ABOUT NEVADA
Nevada is 30-14 on the season and receiving votes in both national Top 25 polls this week ... The Wolf Pack is home this weekend for the final series of the 2009 season at Hixson Park ... Nevada will play Utah State in a doubleheader on Friday at 2 p.m. and will then hold Senior Day prior to Saturday’s series finale at 1 p.m. ... Senior outfielder Brittany Puzey has reached base safely in 23 straight games and in 42 of Nevada’s 44 games this season ... Puzey recorded a school-record 20-game hitting streak earlier this season ... Junior pitcher Katie Holverson is 13-1 in her last 14 decisions and 18-1 in her last 19 WAC decisions (dating back to 2007) ... Entering this weekend, Nevada holds a half-game lead in WAC play and controls its own destiny for the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament ... The Pack is ranked in the top 50 nationally in seven offensive categories ... Individually, Nevada players are in the top 50 in five statistical categories ... The Wolf Pack returned 13 letterwinners from last year, including seven starting position players and one pitcher ... Of the returners, seven earned first- or second-team All-WAC honors in 2008 ... Topping the list of returnees is sophomore catcher Noelle Micka, a second-team NFCA All-American in 2008; junior pitcher Katie Holverson, a second-team NFCA All-West Region honoree in 2008; and senior outfielder Brittany Puzey, an honorable mention NFCA All-West Region selection in 2007 ... Nevada went 44-18 overall in 2008 and captured its first WAC regular season crown with a 16-2 record ... The Wolf Pack advanced to the NCAA Regionals, where it fell in the title game at UCLA ... Nevada is led by first-year coach Matt Meuchel, who was an assistant here for four years (2003-06) before spending two years at Oklahoma State ... His staff includes fourth-year assistant Melanie Meuchel and first-year assistant coach Lisa Dodd.
SENIOR DAY
Prior to Saturday’s game, five Nevada seniors will be honored as part of Senior Day Festivities. These seniors are the most successful class in the history of Nevada softball. The class is made up of Michelle Beach, Sarah Hunt, Brittany Puzey, Kym Silagyi and Katie Stith.
This senior class has won 135 games over the past four seasons and has played in the championship game of the WAC Tournament each of the past three seasons. In two of the last three years, this class has gone to NCAA Tournament appearances and last year, reached the championship game of the NCAA Regional in Los Angeles.
This senior class have been instrumental in that team success. Individually, this class has completely re-written the offense portion of the school record book.
ABOUT THIS WEEKEND
This series features the conference-leading Wolf Pack and the Utah State Aggies. Nevada enters this series 30-14 overall and 10-4 in the WAC. The Aggies come into this weekend 10-32 overall and 3-12.
All three games will also be available via Live Stats on www.nevadawolfpack.com. Choose the “Multimedia” link on the left side of the page and then click “Live Stats.” An icon will appear near game time of each contest.
Admission to Hixson Park is $7 for adults and $4 for children (12 and younger) and seniors (65 and older). The entrance to Hixson Park is located off Valley Road by turning east on Manogue Road.
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
The Aggies come into this series 10-32 overall and 3-12 in WAC play after taking one of three from New Mexico State earlier this week.
Offensively, Megan McDonald leads the Aggies with a .314 batting average while teammate Jasmine Harris (.301) is the only other player with an average over .300.
In the circle, Kate Greenough has a team-leading seven wins and a 3.04 earned-run average for Utah State.
Utah State is coached by Candi Letts.
Nevada holds an 18-7 all-time record against Utah State.
