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UTAH VALLEY'S LAUVAI, NM STATE'S DONISTHORPE NAMED WAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Dynasty Lauvai and NM State's Karysta Donisthorpe have been named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for May 2-8. This is the first-ever honor for Lauvai and the second of the season and seventh of her career for Donisthorpe.
Lauvai, a senior outfielder from Tempe, Ariz., hit .500 with a home run, three walks, six runs scored and three RBIs over four games last week. She also posted an .875 slugging percentage and a .636 on-base percentage. In UVU's lone victory of the week, Lauvai went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run, two singles, two walks, five runs scored and three RBIs en route to the 21-6 Wolverine victory. The 21 runs marked the most runs Utah Valley has ever scored against a Division I opponent. After the big week, Lauvai upped her season batting average from .250 to .288 and doubled her season totals in both home runs and RBIs.
Donisthorpe, a redshirt senior from Farmington, N.M., went 1-0 with a 0.88 ERA in one appearance last week. In an 8.0 inning outing, she scattered six hits and allowed just one earned run. Donisthorpe threw six shutout innings and struck out six while walking two for her eighth complete game this season.
Other Hitter of the Week nominees included: NM State's Brennalyn Nakamura hit 1.000 with three stolen bases.
Other Pitcher of the Week nominees included: Missouri-Kansas City's Amber Grove went 2-0 with a 2.77 ERA with 12 strikeouts over 17.2 innings last week.
NM STATE WINS SECOND-STRAIGHT WAC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
With a series sweep of Missouri-Kansas City, NM State closed out WAC play with a 14-1 mark to claim its second consecutive WAC regular-season title. The Aggies have the top seed for this week's WAC Tournament, which will be held at Logan Field in Seattle.
NM STATE BREAKS PROGRAM STOLEN BASES RECORD
With four stolen bases at New Mexico on May 4, NM State moved its season total to 97 to surpass the program record of 96 set in 1998. The Aggies are eight shy of the all-time WAC record of 105.
UMKC'S KELLEY BECOMES ALL-TIME PROGRAM DOUBLES LEADER
With a double against NM State on April 30, Missouri-Kansas City senior Katie Kelley moved her career total to 48 to move into first place all-time at UMKC, passing Amanda Rice (1999-2002) for the record. She now has 49. Kelley also ranks second in hits (207), tied for second in wins (33), third in strikeouts (342), fifth in innings pitched (477.0) and complete games (40) and ninth in games played (204).
TWO PLAYERS RANK IN TOP IN WAC SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOKS
Missouri-Kansas City's Kelsey Goodwin finished WAC play averaging 0.50 doubles per game, good for a tie for fourth place in the WAC single-season record books for WAC games only. In addition, NM State's Victoria Castro tied for fifth in triples per game (0.20).
GRAND CANYON POSTS 10 OR MORE HITS IN NINE OF 15 WAC GAMES
Grand Canyon tallied 10 or more hits in nine of its 15 WAC games this season, including 14 in the series finale at Utah Valley. The Lopes had 10 or more hits in 28 of 50 games this season and posted double-digit hits in four straight contests three different times.
UMKC'S PARKER MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
Missouri-Kansas City senior Brooke Parker recently became the all-time leader in runs scored and now has 145. She also ranks first in stolen bases (99), fifth in walks (61), tied for fifth in triples (7), eighth in hits (156), and 10th in batting average (.299) and at-bats (521).
HALF OF NM STATE'S VICTORIES BY RUN RULE
Half (18 of 36) of NM State's victories this season have come by run rule. The Aggies' largest margin of victory is 12 runs (twice), with one win by 11 runs, seven victories by 10 runs, three nine-run wins and seven games won by eight runs. The team has also posted 11 shutouts this season.
CSUB HURLER MILLS SURPASSES 300 INNINGS PITCHED, 100 STRIKEOUTS
CSU Bakersfield senior Amber Mills surpassed 300.0 innings pitched on her career and has thrown 306.2 innings, good for fourth place in CSUB's Division I era (since 2008) and 8.0 innings away from third. She also recently surpassed 100 career strikeouts and now has 102.
NM STATE'S HORTON ON NFCA FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR TOP 25 LIST
NM State's Kelsey Horton has been selected to the 2016 Schutt Sport/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year Top 25 list. Horton ranks in the top 50 nationally in home runs and runs per game. The list will be narrowed to 10 finalists on Thursday, May 12.
UVU'S MOORE BECOMES UVU DIVISION I LEADER IN APPEARANCES
With an appearance against in-state foe Weber State on April 5, Utah Valley junior Bailey Moore became the all-time program leader in career appearances. Moore has now logged 124 appearances in the circle for UVU, passing Wolverine great Josi Summers' previous record of 107.
