April 9, 2003
SAN DIEGO -
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Play Ball!
The defending Mountain West Conference regular-season champion San Diego State softball team (26-14) returns to action Saturday, April 12, when it plays host to UNLV for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
SDSU competes in its final non-conference contest of the season as it takes on the Ladies from Centenary College on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tilt at SDSU Field.
On Deck
The pair of doubleheaders this weekend mark the beginning of San Diego State's final homestand of the 2003 campaign.
The Aztecs play host to BYU and Utah on April 17 and 19, respectively, to close out the 2003 regular-season home schedule.
In the postseason, however, San Diego State will stay in "America's Finest City" as it hosts the Mountain West Conference tournament at SDSU Field, May 8-10.
Seventh Inning Stretch
San Diego State returns to action this weekend after nearly two weeks off.
The Aztecs' break was due to the cancellation of their games with BYU and Utah, scheduled for April 4 and 6, respectively. The doubleheaders were scratched because of snow in the greater Salt Lake region.
The April snowstorm affected a total of three conference doubleheaders, as the matchups between SDSU and BYU, UNLV and Utah, as well as SDSU and Utah, were all canceled.
SDSU has not played a game since its 2-1 win over Colorado State at SDSU Field on March 30.
A Clean Sweep
The Aztecs opened the conference season in winning fashion, sweeping New Mexico and Colorado State two weekends ago, and currently lead the league as they look for a repeat title in 2003.
With the wins, the Aztecs improved to 26-14 overall and take a perfect 4-0 conference record into their games against UNLV.
SDSU has put together a season-high six-game winning streak, dating back to its 3-0 upset victory over then-No. 22 Oregon State on March 26.
Facts and Figures
SDSU is riding a season-high six-game winning streak dating back to its pair of wins over Oregon State on March 26...The Aztecs are 4-3 against ranked opponents...San Diego State has finished above .500 overall and in conference play each year since joining the MWC in 2000...The Aztecs have won 12 games by way of shutout...San Diego State is 20-0 this year when leading in the sixth inning...SDSU set a season high for most runs scored with nine against Eastern Kentucky on March 15...San Diego State's split with Stanford and doubleheader loss to Fresno State marked the first time SDSU lost more than two games in a row this season.
Scouting UNLV
The Rebels (16-25, 2-4 MWC) are looking to stop a three-game losing skid when they face the Aztecs on Saturday.
UNLV is most recently coming off a pair of losses at BYU (9-1, 8-0).
The Rebels split their first two conference series, taking one game from Colorado State and claiming a 4-3 victory over New Mexico in 10 innings.
UNLV currently has the league's lowest team batting average and highest team ERA.
The Rebels rank among the top-three in the conference in several statistical categories including doubles (36, 3rd), batters struck out (217, 3rd) and fielding percentage (.960, 3rd).
Junior outfielder Lisa Moses paces the UNLV offense with a .306 batting average and .358 on-base percentage.
Rebel pitcher Jackie Kerrigan leads the Mountain West Conference in wins (13) and innings pitched (161.0) and is ranked third in the league in strikeouts with 121.
The Rebels have a slight advantage over the Aztecs in the all-time series, leading 25-24.
Last year, however, SDSU swept the first series in Las Vegas before splitting the doubleheader in San Diego.
Tracking Centenary
Centenary College (18-22) has struggled of late, going 1-7 in its last eight games.
The Ladies face Texas-Arlington before squaring off against the Aztecs on Sunday.
Centenary dropped a pair of decisions to in-state rival LSU earlier in the month, but held the 11th-ranked Tigers to just two runs on five hits in the second game of the doubleheader.
The Ladies are led by junior infielder Jordan Lansdale, who has started all 40 games and owns a .314 batting average, .417 slugging percentage and .407 on-base percentage.
Centenary likes to run, as is evident by its stolen base percentage. Lansdale (16-18), Lauren Koehn (15-18) and Katie Harwick (15-17) each have a success rate of 83% or higher in stolen bases.
The Ladies have committed 62 errors this season, while the Aztecs have only 37.
Sunday's game is the first-ever meeting between SDSU and Centenary College.
Head Coach Kathy Van Wyk
Head coach Kathy Van Wyk, the Mountain West Conference's 2002 coach of the year, has easily experienced more success than any previous coach at San Diego State. In just six seasons at the helm, Van Wyk has elevated the SDSU softball program to the ranks of conference champion and NCAA regional tournament finalist.
Under Van Wyk's leadership, the Aztecs have completed the season above .500 the past four seasons and have finished among the top-three in the Mountain West Conference three years running.
She is also the first coach to achieve a top-25 ranking, two 40-win seasons and is the fastest to 100 wins in the history of the program.
Premium Pitchers
The Aztec pitching staff, consisting of sophomore Bre DeSanta and freshmen Deanna Richards and Celena Velasquez, have combined for conference-bests in batters struck out (231) wins (26) and innings pitched (281.0). The rotation's 1.74 ERA and .214 opposing batting average rank second in the league.
