MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE QUICK HITS BYU
The Cougars swept Colorado State and New Mexico in MWC play last weekend...Senior Lauren Watson-Perry is second in the MWC in batting average (.430), on-base percentage (.486), runs scored (40) and total bases (91)...In this week's NCAA statistics, she is ninth in runs scored (1.03 per game) and 15th in batting average (.430)...Juniors Ashlyn Russell and Paige Paramore also appear in the NCAA statistics, with Russell ranking second in home runs per game (0.36) and 20th in slugging percentage (.779), and Paramore 29th in RBI (37 total, 0.95 per game...BYU will host San Diego State and UNLV this weekend.
COLORADO STATE
The Rams went 2-3 last week, including a sweep of a doubleheader from Utah in MWC play...As a team, CSU hit at a .333 clip last week, with six players, Lauren Cusick (.529), Brittany Huerta (.421), Julia Kloppe (.375), Kerry Farrell (.364), Jessica Strickland (.364) and Stephanie Roberts (.353) all hitting above .350...Strickland tied the Colorado State single-season mark of 19 doubles last weekend...She currently leads the nation with 0.45 doubles per game (19 total)...Head coach Mary Yori needs four more conference victories to reach 50 for her career and is only eight wins away from reaching the 600-win plateau...The Rams hit the road for a MWC doubleheader at New Mexico on Saturday.
NEW MEXICO
New Mexico posted an 0-4 record in MWC play last weekend...After being swept by BYU and Utah last week, the Lobos still remain winless on the road in 2005...Sophomore Ryanne Hodgins continues to lead UNM in at bats (133), hits (45), runs scored (19), triples (three) and stolen bases (five)...Hodgins is one of five Lobos to start all 37 games this season and is the only one to have a perfect fielding percentage...New Mexico will host Colorado State on Saturday.
SAN DIEGO STATE
San Diego State was swept by UNLV Saturday...The San Diego State pitching staff leads the MWC in ERA (1.57), opponent batting average (.203) and strikeouts (316)...In the NCAA statistics, the SDSU staff ranks 26th in ERA (1.57)...Junior righthander Celena Velasquez leads the conference in ERA (1.09), strikeouts (167) and saves (five), while she ranks eighth in the nation in saves and 28th in ERA...The Aztecs will take on UNLV in conference action Saturday in Las Vegas.
UNLV
UNLV went 3-1 last week, including an upset victory over No. 18 Fresno State...The win over the Bulldogs was UNLV's fourth victory over a ranked opponent this season and its 24th non-conference win overall in 2005...With its sweep over San Diego State on Saturday, UNLV now has eight wins in conference play, which is the most for the Rebels since the 2000 season...Freshman Marissa Nichols scored her 49th run of the season last week, moving into second on the all-time Rebel single-season charts...She also hit her 12th home run last week, placing her sixth on the all-time single season list...UNLV hits the road this weekend for doubleheaders vs. Utah (Friday) and first-place BYU (Saturday).
UTAH
Utah posted a 3-3 record last week, sweeping a doubleheader from New Mexico in the process...Junior righthander Brianna Gourdin's two hitter in game two vs. the Lobos is the fewest hits she has allowed in a complete game this season and the third time in her career she has held an opponent to two or fewer hits...Junior righthander Lindsie Nielsen is averaging 4.8 strikeouts per game in her last 11 outings...Nielsen has also only allowed eight earned runs in her last 48.1 innings of work..Freshman Diana Phillips' nine game hitting streak came to an end in game one vs. UNM...Utah starts its week with a non-conference game at Utah State on Wednesday and returns home to host UNLV (Friday) and San Diego State (Saturday) in MWC play.
