-14).
UMKC'S KELLEY ONE DOUBLE SHY OF PROGRAM RECORD
With nine doubles this season, Missouri-Kansas City senior Katie Kelley has a career total of 46, one shy of the UMKC record of 47, set by Amanda Rice (1999-2002). Kelley also ranks third all-time with 198 hits. With a minimum of 13 games remaining, if she continues at her current pace, Kelley would close her career with 214 hits, nine shy of the UMKC record of 223 (Kaelene Curry, 2009-12).
NM STATE PICKED TO WIN 2016 WAC TITLE
In a preseason vote of the six WAC softball coaches, who could not vote for their own team, NM 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. Grand Canyon was picked second with 20 points and the other first-place vote, edging out CSU Bakersfield in third place with 18 points. UMKC was fourth with 11 points, followed by Seattle U and Utah Valley with nine and seven points, respectively.
SEATTLE U TO HOST 2016 WAC TOURNAMENT
Seattle U will host the 2016 WAC Softball Tournament. The five eligible teams will advance to the double-elimination tournament, which will be held at Logan Field May 12-14. This is the second time in the last three years the Redhawks have hosted the event, as they did so in 2014.
PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
NM State senior utility player Fiana Finau 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.
NM State placed the most players on the Preseason All-WAC team with six, while Grand Canyon had three.
Joining Finau and Kelley on the Preseason All-WAC Team are Aggies Emma Adams, Karysta Donisthorpe, Brennalyn Nakamura, Haley Nakamura and Rachel Rodriguez; Grand Canyon's Brittany Medina, Taylor Nowlin and Camree Wartman; CSU Bakersfield's Adrianna Cardoza; and Seattle U's Paige Bouska and Isabella Geronimo.