March 18, 2009

LOGAN, Utah -

Boise State (12-8, 0-0 WAC) at Utah State (6-16, 0-0 WAC)
Friday, March 20 - Saturday, March 21
Logan, Utah  •  LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field (500)
Utah State's Upcoming Schedule
Fri, 3/20	Boise State at UTAH STATE	3:00 p.m. (MT)
Sat. 3/21	Boise State at UTAH STATE	1:00 p.m. (MT)
Sat. 3/21	Boise State at UTAH STATE	3:00 p.m. (MT)

ON DECK- Utah State softball (6-16, 0-0 WAC) begins its fourth season in the Western Athletic Conference. This is the second time that the Aggies have opened WAC play at home, but it is the earliest that they have played a WAC opener in Logan. USU has the honor of being Boise State's first conference opponent. In their first season, the Broncos have gotten off to a solid 12-8 record.

Complete Release in PDF Format

Aggies in WAC openers
			R	H	E
2006 	Utah State	3	4	0
	Fresno State	2	2	1
2007	Utah State	0	1	3
	Fresno State	8	9	1
2008	Utah State	1	2	0
	Nevada	        12	12	1

SERIES HISTORY VS OPPONENTS - This is the first meeting between Utah State and Boise State. The teams have played one common opponent this season, Long Beach State. Utah State lost to LBSU, 8-0 at the Campbell Cartier Softball Tournament in San Diego. Boise State split games with Long Beach State winning 5-3 before losing 3-1.

SCOUTING BOISE STATE - Boise State is in its inaugural softball season. The Broncos ares 12-8 this season and stand third in the WAC behind both New Mexico State (19-8) and Nevada (19-9). In its first season, head coach Erin Thorpe and the Broncos have wins over teams like Long Beach State, Wisconsin and San Diego. Before taking on the Aggies, BSU will take on Utah on Wednesday, March 18. On the field, Boise State is led by Christi Capobianco who is hitting .426 this season. She has 23 hits and 23 RBI in her first 20 games. Capobianco is fourth in the WAC in hitting. In the circle, Aubray Zell leads the way with nine starts this season. Zell has a stellar 8-2 record with 34 strikeouts and only 10 walks. Boise State is third in the WAC in hitting (.300), and seventh in pitching (3.62 ERA).

HOME OPENERS - This is an early home opener for the Aggies with USU's first home game being played on March 20. Last season, Utah State did not play a game at home until March 26 against Utah. In 2007, the Aggies did not play at home until April 3 against Utah Valley. In 2006, USU played at the friendly confines of LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field for the first time on March 31 against WAC-foe Fresno State.

ON DECK CIRCLE - Following the WAC opener, Utah State hits the road to take on instate rival Utah in a single game on Wednesday, March 25. The Aggies then travel San Jose State on March 27-28.

SEASON 34 - The 2009 season marks the 34th year of softball at Utah State... The Aggies enter the season with a 772-838-3 (.480) 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 fourth year in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

ADMISSION - All games at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field are free admission to the public.

MCDONALD STARTS STRONG - Sophomore Megan McDonald continues to lead the Aggies at the plate. McDonald is hitting .276 and is one of two USU players hitting over .250 along with Jasmine Hubbard.

BEST OF THE BEST- The Aggies competition has been tough this season. Three USU opponents are currently in the top 10 of both the USA Today and NFCA polls. Washington is currently No. 1 in the USA Today poll and No 3 in the NFCA poll, while fellow Pac-10 opponent Stanford is No. 5 in the NFCA poll and No. 6 in the USA Today poll. Arizona State is No. 7 in the NFCA poll and No. 10 in the USA Today Poll.

BALLS AND STRIKES - - Four different Aggies hit long balls this, sophomore Megan McDonald, junior Simone Hubbard, freshman Rayna Bradshaw and freshman Jasmine Harris.

- The Aggies are still without junior Kelley Kaneshiro who went down with an injury the first week of the season.

- Freshman Jasmine Harris leads the Aggies in total bases this season with 32. Harris is first on the team in batting average, hitting .286.

- Senior Lindsey Benson earned her first win of the season on March 9 against Cal State Bakersfield in a nine-inning 6-3 win. In the win, Benson helped her own cause with a base hit and an RBI. The senior is now 1-8 with a 4.94 ERA and a team-leading strikeouts.

- There are three Aggies who have started all 22 games. Juniors Nicole Rupp, Emily Reilly and senior Aubrie Stroman have started all 22 games for Utah State so far.

- Utah State is 4-0 when it scores in the first inning. The Aggies are 4-5 when scoring in the first, while conversely, are 2-11 when the opponent scores in the first inning.

- Freshman Rayna Bradshaw has a team-high three-game hitting streak. She is one of seven Aggies who have had three-game hitting streaks this season.

GETTING THE HITS - Five different Aggies have had multiple-hit games this season, including two from Gina Rawls, Jasmine Harris and Megan McDonald. Rawls is the only Aggie to have a three-hit game. Aubrie Stroman and Emily Reilly have both had one multiple-hit game.

BABY AGGIES - Utah State has gotten good production from its freshman this season. Freshman Jasmine Harris is first in hitting with a .286 average, while Rayna Bradshaw is third with a .241 average. Harris is first in total bases with 32.

DRIVING IN THE RUNS - Junior Nicole Rupp is the only Aggie in double-figures in RBI so far this season. Rupp has 10 RBI just ahead of fellow junior Simone Hubbard who has nine. Rupp also has 13 hits which is second behind freshman Jasmine Harris who has 16.

LETTS' BITS - Candi Letts (Creighton, 1983) is in her third year at the helm of the Aggies and has a 34-77 record (.306), but has 14 years of experience as a Division I head coach.

- Letts won her first game last season at the helm of the Aggies with an 11-2 win against Southern Utah on Feb. 9, 2007. 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 344-422 -1 (.449) 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 88-89 (.497) in six seasons.

- As a head coach, Letts has coached four All-Americans, seven all-region players, 15 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.