Player of the Week

Christy Sears, Sr., DH, San Diego State
San Diego State's Christy Sears is this week's Mountain West Conference Softball Player of the Week. This is the second consecutive player of the week honor for SDSU and the first for Sears, who batted .833 as the Aztecs posted a 2-1 record at the rain-shortened Easton Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. San Diego State is now 6-11 on the season. During the tournament, the native of Upland, Calif., collected three RBI on five hits including a double and triple, and a sacrifice fly in six at-bats during the three games.

In the first day of the tournament on Feb. 25, Sears was walked twice and had an RBI-single in the Aztecs' 4-3 loss to Purdue. Later that same day, she drove in two runs with a sacrifice fly and single in a 5-0 win over Iowa State. On Saturday, Sears connected in every at-bat, going 3-for-3 with a double and triple in the 3-1 win over Cal Poly.

Mountain West Conference Softball Players of the Week: Feb. 8 ­ Holly Schmillen (Jr., SS) CSU, Feb. 15 ­ Rachel Goodpaster (Jr., SS) UNLV, Feb. 22 ­ Kellie Nordhagen (So., CF) SDSU, Feb. 29 ­ Christy Sears (Sr., DH) SDSU.

Pitcher of the Week

Danielle Cassara, Sr., P, New Mexico
New Mexico's Danielle Cassara is this week's Mountain West Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week. For the week, Cassara struck out 10 batters in 19 innings of work and walked just two. Although she allowed nine earned runs for a 3.32 ERA, she posted a 2-0 record and was the Lobos' leading pitcher at the Troy Cox Classic at New Mexico State over the weekend. She helped the Lobos avenge an earlier loss to Penn State, holding the Lions to two runs on eight hits, while striking out six in an eight-inning, 3-2 victory on Feb. 25. The following day, Cassara registered a 5-4 win over No. 21 Illinois-Chicago, as she struck out three and scattered four runs and nine hits without a walk. Later that day, Cassara also pitched the first four innings in the 5-4 loss to New Mexico State, but received no decision in the appearance.

A product of Millikan High School in Long Beach, Calif., Cassara is the first Mountain West Conference player to repeat the honor and brings UNM's total to three pitcher of the week selections. Cassara claimed the first pitcher of the week of the season on Feb. 8. In addition to her solid pitching performances, Cassara, who plays first base when not in the circle, batted .278 with five hits in 18 at-bats. She set a new school record with her 20th career home run and also collected a double and drove in three runs in the five games. The Lobos also posted a 7-2 win over McNeese State and a 6-1 loss to No. 11 Oregon State to go 3-2 in the tournament and are now 11-7 on the season.

Mountain West Conference Softball Pitchers of the Week: Feb. 8 ­ Danielle Cassara (Sr.) UNM, Feb. 15 ­ Kathy Moore (Jr.) UNM, Feb. 22 ­ Geney Orris (So.) UNLV, Feb. 29 ­ Danielle Cassara (Sr.) UNM.

Mtn. West Head Coaches

BYU ­ Mary Kay Amicone
Overall: 5-6 (1st season)
School: 5-6 (1st season)

Colorado State ­ Teri Klement
Overall: 22-30 (2nd season)
School: 22-30 (2nd season)

New Mexico ­ Susan Craig
Overall: 591-522 (24th season)
School: 591-522 (24th season)

San Diego State ­ Kathy Van Wyk
Overall: 84-100 (4th season)
School: 84-100 (4th season)

UNLV ­ Shan McDonald
Overall: 416-328-2 (14th season)
School: 416-328-2 (14th season)

Utah ­ Mona Stevens
Overall: 188-106-1 (6th season)
School: 110-69 (4th season)

Utah Host of 2000 Mtn. West Softball Championship
The inaugural Mountain West Conference Softball Championship will be hosted by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. All six Mtn. West softball teams will compete in the double-elimination event for the first league title May 11-13. Seedings will be decided by regular-season results in conference games.

All requests for media credentials for the inaugural Mountain West Conference Softball Championship should be submitted in writing to Director of Communications Elaine Adams at the Mtn. West office or Utah Media Relations contact Julie Lapomarda prior to the event.

Team-by-Team Notes
BYU went 1-3 in games at the Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah, Feb. 25-26. The Cougars opened the tournament with an 8-2 loss to No. 1 Washington, then fell to Tulsa, 5-0. BYU's 3-2 win over Utah State was its third one-run victory in its first 11 games. The Cougars are now 3-1 in games decided by one run. Brooke Cadiente (Fr., RF) hit the first-ever home run in BYU softball history. The Cougar-first was a two-run shot just inside the left-field line in the sixth inning of the 9-4 loss to No. 11 Stanford. The Cougars are now 0-3 against ranked opponents. This week, BYU plays a doubleheader at Southern Utah on Friday.

Idle since playing in the Texas A&M Tournament in College Station Feb. 18-20, Colorado State returns to action at the Easton Showcase in Fullerton, Calif., this weekend. The 10-team event features three nationally ranked teams and Mtn. West foe San Diego State. The Rams will also play a double-header at Cal Poly on Monday.

Competing at the Troy Cox Classic at New Mexico State Feb. 25-26, New Mexico posted a 3-2 record. Most notably, the Lobos' avenged an earlier loss to Penn State, 3-2, and posted their first win over a ranked opponent since Mar. 18, last season when they defeated No. 8 Illinois-Chicago, 5-4. Kathy Moore (Jr., P/1B) was named to the all-tournament team and Danielle Cassara (Sr., P/1B) was selected the conference pitcher of the week. The Lobos are hitting .301 as a team and compete at the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas this weekend. Besides the host, the tournament field includes Minnesota and Ole Miss.

For the second week in a row, San Diego State claimed conference player of the week honors as Christy Sears (Sr., DH) nabbed the award this time. Rain forced the final day of play at the Easton Invitational in Fullerton to be cancelled as the Aztecs posted a 2-1 record. Seven SDSU games have already been rained out this season. The Aztecs will join Colorado State at the Easton Showcase in Fullerton, Calif., this weekend.

After receiving 16 votes for No. 34 in the first national poll, UNLV went 1-3 against Texas A&M and Pacific, which also both received votes, during the UNLV Tri Tourney Feb. 26-27. Nicole Miller (Sr., RF) led the Rebels by batting .454 over the weekend. Rachel Goodpaster (Jr., SS) suffer a knee injury during the first Texas A&M game and will be out indefinitely. UNLV opened the week with a 5-3 win over Tulsa. The Rebels will take this week off and return to action at the USL Mini-Tourney in Lafayette, La., on Mar. 11-12.

Receiving seven votes to tie for No. 39 in the first national poll, Utah recorded a 2-3 slate at its own Red Desert Classic in St. George, Utah. All three of the Utes' losses were to nationally ranked opponents as Utah fell to No. 11 Stanford (2-1), No. 1 Washington (14-1) and No. 25 Oklahoma State (5-3). Leading the offensive attack for the Utes again was Sunny Smith (Sr., C) who batted .385 (5-for-13), with three home runs for a 1.154 slugging percentage and four RBI during the tournament. Junior pitcher Kristin Arbogast threw three complete games in her four starts and made five appearances for 29 innings of work. Utah will travel to Columbus, Ga., site of the first Olympic softball games, to compete in the Lead-Off Classic this weekend. The Utes' pool for the tournament includes No. 1 Washington, No. 18 Illinois-Chicago and Florida in addition to Utah.