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Softball Plays At Campbell Cartier Classic
Feb. 13, 2008
LOGAN, Utah -
Utah State (0-5, 0-0 WAC) at Campbell Cartier Classic USU's Tournament Schedule QUICKLY - Utah State (0-5, 0-0 WAC) heads to the Sunshine State again this weekend for the San Diego State Campbell Cartier Classic. The Classic begins on Thursday, Feb. 14, but USU doesn't take the field until Friday, Feb. 15 when the Aggies take on UC Santa Barbara at 3 p.m. (MT). USU returns to the diamond at 8 p.m. (MT) to tangle with Tulsa. On Saturday, Feb. 16, Utah State faces Indiana at 12:30 p.m. (MT). The Aggies wrap up Classic action by taking on host San Diego State on Sunday, Feb. 17 at 3 p.m. (MT). All games are played at the SDSU Softball Stadium. (1,000). Utah State takes an 0-5 record into the tournament, as the Aggies opened the season losing to two Top 10 ranked opponents by the run-rule at the Cathedral City Classic, falling to then No. 6 Tennessee, 8-0, on Feb. 8 and then No. 2 Texas A&M, 9-0, on Feb. 10. USU is now 22-11 all-time in season-openers after falling to UC Davis, 10-1, on Feb. 8. The Aggies also dropped a 4-3 decision on Feb. 9 to CS Northridge and then lost 5-2 to Portland State. USU returns five starters among 10 returning letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 17-36 overall record and a 5-13 WAC ledger.
SEASON 33 - The 2008 season marks the 33rd year of softball at Utah State... The Aggies enter the season with a 758-804-3 (.485) overall record... USU has one college World Series appearance (1984, tied for 7th) and four NCAA Tournament appearances (1984, 1989, 1992, 1993)... Utah State won the 1980 and 1981 AIAW National Championships... This is USU's third year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
ADMISSION - All games at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field are free admission to the public. GAMETRACKER - Fans can follow all the Aggie action this weekend through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game. RETURNING - Second-year head coach Candi Letts returns five starters among 10 returning letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 17-36 overall record and a 5-13 WAC ledger... Senior 3B Amy Schaible (5-5, Red Bluff, Calif.) headlines the returners, as she batted .293 with five doubles, 11 home runs and 27 RBI last season... Heather Haak (SR, C, 5-7, Salem, Ore.) hit .288 with two doubles, one home run and six RBI, and did not commit an error last season, posting a 1.000 fielding percentage... Tara Evans (SR, SS, 5-6, Bountiful, Utah) had a .281 average with eight doubles, one triple, five home runs and 21 RBI, as well as leading the team with 13 stolen bases... Aubrie Stroman (JR, 1B, 5-9, Red Bluff Calif.) hit .250 last season recording eight doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI... Lindsey Benson (JR, P, 5-7, Novato, Calif.) is USU's leading returning pitcher, posting a 3.61 ERA last season in 29 appearances with 149.1 innings and recorded a team-high 129 strikeouts... Stacey Ellingsworth (SO, P, 5-9, Richland, Wash.) threw 52.0 innings in 17 appearances and posted a 5.12 ERA.
TIDBITS ABOUT UTAH STATE - - Defensively, USU is seventh in team pitching with a 6.52 ERA, yielding 39 hits, while the Aggies are third in strikeouts (19). - Sophomore CF Emily Reilly is 14th in the WAC in individual batting, hitting .308 and is tied for fifth in hits (four). - Sophomore C Simone Hubbard is tied for first in the league in home runs with one. - Junior 2B Jeanine Hernandez is tied for third in the conference in doubles (one). - Junior P Lindsey Benson is second in the WAC in innings pitched (17.0), while she is fourth in strikeouts (12) and 10th in ERA (5.35). - Sophomore P Stacey Ellingsworth is 14th in the conference in ERA (6.30) and eighth in strikeouts with six. - Senior 3B Amy Schaible led the team and ranked sixth in the WAC with 11 HR's, setting a new USU single-season HR school record, topping the previous record of 10, done three times by two different players: Sara Fleming (2005) and Sandy Taylor (1999 and 2000). - Schaible now has 14 career home runs, currently in sole possession of fourth on USU's career HR list, needing four to tie Jennifer Power (1991-94) and Breanne Smith (1999-2002) at the No. 3 spot on the USU career HR list with 18. - Schaible is USU's leading returner in batting average, hitting .293 last season, and led the team in runs scored (29), RBI (27) and home runs (11), as well as second among returners in doubles with five. - USU had only one player receive weekly honors from the WAC last season, as Emily Reilly earned Hitter of the Week honors on March 5, after posting .462 average for the week, going 6-for-13 with a double, triple and a home run, as well as three RBI. She had a .923 slugging percentage and .462 on-base percentage in four games during the week. The outfielder went 2-for-4 with a triple in Utah State's 5-4 win against Northern Colorado on March 1. She was also 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and two runs scored in the Aggies' 12-4 win against the Bears on March 3. - Junior P Lindsey Benson is the Aggies' leading returner on the pitching staff, as she made 29 appearances last season, recording 129 K's with a 3.61 ERA. - USU had the latest home opener in the WAC last season (April 3 vs. Utah Valley) and does again this season, as the Aggies' make their 2008 home debut on March 26 against in-state foe Utah. - Utah State had five student-athletes earn academic all-WAC honors last season.
