Mountain West Conference Softball Championship All-Tournament Team: Holly Schmillen (CSU), Racheal Goodpaster (UNLV), Geney Orris (UNLV), Danielle Cassara (UNM), Kathy Moore (UNM), Kristin Arbogast (Utah), Jenny Monson (Utah), Sunny Smith (Utah), Lindsey Trevis (Utah), Designated Player - Nikki Hayhurst (Utah), Most Valuable Player of the Tournament - Kristin Arbogast (Utah).

2000 All-Mountain West Conference Softball Team
(as selected by head coaches)
Maryon Dewitt, P, Jr., BYU
Mindy Hanson, 1B, Jr., BYU
Alyson Carter, C/1B, Sr., CSU
Sara Hyzer, CF, Sr., CSU
Brittania Erickson, 3B, So., CSU
Holly Schmillen, SS, Jr., CSU
Danielle Cassara, P/1B, Sr., UNM
Kelly Glass, OF, Fr., UNM
Krissy Keene, OF, Jr., UNM
Kathy Moore, P/1B, Jr., UNM
Sandra Durazo, P, Jr., SDSU
Sarah Hershman, 2B, So., SDSU
Kellie Nordhagen, OF, So., SDSU
Racheal Goodpaster, SS, Jr., UNLV
Nicole Miller, OF, Sr., UNLV
Kristin Arbogast, P, So., Utah
Molly McLean, OF, So., Utah
Jenny Monson, OF, Sr., Utah
Sunny Smith, C, Sr., Utah
Designated Player: Niki Hayhurst, DP/IF, Fr., Utah

Player of the Year - Kristin Arbogast, Utah
Freshman of the Year - Niki Hayhurst, Utah
Coach of the Year - Mona Stevens, Utah

McLeodUSA 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, Mar. 8 ­ Kathy Moore (Jr., P/1B) UNM, Mar. 14 ­ Lyndsey Trevis (So., 3B) Utah, Mar. 21 ­ Sarah Maulorica (So., DP) UNM, Mar. 28 ­ Kellie Labor (Sr., OF) SDSU, Apr. 4 ­ Molly McLean (So., OF) Utah, Apr. 10 ­ Danielle Cassara (Sr., 1B/P) UNM, Apr. 18 ­ Brooke Chaffee (So., 2B) UNM, Apr. 25 ­ Molly McLean (So., OF) Utah, May 1 ­ Jenny Monson (Sr., OF) Utah, May 8 ­ Brooke Chaffee (So., 2B) UNM.

McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference 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, Mar. 8 ­ Kathy Moore (Jr.) UNM, Nicole Truax (So.) UNLV, Mar. 21 ­ Danielle Cassara (Sr.) UNM, Mar. 28 ­ Sandra Durazo (Jr.) SDSU, Apr. 4 ­ Kristin Arbogast (Jr.) Utah, Apr. 10 ­ Kyla Kiester (Jr.) CSU and Sandra Durazo (Jr.) SDSU, Apr. 18 ­ Sandra Durazo (Jr.) SDSU, Apr. 25 ­ Kathy Moore (Jr.) UNM, May 1 ­ Kristin Arbogast (Jr.) Utah, May 8 ­ Danielle Cassara (Sr.) UNM.

Mtn. West Head Coaches:
BYU ­ Mary Kay Amicone
Record: 16-27 (1st season)

Colorado State ­ Teri Klement
Record: 37-56 (2nd season)

New Mexico ­ Susan Craig
Record: 618-533 (24th season)

San Diego State ­ Kathy Van Wyk
Record: 113-116 (4th season)

UNLV ­ Shan McDonald
Record: 433-382-2 (14th season)

Utah ­ Mona Stevens
Record: 147-87 (4th season)

Mtn. West Conference Preseason Softball Coaches Poll
Pl. School (1st) Points
1. Utah (3) 23
2. New Mexico (2) 21
3. San Diego State (1) 18
4. UNLV 13
5. Colorado State 10
6. BYU 5

Utah Wins Inaugural Regular-Season Conference Race Utah claimed the first-ever Mountain West Conference regular-season title, despite splitting a doubleheader with BYU (4-7/12 innings, 7-5) in the final week of action. The Utes finished the regular season 15-5 in league play and 36-21 overall. New Mexico climbed into second place by sweeping UNLV (9-1, 8-0) and San Diego State (12-1, 4-0) to finish just one game back with a 14-6 league mark and a 36-17 overall slate. The losses to New Mexico put San Diego State into third place, just two games back with a 13-7 conference record. The Aztecs opened the week with a doubleheader sweep at Colorado State (3-1, 9-5). Colorado State held on to fourth place with a league record of 7-11. The Rams started the week by being swept by San Diego State (1-3, 5-9) before splitting with UNLV (2-1, 2-5). BYU wound up fifth in the standings (7-13) despite giving Utah a scare and earning a split in the twinbill (7-4/12 innings, 5-7). Sixth-place UNLV dropped both games at New Mexico (1-9, 0-8) and the first at Colorado State (1-2) before rally to win the regular-season finale (5-2). The Rebels finished 3-17 in conference action.