Individually, all three hurlers are among the top-10 in the conference in wins, ERA, and innings pitched.
DeSanta, the 2002 MWC Pitcher of the Year, seems to be outdoing herself in the 2003 campaign, as she has pitched two no-hitters this year (vs. St. John's and Nevada) and set a new career record for strikeouts in a single game (11, vs. Long Beach State).
The Scottsdale, Ariz., native has also pitched seven shutouts this season, two more than she did all of last year.
Velasquez (8-4) has pitched eight games in which she has not walked a single batter, including the 3-0 win over No. 22 Oregon State.
Last week's conference pitcher of the week, Velasquez has picked up three wins in her last three decisions.
In conference games, Velasquez has an ERA of 1.21, the third best in the league. She is also ranked among the top-five in conference games, holding batters to a .161 batting average (3rd) and striking out 13 batters (4th).
Richards owns a 6-5 mark, earning wins over then-No. 4 Michigan and Kansas, which was receiving votes in the poll at the time of the game and has been ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll for three weeks this season.
First-rate First Baseman
Junior first baseman Jacque Vaca, last week's conference player of the week, leads the team with a .342 batting average, 22 RBI, a .372 on-base percentage and seven doubles.
In the opening weekend of conference play, Vaca had back-to-back games in which she had at least one hit and two RBI.
She drove in what proved to be the game-winning run in the Aztecs' 2-1 victory over Colorado State in the bottom of the sixth inning and is currently riding a five-game hitting streak.
Vaca ranks among the top-10 in the league in hits (39, 5th), batting average (.342, 4th), RBI (22, 4th) and putouts (274, 1st)
During conference play, Vaca is hitting .417, the seventh-best among MWC players in league games, and has four RBI (T4th).
Stellar Second Baseman
Joann Figueroa's .317 batting average is tenth-best among MWC players. Figueroa is also listed in the top 10 for her 38 hits (6th).
The Phoenix, Ariz., native has hit safely in five of the Aztecs' last six games, including a 2-for-3 performance against Colorado State with one RBI and one run scored.
Figueroa was named the MWC player of the week on March 11, following SDSU's game against Harvard in which the junior went 4-for-4 from the plate to go along with three runs scored.
On a Roll in the Outfield
Junior center fielder Janna Kovensky ranks among the top 10 in the conference in hits (35, 8th), runs (21, T6th) and stolen bases (9, 4th).
She has notched hits in six of the Aztecs' last seven games, including a 2-for-5 performance in SDSU's contests with Oregon State, driving in one run and scoring a run.
In league games, Kovensky is batting .444, to go along with a .556 slugging percentage and .444 on-base percentage, all of which place her in the top-10 in the conference so far this season.
Mighty Mahoney
Left fielder Erin Mahoney ranks among the league leaders in hits (34, T9th), runs (21, T6th) and stolen bases (7, T5th).
The sophomore is batting .301 and has hit safely in five of SDSU's last six games, including going a perfect 3-for-3 in the Aztecs' 2-1 win over Colorado State on Sunday.
Mahoney's numbers have improved in conference play, as she currently ranks among the top-10 in league games in batting average (.545, 4th), hits (6, T4th), on-base percentage (.615, 4th) and slugging percentage (.545, 10th).
Breakthrough Performers
Freshman Bridgette Caron and sophomores Lacey Craft, Jennifer Funk and Danielle Touhey have been seeing more playing time of late and are making the most of their action on the field.
Funk has started the Aztecs' last six games in right field. She went 1-for-3 at the plate against Oregon State with one RBI.
Caron has started 19 games this season in right field. She is batting .250 and went 2-for-4 with two runs and one RBI in the Aztecs' games with Harvard and Long Beach State at the SDSU Tournament.
Craft started at third base in six games and pieced together a three-game hitting streak during that time. She was 2-for-3 at the plate in the games against No. 22 Oregon State with one RBI. She is currently batting .211, up significantly from what she was batting (.100) just 10 games ago.
Touhey has earned the starting nod behind the plate in the Aztecs' last 14 games. In that time frame, her batting average has climbed to .231, hitting safely in eight of those contests, including a 2-for-4 effort against Eastern Kentucky on March 15.
SDSU in the MWC
The Aztecs currently rank first in the conference in stolen bases (37), sac bunts (60), batters struck out (231), and wins (26).
SDSU is second among fellow MWC teams in hits (256), triples (6), ERA (1.74), fielding percentage (.970) and opposing batting average (.214).
San Diego State softball was unanimously selected to finish first in the 2003 Mountain West Conference race in a vote of the league's six head coaches (head coaches cannot vote for their own teams).
Because San Diego State won the 2002 MWC regular-season title, the Aztecs will host the 2003 conference tournament, May 8-10 at SDSU Field.
All six conference teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament. Seedings will be decided by regular-season results in conference games.
"It is an honor to have earned the opportunity to host this year's tournament," said head coach Kathy Van Wyk. "It will be an exciting chance to show the San Diego community how competitive our conference is."