LETTS' BITS - Letts won her first game last season at the helm of the Aggies with an 11-2 win against Southern Utah on Feb. 9. Letts became the first USU head coach to win their opener since Pam McCreesh won her first game in 1998. - Letts came to USU from Northern Illinois, where she was an assistant for one season... Prior to NIU, Letts was the head coach at the University of Mississippi, where she spent seven seasons guiding the Ole Miss program from 1999-2005, compiling a 153-246 (.372) record, including leading the Rebels to a school-record 30 wins in 2005. - Before Ole Miss, Letts was head coach at Colorado State University from 1994-98, amassing a 160-106-1 (.602) record in her five seasons there, as she re-established the softball program after it had been eliminated for one season. In 1997, Letts led the Rams to a 51-14 mark, winning the Western Athletic Conference championship and finishing ninth in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) final poll. That season Letts was named the WAC Coach of the Year, as well as the NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year. - Letts has a career head coaching mark of 330-393-1 (.456) in 13 seasons, reaching the 200 and 300 win milestones while at Ole Miss. - This is Letts' second go-round in the WAC, as she posted a 79-62 (.560) mark in WAC games while at Colorado State and is now 84-75 (.528) in six seasons. - As a head coach, Letts has coached four All-Americans, seven all-region players, 13 all-conference winners, one conference player of the year, and one freshman of the year. - As a pitcher at Creighton University from 1979-1983, Letts helped the Bluejays to three-straight trips to the College World Series. In her career in the circle, Letts compiled 43 wins to go with 16 saves, while logging an ERA of 0.76 and firing 276 strikeouts. In the 1982 season, Letts led the country with nine saves, a mark that still ranks as the fifth-most single-season saves in NCAA history. - After graduating from Creighton in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in physical education, Letts began her coaching career at the high school ranks, including head coach at Burlington, Iowa, for five seasons. Letts moved up to the college level in 1988, returning to Creighton, where she served as an assistant for six years, helping the Bluejays to two NCAA Regional trips, as well as making three appearances in the Top 25 poll and coaching one All-American. In 1991, Letts and Creighton played Utah in the longest game in NCAA history, a 31-inning contest. ABOUT TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS - UC Santa Barbara - The Gauchos are 1-3 after opening their season at UCLA's Stacey Winsberg Memorial Tournament last weekend. UCSB fell to Nevada, 5-4, and then No. 5 Oklahoma 12-1. The Gauchos bounced back to defeat Santa Clara, 8-6, before losing to then No. 14 UCLA, 7-5, after eight innings. Senior 3B Tisha Duran hit .385 in the opening weekend, tallying two home runs and five RBI, including two against Santa Clara. In the circle, sophomore Lindsey Correa posted a 1-1 record and holds a 4.67 ERA, and tallied 10 strikeouts in 12 innings pitched. Brie Galicinao is in her first season at the helm of the Gauchos after spending the past two seasons as an assistant under former head coach Kristy Schroeder. Tulsa - The Golden Hurricane is 2-2 after their season-opener at the Quality Inn and Suites/Point Bank Invitation in Denton, Texas. Tulsa defeated Texas State, 6-2, before falling to North Texas, 7-5, and Creighton, 7-2. The Golden Hurricane then defeated North Texas, 6-4, after 10 innings. Junior outfielder Brooke Smart hit .462 in the opening weekend, tallying six hits, three doubles, one home run and four RBI. Sophomore pitcher Jackie Lawrence went 2-0 after pitching two complete games and has a 0.82 ERA with 18 strikeouts. Tulsa head coach John Barqfeldt is in his second season and has a 36-26 overall record. Indiana - The Hoosiers will be opening their season this weekend at the Campbell Cartier Classic. Indiana posted a 21-34 record in 2007 and placed 11th in the Big Ten with a 1-19 mark. Senior IF Jennilee Huddleston hit .335 last year with 25 RBI. In the circle, junior Monica Wright logged a .388 ERA with 148 strikeouts. Stacey Phillips in her fourth season as head coach of the Indiana softball program, and has a 64-100-1 overall record. San Diego State - The Aztecs are 4-1 after opening their season at the Cathedral City Classic last weekend. San Diego State defeated Cal Poly, 3-0, and California, 7-0, before falling to Mississippi State, 8-0. SDSU bounced back to beat UC Davis, 8-2, and Portland State, 6-0. Junior OF Tonye McCorkle hit .389 in the opening weekend, recording seven hits, five RBI and two runs. Freshman P Samantha Beasley has posted a 1-0 mark with a 0.00 ERA after pitching a complete game against Portland State. San Diego State head coach Kathy Van Wyk is in her 12th season and has a 364-276-1 overall record.
SERIES HISTORY vs. TOURNAMENT OPPONENTS - UP NEXT - Utah State takes a three-week break from competition and then plays at Colorado State on March 8-9. The action starts at Noon on both days and a doubleheader is scheduled on March 8.
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