Games 32-34: vs. Utah State
at Christina M. Hixson Park
Game 1: Friday, 2 p.m.
Game 2: Friday, 4 p.m.
Game 3: Saturday, 2 p.m.
ABOUT NEVADA
The Wolf Pack softball team is faring well against one of the toughest schedules in school history. Through 31 games, Nevada is 20-11 with wins over three ranked opponents. That includes a historic 1-0 upset over then-No. 1 Arizona at the Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State.
The Wolf Pack is receiving votes in both national Top 25 polls this week.
The Wolf Pack is coming off a solid performance last week in which it won a doubleheader at UC Davis before winning a pair of games at the Capital Classic hosted by Sacramento State in Sacramento, Calif. Sophomore Katie Holverson went 2-1 with a save during the week and she tossed three complete games. Freshman utility player Noelle Micka continued her torrid hitting with a .481 batting average for the week, including two doubles and her first career triple.
Nevada returned the bulk of last year’s team that went 28-31 overall and came within a game of making it to its second-straight NCAA Tournament. Nevada brought back 15 letterwinners, all eight starters and its top two pitchers from last year’s team. Senior pitcher Jordan McPherson was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference this season. She was joined on the All-WAC Preseason Team by junior outfielder Brittany Puzey, who was an All-West Region selection in 2007. The Pack added four freshmen to the mix this year and the other newcomer is senior pitcher Richelle Villescas, a transfer from Temple. The Pack is coached by Michelle Gardner in her sixth year overall and at Nevada.
ABOUT THIS WEEKEND
The University of Nevada continues the 2008 campaign with a home-opening and Western Athletic Conference-opening series against Utah State this week. The Wolf Pack and Aggies will meet Friday in a doubleheader at Christina M. Hixson Softball Park with the first pitch at 2 p.m. and the second game beginning 30 minutes after the first game. This will be the 15th Wolf Pack game all-time at the park, which opened on March 29, 2007. Nevada is 10-4 at Hixson Park.
Live Stats of all three games will be available on the Internet at www.nevadawolfpack.com.
Tickets are $7 per day. Discounted tickets of $4 are available for children (12 and under) and seniors (65 and older).
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State enters the series with a 3-14 overall record after falling on Tuesday to South Dakota State (2-1) and BYU (15-4 in five innings) in Provo, Utah. The Aggies have lost five games in a row dating back to March 9.
The Aggies were picked for sixth place in the WAC Preseason Coaches Poll. They are coached by Candi Letts, who is in her second season at the Utah State and her 14th season overall as a head coach.
Offensively, the Aggies are led by Kelley Kaneshiro, a freshman utility player, who is batting .324 with two home runs and 10 RBI on the season. She is the only Aggie batting above .300 this season. In the circle, Utah State is paced by Lindsey Benson, who is 3-10 with a 4.91 ERA.
For the complete weekly game notes, click the PDF link above.
