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Candice Baker Selected as USA Softball National Player of the Week
March 06, 2007
Candice Baker Selected as USA Softball National Player of the WeekOKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association announced today the selection of Cal State Fullerton’s Candice Baker (Buena Park, CA/Cypress HS) as this week’s USA Softball National Player of the Week. Baker had a tremendous weekend in the circle posting a 3-0 record including a pair of shutout victories over nationally-ranked Stanford and Oregon State to help the Titans to a 4-1 record on their home field at Worth Invitational.Baker tossed her first collegiate no-hitter against then No. 8 Stanford in a 1-0 Titan win while also throwing 5 2/3 innings of no-hit softball against then No. 11 Oregon State in another 1-0 Fullerton victory. Baker, one of 50 players on the initial watch list for the USA Softball National Player of the Year, allowed only one unearned run on four hits in 21 innings of work over the weekend. She also held the opposition to a .060 batting average (4-for-67).
"This is an honor that I never expected. Our team has really started to come together. Our defense has been solid behind me and our offense keeps getting better,” said Baker. “This honor is a reflection of how our hard work has paid off. I would like to thank USA Softball for recognizing my efforts and honoring me with this special award."
She struck out 20 batters on the weekend improving to 3-1 this season against top 25 teams, also holding a win over No. 4 Northwestern back on February 11 at the Kajikawa Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. Her only loss against ranked opponents this season came against top-ranked Tennessee.
Baker is 8-3 overall this season with a 1.10 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 83 innings of work. This past weekend, the senior notched her sixth and seventh shutouts of the year; one more than she had in all of 2006 (6) and one fewer than she had in her career entering this season (8).
"Being named National Player of the week is a fantastic honor for Candice Baker and our program. This honor is a result of hard work put in,” said Fullerton head coach Michelle Gromacki. “Candice is a true competitor and has developed into a great leader in the circle. We are extremely proud of her."
For her performance this past weekend she was also named the Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season. This is the first-time Baker has been selected as the USA Softball Player of the Week, as well as, the second time an athlete from Fullerton has received this honor. Amanda Hockett was named the first-ever USA Softball Player of the Week in 2003.
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Oklahoma’s Mariee Mena selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Week
Feb. 27, 2007
Oklahoma’s Mariee Mena selected as the USA Softball National Player of the WeekOklahoma City---Oklahoma senior Mariee Mena (Escondido, Calif.) has been selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Week after leading the undefeated Sooners to a perfect 6-0 record this past week at the prestigious Palm Springs Classic including wins over No. 17 California and No. 7 Oregon State. From the plate this past week, the feisty outfielder went 10-for-15 for an impressive .692 batting average at the Palm Spring Classic.Through six games, Mena compiled a slugging percentage of 1.133 on 17 total bases which included a double and two home runs. Additionally, she recorded eight RBI and is currently on an eight-game hitting streak, the longest of her career. She currently leads Oklahoma with a .514 batting average and an .800 slugging percentage in the 15 games she has played.
Mena opened the Palm Springs Classic with an impressive outing as she went 2-for-3, both extra base hits that included a double and home run, against Notre Dame and recorded an RBI. She continued her impressive hitting in the second game of the doubleheader against Loyola Marymount, adding an RBI and another 2-for-3 performance in the Sooner’s run-rule victory.
“This honor is a reflection of our entire team because we really played well together this weekend and I’m just glad that I could do my part to help,” said Mena of this honor.“The coaching staff put together a great game plan for us and we were able to get the job done. It was also very exciting to have a good weekend in front of my family in my home state of California.”
The senior saved her best performances for Saturday as Oklahoma took on a pair of ranked teams. Mena sparked the offensive rally in the run rule against No. 17 Cal as she got the Sooners on board first with an RBI in the first inning and added another RBI in the second inning to give the Sooners a 7-1 lead. She went 1-for-2 against the Bears with two RBI. The lefty also came through in Oklahoma’s 4-1 upset over No. 7 Oregon State as her RBI produced the fourth run of the game as the Sooners went on to win, 4-1. At the plate she went 2-for-3 with one RBI and a walk against the seventh-ranked Beavers.
“This is a tremendous honor for Mariee and I know it’s a weekend that the fifth-year senior will always remember,“ said Oklahoma head coach Patty Gasso. “I haven’t seen a player in a long time make such consistent solid contact with the ball as she did this weekend.I’m excited for her that she’s representing the University of Oklahoma.”