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

No. 1-seed Utah won the tournament, defeating No. 2 New Mexico 4-3 in the final game. The Utes won three straight games en route to the title. After enduring a two-hour snow delay on opening day, Utah¹s first game was pushed to Friday morning and the remainder of the schedule was adjusted. The Utes defeated No. 4 Colorado State, 8-0, Friday morning then downed No. 6 UNLV, 11-2, that evening. New Mexico also advanced to the championship game without a loss. The Lobos shutout UNLV 7-0 on Thursday, were idle Friday, then got by Colorado State, 3-2, to reach the final.

UNLV and Colorado State each went 2-2 in the tournament. The Rebels opened with a 14-3 upset of San Diego State in game one, then lost to UNM later that day. On Friday, UNLV edged BYU, 1-0, then fell to Utah. The Rams posted a 3-0 win over BYU on Thursday, lost to Utah Friday morning, and rallied in the seventh inning to defeat San Diego State, 4-3, that evening. CSU was eliminated by New Mexico Saturday morning.

Game-by-Game Championship Recaps

Game 1 ­ (May 11) No. 6 UNLV def. No. 3 San Diego State, 14-3
Following a two-and-one-half hour delay due to snow, UNLV's Geney Orris pitched a complete-game, no-hitter and Racheal Goodpaster blasted two home runs to lead UNLV to the victory. The Rebels scored three times in the first inning on back-to-back home runs by Goodpaster and Orris and never looked back. UNLV added another run before SDSU got on the board with three runs, two of those unearned, in the second. UNLV added five runs in the fourth and capped the game with five more in the sixth to invoke the eight-run rule.

San Diego State starting pitcher Sandra Durazo, who led the conference with a 1.86 ERA during the regular season, was reached for 11 hits and eight runs in just three and two-thirds innings. Four UNLV players collected three hits each as Goodpaster led the way with two home runs and six RBI. Orris drove in two runs with a home run and a double among her three hits. Erica Vollweiller had a RBI-double among her three hits. Charelle Ainslie stroked three singles.

Game 2 ­ (May 11) No. 4 Colorado State def. No. 5 BYU, 3-0
Jennie Orozco got Colorado State on the board early with her first home run as a Ram, a two-run shot in the first inning. The Rams added a run in the third inning as Brittania Erickson scored off an Amanda Kocis single for the final margin. For BYU, Liz Smith provided the highlight by extending her hit streak to seven games. She went 2-for-4 with a double and single.

Kyle Kiester pitched the complete-game shutout, her fourth shutout of the season, and improved to 14-15. BYU's Lindsay Jones took the loss after pitching the first two innings and fell to 3-3 on the season.

Game 3 ­ (May 11) No. 2 New Mexico def. No. 6 UNLV, 7-0
Following the trend for the day, New Mexico blasted an early home run to defeat UNLV. The Lobos scored five times in the second inning, four of those coming on a grand slam home run by Danielle Cassara. This marked the 10th home run of the season for Cassara. All runs were unearned after Cayley Warner and Krissy Keene reached on errors. UNM added another unearned run in the fifth and the first earned run of the game on a Rachael Wennekamp single for the final margin.

UNM pitcher Kathy Moore improved to 17-9 by scattering four hits and notched her third straight game without allowing an earned run. UNLV's Nicole Traux was tagged with the loss and slipped to 8-22 on the season.

Game 4 ­ (May 12) No. 1 Utah def. No. 4 Colorado State, 8-0
Utah continued the trend by using two home runs to claim the win over Colorado State. Thus far in the tournament, home runs have determined the winners, the first three games coming early and this time at the end. Pitching and defense dominated the game until the bottom of the fifth inning, when Utah's Jenny Monson stroked a lead-off home run, her 10th of the season. The Utes put together a rally highlighted by conference home run leader Sunny Smith's 18th home run and first grand slam of the season. Monson then scored the final run of the game on a double by Lyndsey Trevis as the Utes batted around the lineup and ended the game with the eight-run rule.

Kristin Arbogast pitched a one-hitter for the Utes and improved to 35-17 on the season. CSU's Kyla Kiester slipped to 14-16 after allowing six hits, all in the fifth inning, and struck out five in her 4.2 innings of work.

