| May 17, 2004 UTSA meets Illinois in first round of NCAA Softball Regional Thursday Complete Release / Updated Player Bios Waco Regional Website / Waco Regional Bracket Live Audio Broadcast (goUTSA.com) / Live Stats (baylorbears.com) |
No. 7-seed UTSA Roadrunners (37-15)
vs.
No. 2-seed Illinois Illini (41-19-1)
Getterman Stadium - Waco, Texas
Game 53: Thursday, May 20 - 12:30 p.m.
UTSA vs. Waco Regional Opponents
vs. No. 2 seed Illinois: first meeting
vs. No. 1 seed LSU: LSU leads, 2-0 (last meeting: LSU 10, UTSA 0 - 2/20/04)
vs. No. 3 seed Baylor: UTSA leads, 13-11 (last meeting: BU 4, UTSA 0 - 2/9/02)
vs. No. 4 seed Houston: Houston leads, 5-2 (last meeting: UH 3, UTSA 1 - 3/10/04)
vs. No. 5 seed Seton Hall: never met
vs. No. 6 seed North Carolina: UTSA leads, 1-0 (UTSA 1, UNC 0 - 3/5/94)
vs. No. 8 seed A&M-Corpus Christi: UTSA leads, 10-6 (TAMU-CC 3, UTSA 2 - 2/7/04 )
SLC Sweep
UTSA won its first-ever regular season Southland Conference title after sweeping a doubleheader at McNeese State, 3-0 and 2-1, on April 26. The two wins gave the Roadrunners a 20-6 league record, one game better than runner-up and preseason favorite Texas State's 19-7 mark. UTSA proved it was the league's best team by running through the SLC Tournament in San Marcos with a perfect 4-0 performance. After a pair of 6-3 wins over Nicholls State and Texas-Arlington (10 innings) in the first two rounds, the Roadrunners capped off an incredible conference season with a 6-0 win over Sam Houston State and an 11-3 run-ruling of Northwestern State in the title game, earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
All-SLC Accolades
The Southland Conference office handed out all-conference honors on April 29 and UTSA was well-represented with eight players. Aimee Murray was named Freshman of the Year, while Corrie Hill earned Coach of the Year accolades. Junior Krystal Gibson (1B), sophomore Jessica Rogers (3B) and Murray all earned first-team honors, while senior Christy Brownlee (2B) and junior Jennifer Davis (OF) were chosen to the second team. Sophomores Jessica Els (C) and Amanda Horton (DP) and freshman Ursula Mares made the third team. Additionally, four Roadrunners made the All-SLC Tournament team - Mares (MVP), Brownlee, Rogers and Murray.
From Worst To First
In 2003, UTSA finished last in the Southland Conference with a 7-20 record. Head coach Corrie Hill orchestrated a remarkable turnaround this spring, guiding the Roadrunners to their first league crown with a 20-6 mark. Overall, UTSA has gone from a 15-40 record in 2003 to a 37-15 mark in 2004, a turnaround of 23.5 games, the seventh-best mark in NCAA history.
Going, Going, Gone
UTSA has soared past last year's NCAA-leading home run pace, belting 101 home runs through 52 games for a 1.94 average. As of May 11, the Roadrunners lead the nation in total home runs and homers per game by a sizeable margin ahead of Louisiana-Lafayette (76/1.31), UCLA (65/1.44), Arizona (63/1.17) and LSU (55/1.00).
Friendly Fourth
The fourth inning has been friendly to the Roadrunners this season, as UTSA has outscored its opponents, 62-15 in the frame. In the first four innings combined, UTSA owns a 231-88 advantage. The Roadrunners have outscored their foes 329-155 overall, an average of 6.3-3.0 per game. The 329 runs scored is a school record.
Record-Breakers
Speaking of school records, UTSA has broken four team offensive marks this season and is on pace to snap three more. The Roadrunners have broken school standards for runs (329), home runs (101), RBI (310) and total bases (835). UTSA has a chance to surpass records for batting average (.319; record - .311, 2000), slugging percentage (.595; record - .484, 2000) and on-base percentage (.389; record - .361, 1999). The Roadrunners also are just two wins shy of matching the single-season wins record of 39 set in 2000.
No April Fool's Day Joke
On April 1, UTSA tied the NCAA single-game home run record with eight long balls in game one of a doubleheader against Texas Southern. If that was not enough, the Roadrunners belted eight more bombs in the nightcap to equal the mark twice in the same day. Christy Brownlee slugged four of the 16 homers, two in each game, while Jessica Rogers hit three and Krystal Gibson and sophomore Stacey Gillespie lost two apiece. In an interesting bit of irony, I-35 rival Texas State set the record against Stephen F. Austin on March 2, 2002. One of the eight homers hit that day was by current UTSA assistant coach Stephanie Hughes. Almost lost in all the home run buzz is the fact that Ursula Mares hurled her first career no-hitter in game one, the first no-no at UTSA since Denise Briggs in 2000.