The California native finished out the week strong going 2-for-2 against Ohio State with three RBI. Mena ignited the offense in the fourth with the game tied 1-1. She led off the inning with a single and her teammates went on to score two more runs to take a 3-1 lead. She gave the Sooners a comfortable 5-1 lead in the fifth as she pounded a two-run home run.
This is the first-time honor as USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Week for Mena.
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Lady Vols are No 1
Feb. 27, 2007
It’s Unanimous – Lady Vols are No. 1 in ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25Oklahoma City---For the first time this season we have a unanimous choice sitting atop the 2007 ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll. The Tennessee Lady Volunteers, who have started the season with a perfect 15-0 record, were listed as the No. 1 team in the country on every voter’s ballot, with 20 first-place votes. Tennessee went 6-0 this past week with impressive wins over No. 14 UCLA (6-1) and No. 23 Fresno State (5-0) to remain unbeaten.Arizona (11-3) moved up to No. 2 in this week’s poll after going 2-1 in a three-game series with Texas A&M (13-2) who was ranked No. 3 last week. The Aggies dropped to No. 5 after its two losses at Arizona.
Alabama continued its push up the poll to No. 3 after a perfect run through the Bama Bash this past week to run its record to 16-0. The Tide collected two shutout wins over No. 22 NC State including a 6-0 win in the championship game. Arizona State fell from ranks of the unbeaten this week after losing to Northwestern, 5-2, but remain in the top five at No. 4.
After a tough week at the Palm Springs Classic that saw Oregon State (8-5) drop three of its five games to ranked opponents, the Beavers dropped out of the top 10 to No. 13 while Oklahoma (16-0) kept its undefeated season going to move up to No. 7 in the latest poll.
Michigan (14-1) cracked the top 10 this week at No. 9 after sharing the NFCA Classic title with No. 21 Georgia Tech (12-2). This is the first time Georgia Tech has entered the top 25 since June 15, 2005. Texas (12-3) also entered the top 10 after going 4-1 at the Palm Springs Classic that included wins over No. 15 Washington, 4-0, and No. 7 Oregon State, 2-0.
Oregon (15-1) made the biggest jump in this week’s poll moving from No. 25 to No. 17 after going 6-0 at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego.
Three other teams join Georgia Tech as newbie’s to the top 25 poll this week. Southern Illinois (12-3) enters the poll for the first time since May 7, 2006 at No. 22 while Hawaii (12-2) and Illinois State (11-4) make their first appearance ever in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll at No. 24 and No. 25 respectively.
Four teams dropped out of the Top 25 poll this week including Fresno State (8-6), Nebraska (7-5), NC State (10-5) and UMass (4-5-1). It is the first time in the history of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll that Nebraska has not appeared in the top 25 and the first time since May 29, 2003 that Fresno State is not among the rankings.
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Tennessee’s Abbott selected Player of the Week
Feb. 20, 2007
Tennessee’s Abbott selected Player of the WeekOklahoma City---Tennessee’s Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) has been selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Week for the week of January 12-18. The current Southeastern Conference Player of the Week is off to a remarkable start to her senior season that includes a perfect 9-0 record and the top ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll for a second consecutive week.
This past weekend at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., she went 4-0 in the circle with a 0.00 ERA that included three complete game shutouts and a whopping 56 strikeouts in just 22 innings of work. She has now amassed 100 strikeouts in just eight appearances while holding opponents to a miniscule .029 batting average.
“Thanks to USA Softball for giving me this wonderful honor,” Tennessee senior pitcher Monica Abbott said. “I am extremely excited about how well our team has been playing so far this year, and I look forward to seeing what this group can do throughout the rest of the season. Our team’s having a lot of fun playing softball right now. This honor belongs not just to me, but to our entire team. These awards are just a reflection of the amazing effort shown by everyone in practice and on the field each day.”
In the four games she appeared in at the Desert Classic she allowed only two hits. She tossed her 18th and 19th career no-hitters in victories over Florida International (8-0 in 5 innings) and Cal State Northridge (9-0) that included 12 and 19 strikeouts respectively. Against Illinois she allowed only one hit while striking out 17 in a complete game effort. She struck out the side 14-times in 22 innings of work this past weekend for an average of 17.8 strikeouts per seven innings.