AGGIE COACH RODOLPH PICKS UP 400TH WIN AT NM STATE
NM State head coach Kathy Rodolph notched her 400th victory at the helm of the program on April 23. In her 13th season at the school and 15th overall as a four-year college coach, Rodolph has a 405-339 (.544) school record and a 474-373 (.560) overall mark.
CSUB'S SIMMONS SETS PROGRAM SEASON STEALS RECORD
On April 15, CSU Bakersfield senior Alex Simmons set the program record for steals in a season and now has 15. In just two seasons, the shortstop ranks second in CSUB Division I career history with 25, eight shy of the record. Fellow senior Sydney Raeber is close behind in third with 21.
NM STATE'S ADAMS BREAKS PROGRAM DOUBLES RECORD
NM State senior Emma Adams tied the program record for career doubles with her 42nd at UTEP on April 19. She then broke the record in game two of the series against CSU Bakersfield on April 23, passing Kristi Randall (2006-09). Adams now has 44 doubles on her career.
CSUB'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.
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 206-298 (.409) record.
CSU BAKERSFIELD EARNS FIRST-EVER WAC SERIES SWEEP
In its series against Seattle U, CSU Bakersfield earned its first-ever WAC series sweep since joining the conference in 2014. The ‘Runners won 7-2 in game one, 3-2 in nine innings in game two and a walk off in game three.
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 and has now been plunked 15 times on her career. Roth, who is just a sophomore, broke Meghan Yocom's (2008-2011) previous record of 12.
GRAND CANYON'S OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
Grand Canyon outscored its opponents 314 to 197 this season. The Lopes' largest margin of victory was 18 runs, with one 10-run victory, one nine-run win and eight victories by eight runs. Grand Canyon also posted 10 shutouts and 11 run-rule victories.
CSUB'S RAEBER LEAVING MARK IN RECORD BOOKS
CSU Bakersfield senior Sydney Raeber ranks in the Top 5 in several program Division I records. Raeber is first in saves (7), second in doubles (31), third in games played (194), games started (194), hits (164) and stolen bases (21), fourth in at-bats (556), sacrifice hits (20), total bases (204) and hit by pitch (15), and fifth in RBIs (71).
UMKC SCORES ITS MOST RUNS EVER AGAINST OKLAHOMA
On March 26, Missouri-Kansas City scored the most runs in a game against Oklahoma in the history of the series, plating four runs in the series finale at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City. All three senior captains - Alexandra Friloux, Katie Kelley and Brooke Parker - drove in a run in the 8-4 loss, with Friloux driving in two in her first appearance in nearly a month.
CSUB HAS EIGHT-RUN INNING FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2012
CSU Bakersfield scored a season-high 10 runs against Santa Clara on March 20, with the bulk its runs coming in an eight-run third inning. It was the most runs in an inning for CSUB since the team scored eight in an inning on Maine in 2012.
UVU'S SMITH SETS PROGRAM STEALS RECORD
With her fourth stolen base of the season in the third inning of the Mary Nutter Classic finale against Binghamton on Feb. 21, Utah Valley senior Morgan Smith became the program's all-time leader in stolen bases with 41. Smith, who also holds the school record for all-time triples with 11, passed Meghan Yocom's (2008-2011) previous UVU record of 40. Smith is now 61-of-67 for her career in stolen bases.
GCU'S NOWLIN HAS TWO NO-HITTERS, COMBINES FOR THIRD
Grand Canyon's Taylor Nowlin pitched her second no-hitter of the season on Feb. 19 against Utah State, only allowing only one base runner via a walk and striking out five. The junior also threw a no-hitter in a five-inning win over Loyola Marymount on Feb. 14 and combined with Bailey Bergman to no-hit UMBC in the season opener on Feb. 12.
NM State's Finau Named NFCA Player of the Week
NM State's Fiana Finau garnered Louisville/Slugger National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Player of the Week honors for March 7-13. Finau hit .579 (11-for-19) with three doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs over a six-game stretch last week. The Chula Vista, Calif., native slugged 1.211, registered a .600 on-base percentage and scored five runs.
CSUB'S RAEBER TIES PROGRAM DIVISION I STRIKEOUT RECORD
CSU Bakersfield senior Sydney Raeber recorded a program Division I single-game-tying 10 strikeouts in a complete-game victory over UC Davis on Valentine's Day. She only walked two batters.
NMSU'S HORTON HITS THREE HOMERS IN FIRST FOUR AT BATS
NM State freshman Kelsey Horton opened her career as an Aggie with three home runs in her first four at-bats. Her first at-bat was a grand slam in the bottom of a nine-run first inning for the Aggies on Feb. 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.
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.
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.