February 20 (Friday)
Texas def. BYU (1), 5-4 (9 innings)
Kansas def. BYU (1), 3-1
Colorado State def. Long Beach State (3), 1-0
Colorado State def. San Diego (3), 4-2
Wisconsin def. New Mexico (5), 4-3
Drake def. New Mexico (5) , 7-5
Kentucky def. San Diego State (2), 6-4
San Diego State def. Connecticut (2), 2-0
Nebraska def. UNLV (1), 9-1 (5 innings)
UNLV def. Georgia Tech (1), 4-3
North Dakota State def. Utah (4), 4-2
#11/11 Arizona def. Utah (4), 16-1 (5 innings)
February 21 (Saturday)
BYU def. Tennessee Tech (1), 8-0 (6 innings)
Colorado State def. San Diego (3), 9-1 (5 innings)
Colorado State def. Boise State (3), 3-2
New Mexico def. Texas Tech (5), 6-4
New Mexico def. Drake (5), 11-9
#20/18 Louisiana-Lafayette def. San Diego State (2), 1-0
San Diego State vs. Connecticut (2), CANCELLED
#2/2 Florida def. UNLV (1), 5-1
North Dakota State def. Utah (4), 2-0
#11/11 Arizona def. Utah (4), 12-1 (5 innings)
February 22 (Sunday)
Long Beach State def. Colorado State (3), 4-1
New Mexico def. Texas Tech (5), 11-8
#20/18 Louisiana-Lafayette def. San Diego State (2), 5-0
Long Island def. UNLV (1), 8-2
UNLV def. Cal Poly (1), 8-5
#11/11 Arizona def. Utah (4), 6-1
Key To Tournaments:
(1) Cathedral Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
(2) Fifth Annual Mardi Gras Invitational in Lafayette, La.
(3) USD Invitational Softball Tournament in San Diego, Calif.
(4) Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
(5) New Mexico Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M.
THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
February 25 (Wednesday)
San Diego at San Diego State, 6 p.m.
February 26 (Thursday)
Drake at UNLV (6), 6 p.m.
February 27 (Friday)
Wright State at UNLV (6), 10 a.m.
BYU vs. Iowa State (7), 11:15 a.m.
Utah vs. #4/T-3 UCLA (8), 11:30 a.m.
Florida Atlantic at UNLV (6), Noon
Utah vs. Santa Clara (8), 2 p.m.
BYU vs. Wisconsin (7), 3:45 p.m.
Colorado State at San Diego (8), 4:30 p.m.
Colorado State vs. #4/T-3 UCLA (8), 7 p.m.
New Mexico at Oklahoma State, 7 p.m.
Oregon at San Diego State (8), 7 p.m.
February 28 (Saturday)
BYU vs. Cal State Northridge (7), 8:45 a.m.
Colorado State vs. Santa Clara (8), 9 a.m.
Colorado State vs. Oregon (8), 11:30 a.m.
BYU at Long Beach State (7), 1:15 p.m.
Drake at UNLV (6), 2 p.m.
Utah vs. UC Davis (8), 2 p.m.
New Mexico at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m.
#12/14 Missouri at San Diego State (8), 4:30 p.m.
Utah at San Diego (8), 4:30 p.m.
Loyola Marymount at UNLV (6), 6 p.m.
#4/T-3 UCLA at San Diego State (8), 7 p.m.
March 1 (Sunday)
Utah vs. Oregon (8), 9 a.m.
Florida Atlantic at UNLV (6), Noon
New Mexico at Oklahoma State, 1 p.m.
Colorado State vs. UC Davis (8), 2 p.m.
Santa Clara at San Diego State (8), 4:30 p.m.
Key To Tournaments:
(6) Eller Media Stadium Tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.
(7) Long Beach State Tournament in Long Beach, Calif.
(8) San Diego Classic I in San Diego, Calif.
Mountain West Conference teams in CAPS.
All times local to site.
Rankings according to the USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls.