"Monica had a phenomenal week, one of the best weeks I've ever seen a pitcher have in my coaching career," Tennessee co-head coach Karen Weekly said. "She was in total command of her pitches and has really elevated her game to begin her senior season. This is a great honor for both Monica and our entire program."
This marks the fourth time since 2004 that Abbott has been selected as the USA Softball National Player of the Year. -
Tennessee still on top USA Softball Top 25 Poll
Feb. 20, 2007
Tennessee still on top of ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 PollOklahoma City---After week two of the college season five teams in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll remain unbeaten and are ranked in the Top 10 this week. The top five remains the same with Tennessee leading the way with a perfect 9-0 record but Texas A&M jumped to No. 2 while Arizona State slipped to No. 3 despite a 13-0 record. Arizona is No. 4 with a 9-2 record while Alabama ranks No. 5 with a 10-0 record.There were three newcomers to the top 10 with Stanford (9-2) moving up from No. 12 to No. 8, No. 13 Louisiana Lafayette (12-1) moved to No. 9 and No. 14 Oklahoma (10-0) jumped to No. 10.
No. 17 California tumbled from the Top 10 after a posting a record of 3-3 this weekend that included two losses by the run-rule to Mississippi State (9-0) and Northwestern (10-1). Despite a run-rule win over California, Northwestern (6-4), who dropped their final game at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic to Cal Poly (8-2), slipped from No. 8 to No. 13 this week. UCLA also fell out of the Top 10 to No. 14 after picking up their fourth loss of the season, an 8-1 setback to Oklahoma State.
No. 25 Oregon entered the poll for the first time this season after stretching their win streak to eight games this past week while DePaul fell out of the rankings despite not playing this week.
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Amanda Scarborough named as the USA Softball National Player of the Week
Feb. 13, 2007
Amanda Scarborough named as the USA Softball National Player of the WeekOklahoma City, Okla. – The Amateur Softball Association announced today the selection of Texas A&M’s Amanda Scarborough (Magnolia, Texas) as the first USA Softball National Player of the Week for the 2007 season. With a 5-0 record, Scarborough helped lead the Aggies to a top five ranking in this weeks ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll, the first in the programs history.
“This is a huge honor for me,” commented A&M junior captain Amanda Scarborough. “It comes as a huge surprise because of the exceptional play of the rest of my teammates this weekend in Arizona. I give a lot of credit to my defense; they played solid and made big plays in pressure situations. Patti (Wunderlich) called a great game behind the plate and I was able to hit my spots and get outs when we needed them. Our success was a definite team effort.”
In the opening week of the season the junior right-hander was outstanding in the circle turning in a 3-0 record that included wins over three top-five teams including the defending national champions and top ranked Arizona Wildcats. Against the Wildcats in the final game of the Kajikawa Classic she struck out five, allowed only five hits and scored the tying run after hitting a double to reach base. She was equally impressive against No. 3 UCLA allowing just one earned run while striking out four to lead the Aggies to a 5-4 win. Against No. 4 Northwestern, Scarborough walked the lead off batter to start the game but then proceeded to retire the next 11 consecutive batters on her way to a 4-3 victory.In 21 innings of work, Scarborough allowed only three earned runs off 14 hits and collected 15 strikeouts. She also helped her cause at the plate going 5-for-17 with five runs scored and four RBI.
“Being named National Player of the Week is a great honor for Amanda and our program,” commented A&M head coach Jo Evans. “Amanda has worked very hard in the off-season to be a great leader on the mound and in the clubhouse. She got great support from her teammates this past weekend and it is nice to see the hard work of Amanda and her teammates being recognized at the national level. Amanda has learned a lot by competing against the likes of Arizona and UCLA during her young career and she has made the adjustments necessary to go head to head with these teams and have success.”
This is the second time Scarborough has been honored as the USA Softball Player of the Week. Her first honor came on March 29, 2005 during her freshman season.About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com.
About USA Softball
USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. -
Opening week brings a shake up
Feb. 13, 2007
Opening week brings a shake up in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 Poll
Oklahoma City---It may have only been week one of the 2007 season but a lot of things changed in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll after some teams answered the challenge of tough competition in the opening week. For the first time in the history of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll, the University of Tennessee is the top ranked team in college softball after opening its season with a 4-0 record. Senior Monica Abbott (Salinas, Calif.) led the Volunteers to a successful weekend tossing a no-hitter and recording 44 strikeouts in 17 innings of work.