Game 6 ­ (May 12) No. 6 UNLV def. No. 5 BYU, 1-0
UNLV eliminated BYU as Geney Orris pitched a one-hitter for the Rebels and improved to 11-17 on the season. In the tournament-opener, Orris threw a no-hitter to defeat San Diego State. The Rebels scored the only run of the game on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Linda Garza led off the inning with a single to right. Dewitt hit Alvarado with a pitch to give the Rebels two runners. A sacrifice bunt by Charelle Ainslie advanced the runners and Garza scored on the fly to centerfield by Courtney McCandless.

The Cougars' only hit came in the fifth by Jackie Ellis. BYU threatened again in the seventh when Lindsey Hodgen led off with a walk, but was doubled off when Brooke Cadiente lined out to UNLV shortstop Racheal Goodpaster. BYU pitcher Maryon Dewitt finishes the season with a 9-10 record despite throwing a two-hitter with five strike outs in her six innings of work.

Game 5 ­ (May 12) No. 4 Colo. State def. No. 3 San Diego State, 4-3
Colorado State rallied for three runs in the seventh inning to eliminate San Diego State. CSU¹s Sara Hyzer ignited a one-out, seventh-inning rally with a single to left field, her third of the game. Hyzer advanced to third on a single by Jennie Orozco, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Alyson Carter. Brittania Erickson then singled to left giving the Rams runners on first and second with Amanda Kocis at bat. Kocis came through with her first hit of the game scoring Erickson and pinch runner Amber Hecht for the win. CSU scored its first run in the fourth inning when Beth Karabensh led off with her first home run of the season.

San Diego State scored twice in the third inning to take the early lead and added its third run in the fifth. Kellie Nordhagen led the Aztecs with two hits, including a double. Sandra Duarzo was tagged with the pitching loss and dropped to 25-12 on the season. CSU¹s Kyla Kiester claimed the win, throwing the final four and two-thirds innings.

Game 8 ­ (May 12) No. 1 Utah def. No. 6 UNLV, 11-2
Utah opened the scoring with three runs in the top of the third inning. Molly McLean collected the first two RBI with a single. Sunny Smith drove in the third run with a double down the left field line. The Utes scored six runs on seven hits, including two home runs and a double to extend the lead to nine in the fourth inning. Nicole Wilkinson led off with her sixth home run of the season and Michele Larsen stroked a two-run shot for her fifth of the year. Utah added the final margin with two runs on four hits in the fifth inning.

The Utes' offensive effort was led by a perfect 4-for-4, three-RBI performance from Smith, including a double. Lisa Hashimoto-Hall collected three hits and two stolen bases. McLean, Larsen and Stacy O'Farrell collected two hits each.

UNLV scored twice in the bottom of the fourth on three singles and an error. Erica Vollweiler, Geney Orris and Charelle Ainslie led the Rebel offense with the hits, while Garza and Orris collected RBI.

Utah's Kristin Arbogast, who pitched a one-hitter earlier in the day, threw a three-hitter and improved to 36-17 on the season. UNLV's Orris took the loss in a relief appearance and finishes the season 11-18.

Game 7 ­ (May 13) No. 2 New Mexico def. No. 4 Colorado State, 3-2
Back-to-back home runs fueled New Mexico past Colorado State and into the championship game. CSU jumped onto the scoreboard first with the first batter of the game, Holly Schmillen, hitting a long home run to centerfield. New Mexico answered with a double and two home runs in the bottom of the inning. Danielle Cassara lofted a two-run shot to leftcenter and Kathy Moore followed with a solo blast to right field. CSU cut the lead to 3-2 with the fourth home run of the game, this one by Alyson Carter to leftcenter in the fourth inning.

Pitching in relief of Cassara, Moore worked out of a base-loaded situation in the top of the sixth. Leslie Strassel then doubled to center and Schmillen was intentionally walked. Following a sacrifice bunt and strikeout, Carter was also given a free pass to load the bases. Moore got a ground out to end the inning and earned her third save of the season.

Game 9 ­ (May 13) No. 1 Utah def. No. 2 New Mexico, 4-3
The University of Utah fended off two New Mexico rallies to win the inaugural Mountain West Conference Softball Championship. Lindsey Trevis got Utah on the board with a solo home run in the third inning. The Utes added three runs on three hits capped by a two-run home run by Jenny Monson in the third inning.

New Mexico used three hits, including a RBI-single by Marianna Fenelli, to score its first run in the fifth. The Lobos cut the lead to 4-3 when Rachel Wennekamp blasted her first home run of the year, a two-run shot to left, in the sixth inning.

The Utes fended off another Lobo rally in the seventh inning to preserve the victory. With one out in the inning, Fenelli drew a walk. Cassara doubled to center field, but the Utes¹ used a strong relay from Trevis to threw Fenelli out at the plate. Moore walked to give the Lobos runners on first and second with two outs, but Lannie Horne flied out to center to end the threat.