WEEK 3 RECAP
Mountain West softball teams went 12-17 last weekend with seven losses coming from nationally-ranked teams. Colorado State went 4-1 on the weekend at the University of San Diego Tournament in San Diego, Calif. New Mexico posted a 3-2 record in the New Mexico Invitational, while San Diego State went .500 in the Fifth Annual Mardi Gras Invitational in Lafayette, La. UNLV and BYU both made appearances in the Cathedral Classic, as the Rebels went 2-3 and the Cougars went 1-4 in Palm Springs, Calif. Utah lost five games at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
WEEK 4 PREVIEW
San Diego State will play host to cross-town rival San Diego on Wed., Feb. 25, before entertaining the likes of Colorado State and Utah in the San Diego Classic I. UNLV will host its third tournament of the season, with the Eller Media Stadium Tournament kicking off on Thurs., Feb. 26. BYU is set to travel to Long Beach, Calif., for the Long Beach State Tournament, hosted by the 49ers. Riding a three-game winning streak, New Mexico will head to Stillwater, Okla., for a three-game series vs. Oklahoma State starting Friday.
COACHING CORNER
BYU head coach Gordon Eakin earned his 250th career win with the victory over Virginia on Feb. 12, 2009, at the Louisville Slugger Classic. At 252 wins, Eakin is the winningest softball coach in school history.
Eakin was also honored earlier this season with the Amateur Softball Association of America and USA Softball's announcement that he is one of 14 coaches selected to the 2009 Women's National Team coaching pool. Eakin and his peers have been selected for the 2009-2012 quadrennium, and the final selection will be released at a later date.
RAM FRESHMEN CONTINUE TO SHINE IN CIRCLE
Two Colorado State freshmen righthanders threw complete games to earn the Rams' two wins at the University of San Diego Tournament in San Diego, Calif. Kelli Eubanks got the win against Long Beach State, allowing only five hits while striking out three 49er batters. Dani Chaplin held San Diego to four hits and two runs, while striking out four Toreros. The duo each threw complete games earlier this month at the aTen Construction Tournament in Riverside, Calif.
UNM'S STICKS MAKING NOISE
Six Lobos are hitting over .300 on the season. Junior 3B Shaunte Duarte leads her team with a .520 percentage, followed by Janet Rendon (.429), Samantha Hughes (.372) Jessica Lujan-Dresslar (.359), Katie Gilmore (.326) and Analise Rubalcava (.313).
AZTECS LOOK FOR TURNAROUND
Of the Aztecs' eight losses this season, six have come against nationally-ranked opponents, including then #4/4 UCLA, #8/8 Stanford, #10/7 Washington, #20/18 Louisiana-Lafayette and RV/#24 Long Beach State. San Diego State played all four games in last weekend's Mardi Gras Classic without senior All-American catcher Erin Floros, who stayed in San Diego with a bout of appendicitis.
REBELS LEAD IN RUNS SCORED
UNLV leads the MWC in runs scored with 78 so far this season. Junior Alyssia De La Torre leads all Rebels, scoring 13 runs in 2009 (T-3rd), while the senior duo of Marissa Nichols and Brittany Bolinger each have scored 11 (T-7th), respectively.
SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Utah leads the MWC with 17 home runs so far in 2009. Junior center fielder Kara Foster knocked her sixth home run of the season in the Utes' 6-1 loss at Arizona. The homer marked Foster's 41st of her career, the second-most by a Ute in school history. Melissa Stahnke holds the school record with 49 career home runs from 2001 to 2004.
MWC CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY
The Mountain West Conference begins its 10th season of play in 2008-09. The league began in the fall of 1999 with eight institutions - Air Force, BYU, Colorado State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Utah and Wyoming. The MWC welcomed TCU as its newest member in July 2005. Four different institutions have captured the MWC regular-season softball title since the 2000 season. San Diego State leads the way with four championships, followed by BYU (3), Colorado State (1) and Utah (1). In its nine-year history, Mountain West teams have made a total of 15 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The MWC has sent multiple teams to the postseason five of the nine years of its existence, including a record three teams (BYU, San Diego State and Utah) in 2006.
THE MTN. ON DIRECTV
DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television service provider, now carries The Mtn. - MountainWest Sports Network to fans across the country. The Mtn. is available on channel 616 on DIRECTV CHOICE and above packages for the states servicing MWC institutions (Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming) as well as the designated market areas of Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego. Customers throughout the remainder of the country can access The Mtn. with a subscription to DIRECTV's Sportspack.