The most impressive performance of the week came from the Texas A&M Aggies who moved from No. 14 to No. 3 in the latest poll. The Aggies stormed through its competition at the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., collecting wins over four top 25 teams including three teams previously ranked in the top five.
A&M opened the Kajikawa Classic with a 4-3 win over No. 4 Northwestern and followed it with a 10-2 win over No. 20 Fresno State. On day two, the Aggies knocked off No. 3 UCLA, 5-4, and Utah 10-3 before closing out the tournament on Sunday with a 3-2 win over defending national champion and top ranked Arizona.
Despite suffering two losses at the Kajikawa Classic, Arizona only dropped to No. 4 in this week’s poll. Alabama and LSU moved into a tie at No. 5 after going undefeated in their opening weekend.
UCLA and Northwestern, who had previously been ranked No. 3 and No. 4 respectively, struggled at the Kajikawa Classic with identical 2-3 records but were able to hold on to a top 10 ranking. Northwestern slipped to No. 8 while UCLA fell to No. 9.
Texas proved it could still be a contender despite the loss of All-American Cat Osterman to graduation. The Longhorns finished the Kajikawa Classic with a 4-1 record that included wins over UCLA, 1-0, and Stanford, 7-6, to move up seven spots to No. 11 in the latest poll.
The Florida Gators entered the poll this week at No. 19 after a 4-1 start at the Kajikawa Classic that included wins over Oregon, 2-1, and Arizona, 3-1. It’s the first time the Gators have been ranked in the Top 25 since April 18 of 2006.
South Florida and Louisville dropped out of the Top 25 while DePaul entered at No. 24 after winning the Paradise Classic in Honolulu with a 5-2 record.About ASAThe Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 84 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com.About USA SoftballUSA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive. -
Invitees for Mens National Team Selectio
Feb. 12, 2007
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Coaches Applications
Feb. 02, 2007
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Arizona Preseason Poll
Jan. 30, 2007
Arizona Holds Top Spot In Preseason Poll
Oklahoma City, Okla. – Backed by 13 first-place votes, the University of Arizona will open the 2007 season the same way they finished in 2006 as the No. 1 team in the country according to the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 poll announced today by the Amateur Softball Association. With 483 points, the Wildcats won their seventh National title in 2006 including a 2-0 sweep of Northwestern in the Championship Series.
The Wildcats return the bulk of their offensive power but will be without All-American Alicia Hollowell who threw every inning for the Wildcats during the World Series and set the World Series record with a total of 64 strikeouts.
The University of Tennessee is close behind Arizona with 476 points after collecting five first-place votes. The Volunteers return All-American pitcher Monica Abbott, who had a record of 44-10 in 62 appearances last season. Of the three finalists for the 2006 USA Softball Athletes of the Year, Abbott is the only returnee.
UCLA will begin the season ranked third after wrapping up the 2006 campaign with a 50-9 record and a third-place finish at the NCAA Women’s College World Series. Sending them home from the 2006 WCWS was Northwestern who is ranked fourth after shocking softball fans by making it to the Championship Series against perennial powerhouse Arizona last season. The Wildcats beat Alabama, 6-5 (10), Tennessee, 2-0, and UCLA, 3-1 (8), before being shut out by Arizona in the Championship Series, 8-0, 5-0.
Rounding out the top five is Arizona State, who finished 53-15 under first-year coach Clint Myers. The Sun Devils are on track to make it back to the World Series after losing only one starter from their 2006 squad. Despite a 2006 World Series appearance and an impressive 55-9 record a year ago, the University of Texas dropped 15 spots in the preseason poll to No. 18 to start out the season. With the departure of three-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Cat Osterman, who led the team to three World Series appearances, the Longhorns will need to rely on junior Meagan Denny to take them back to the Series. Osterman finished her four-year tenure at Texas as the NCAA's all-time softball strikeout leader.
The University of Massachusetts made it into the top 25 after receiving votes in the final poll of the 2006 season while the 2006 Big 12 Champion Kansas Jayhawks fell out of the preseason Top 25 after going 2-2 at the NCAA Regionals.
Click here to see the complete poll and be sure to check out the College Corner on through out the college softball season for continuous coverage including weekly polls, Player of the Week winners and the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.