Third Time's The Charm
In the third and final game with Texas Southern one week later in Houston, UTSA broke the NCAA single-game home run record with 10 long balls in a 26-1 crushing of the Tigers. Junior Jessica Ellison hit two homers in the fifth inning, the second one the record-breaker. Jessica Rogers, sophomore Jenny Garcia and Aimee Murray also hit two apiece. UTSA also tied the NCAA single-game total bases record of 64 set by Canisius in 1990, pounding out an SLC-record 28 hits, including the 10 homers, four doubles and one triple.
On The National Radar
UTSA's power-hitting prowess has gained national attention this season. As of May 9, the Roadrunners find themselves ranked in several categories. Besides leading the NCAA in home runs (101) and home runs per game (1.94), UTSA ranks fifth in scoring at 6.33 runs per game and ninth in batting average at .319. Individually, Christy Brownlee leads the NCAA in home runs (22) and homers per game (0.42) and ranks sixth in slugging percentage (.830) and 20th in RBI per game (0.90). Jessica Rogers is tied for eighth in homers per game (0.33), 24th in slugging percentage (.737) and 26th in RBI per game (0.88). Krystal Gibson is 11th in homers (0.31) and Ursula Mares is tied for seventh in victories (28).
League Leaders
UTSA has been one of the Southland Conference's top offensive clubs on a yearly basis since Corrie Hill took over the program in 1999. This year is no different as the Roadrunners lead the league in nine offensive categories as of May 11. The Roadrunners top the charts in batting average (.319), slugging percentage (.595), on-base percentage (.389), runs scored (329), hits (447), RBI (310), doubles (77), home runs (101), total bases (835) and sacrifice flies (11). The Roadrunners top the charts in fielding percentage (.968), a category they ranked dead last (.939) in last year. In conference games only, UTSA made its mark on the offensive charts. The Roadrunners led the league in batting average (.310), slugging percentage (.553) and on-base percentage (.382). UTSA dominated several other categories with 148 runs scored, 37 more than Texas State (111), 213 hits, 39 more than Northwestern State (174), 142 RBI, 41 more than Texas State (101), 42 home runs, 24 more than Texas State (18) and 380 total bases, 104 more than Texas State (276).
Movin' On Up
Christy Brownlee has developed into one of the top all-around players in UTSA history during her career. The Galena Park native ranks in the top 10 on 21 of UTSA's 27 single-season or career offensive and defensive charts. She broke Michelle McElyea's record for career home runs with her 38th career long ball against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 21 and now has upped that mark to 55. Brownlee broke three more career records in the doubleheader sweep of Texas Southern on April 1. She moved past McElyea for first place on UTSA's career RBI chart and ahead of former All-American Amanda Michalsky on the runs scored and extra-base hits lists. Brownlee also broke McElyea's career at-bats standard against Texas State and her career walks record at McNeese State. For her career, Brownlee now has 154 runs, 136 RBI, 89 walks, 91 extra-base hits and 715 at-bats. Other career rankings for Brownlee include second with 219 hits and 397 assists and seventh with 34 doubles. Brownlee broke the SLC and UTSA single-season home run record of 19 set by Michalsky in 1999 with her 20th against Northwestern State on April 9. Brownlee also has put herself in position to rank as one of the NCAA's all-time best home run sluggers. Her SLC-record 55 career bombs already ranks 12th on the NCAA list. She moved into a tie for 14th on the NCAA single-season chart with her 22nd long ball against Sam Houston State on May 2.
Record Race
Besides Brownlee's assault on the school record books this spring, several other Roadrunners have inched their way up a number of categories. Krystal Gibson has turned in the fifth-best single-season home run performance with 16 this year. That gives her career 33 long balls, good for third place on the all-time chart. Gibson also has 26 extra-base hits this year (T-No. 3) and 70 for her career (No. 3), 36 career doubles (No. 5), 64 career walks (No. 5), a career .355 batting average (No. 3), a .990 fielding percentage this season (No. 3) and 930 career putouts (No. 2). Just a sophomore, Jessica Rogers has made her mark on the record books, as well. Her 17 homers this season rank fourth and her 28 career bombs are fifth. She also owns the second-best career batting average (.379). In her debut campaign, Ursula Mares has tied the single-season record for appearances with 43 and ranks second in victories (28), starts (37) and innings pitched (243.1), third in shutouts (nine) and fourth in strikeouts (174).
On A Roll
UTSA has won 22 of its past 23 games and the success of several players at the plate and in the circle has played a big role. As a team, the Roadrunners are batting .348 with an unbelievable 64 home runs (2.78 per game), 35 doubles, a slugging percentage of .706 and an on-base percentage of .405. Individually, four Roadrunners are hitting .375 or better, led by Jessica Rogers' .410 mark. Krystal Gibson (.394), Christy Brownlee (.375) and Jennifer Davis (.375) are the others. Gibson and Brownlee have 11 homers each during the stretch, while Amanda Horton has 10. Brownlee and Aimee Murray have 24 RBI apiece, while Brownlee has 24 runs and a .953 slugging percentage. Ursula Mares has been solid in the circle, going 18-0 with a 2.00 ERA, 71 strikeouts, 31 walks and an opponents' batting average of .207. She has pitched all of UTSA's last 74 innings.
Weekly Honors
UTSA garnered seven Southland Conference Hitter or Pitcher of the Week honors this year. Christy Brownlee was tabbed hitter of the Week three times, including back-to-back weeks on March 29 and April 5, while Ursula Mares earned Pitcher of the Week accolades twice. Other honorees were Krystal Gibson on March 9 and Krystal Guevara on April 19.
Roadrunner Roundup
UTSA is 34-10 in day games and just 3-5 under the lights ... the Roadrunners are 23-4 with Jessica Rogers batting leadoff ... the first spot in the order (Rogers and Krystal Gibson) is hitting .365 for the year ... Jennifer Davis currently is riding a team-best 13-game hitting streak dating back to a 26-1 win at Texas Southern on April 8 ... Jessica Rogers has tallied a team-best 26 multi-hit games, including four three-hit performances ... Davis has posted four hits in a game twice ... Christy Brownlee has 15 multi-RBI games, including three games with four RBI and one with six against Southeastern Louisiana on March 27 ... Jenny Garcia also had a six-RBI performance in a 26-1 win at Texas Southern on April 8 ... Rogers and Gibson have posted 13 and 11 multi-RBI games, respectively ... UTSA has started the same infield - 1B: Gibson, 2B: Brownlee, 3B: Rogers, SS: Murray - all 52 games this season ... Krystal Guevara is 9-for-17 (.529) in a pinch-hitting role this year, including two game-winning hits against Texas State ... UTSA has 101 homers, eight more than the combined totals of Sam Houston State, Nicholls State, Stephen F. Austin, McNeese State, Texas-Arlington and Louisiana-Monroe.
Clutch Homers
Krystal Gibson has displayed a penchant for hitting game-winning homers during the second half of the season. She hit a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to help UTSA beat SFA 7-5, on April 3. She had a solo shot in the top of the eighth at Northwestern State on April 10 in a 3-2 win and she lost a two-run bomb deep over the center-field fence in a 9-7 win over Texas State on April 17. Additionally, since moving from the leadoff spot to fifth in the batting order in mid-March (26 games), Gibson is batting .380 with 11 homers and 20 RBI.
M&M Duo
A talented freshman duo has made a dazzling debut this season. Southland Conference Freshman of the Year Aimee Murray has started all 52 games at shortstop and has been solid in the field and at the plate. She is batting .338 with 10 doubles, 11 homers and 41 RBI. She is fielding at a .942 clip with just 13 errors in 226 chances. Right-handed pitcher Ursula Mares has been the key cog in the circle for UTSA. A third-team all-conference pick, Mares has made 37 starts and appeared in a school-record 43 games. She is 28-9, second on UTSA's single-season victories chart, with an ERA of 2.47, and has struck out a team-high 174 batters against just 85 walks. Opponents are batting .222 off of her and she has won 18 consecutive decisions. Mares tossed her first career no-hitter in an 18-0 win over Texas Southern on April 1.
Hill At The Helm
In her sixth season with the Roadrunners softball program, Corrie Hill has emerged as one of the top offensive minds in fastpitch softball today. Hill has tutored one All-American in Amanda Michalsky, five all-region performers and 36 all-conference players, including 18 first-teamers. Hill, who reached 200 wins for her career in a 5-4 victory over Texas-Arlington on March 6, 2004, and now has 224, has taken the power-hitting game to a new level at UTSA. The Roadrunners have rewritten the record books in nearly every major offensive category. Her teams have set 23 school records and have entered the top 10 list in all 22 offensive single-season and career categories kept. Hill has averaged 28 wins per season in her first five years at UTSA and needs just three more victories to become the winningest coach in school history. In the last six seasons, UTSA has posted wins over a number of highly-regarded programs including Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oregon, Tulsa, Colorado State, Arkansas and Southwest Missouri State.