| Feb. 3, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 UTSA Softball opens 2005 season with three-game series at Arizona State Complete Release | Live Stats
SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA softball team opens the 2005 season with a three-game series at Arizona State this weekend in Tempe, Ariz. Games one and two are at 8 p.m. (Central time) on Friday and Saturday with the third game on Sunday at 2 p.m. UTSA Roadrunners (0-0)
at
Arizona State Sun Devils (0-0) Farrington Stadium • Tempe, Ariz. Game 1: Friday, Feb. 4 - 8 p.m. (Central)
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 5 - 8 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, Feb. 6 - 2 p.m. Quick Hits
• UTSA is 5-8 in season openers, 1-5 under Corrie Hill
• Arizona State leads the all-time series, 3-0
• UTSA is 2-10 versus the Pac-10 Conference
• Arizona State is receiving 26 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll
• The Roadrunners return 15 letterwinners, including eight position starters and all three pitchers from last year’s 37-17 squad
• UTSA led the nation in home runs (101) for the second straight season in 2004 and set an NCAA record with 1.87 home runs per game
• Dating back to March 2004, UTSA has won 22 of its last 25 contests. UTSA vs. Arizona State Series History
Series Record: Arizona State leads, 3-0
Last Three Meetings
Feb. 2, 2003 • Arizona State W, 9-1 (Tempe, Ariz.)
Feb. 1, 2003 • Arizona State W, 6-3 (Tempe, Ariz.)
Jan. 31, 2003 • Arizona State W, 6-5 (Tempe, Ariz.) Scouting Arizona State:
The Sun Devils return 10 letterwinners, including seven position players and the top two pitchers, from a 33-31 team in 2004. Head coach Linda Wells, who coached the Greek Olympic Team last summer, is entering her 16th season at the helm of the Arizona State program. The Sun Devils are receiving 26 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll and are picked to finish eighth in the always-tough Pac-10. 2004 Rewind:
UTSA enjoyed arguably its finest season in school history in 2004, posting a 37-17 record, winning the Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles and advancing to the program’s first-ever NCAA Regional in Waco. The Roadrunners also led the nation in home runs for the second consecutive season with 101, setting an NCAA record with 1.87 home runs per game, as well as posting the best team slugging percentage in the country (.582). UTSA also set NCAA single-game records for home runs (10) and total bases (64) in a 26-1 route at Texas Southern. Eight Roadrunners earned All-SLC mention, including three on the first team (Krystal Gibson - 1B, Jessica Rogers - 3B, Aimee Murray - SS). In addition, Corrie Hill was named SLC Coach of the Year, Murray, Freshman of the Year and Ursula Mares, Tournament MVP. Rogers, who was the toughest batter in the country to strike out (only four in 177 at-bats), also garnered first team all-region honors and was tabbed the 2004 SLC Softball Student-Athlete of the Year. UTSA won 22 of its final 23 games dating back to March 20 before dropping both games at the NCAA Regional in Waco to Illinois, 3-0, and North Carolina, 4-0.
2004 Season Opener:
UTSA posted a 3-2 record at the Century Tel/Bobcat Classic in San Marcos, Texas, during the first weekend of play in the 2004 season. After a 5-2 loss to I-35 rival Texas State in the season opener, the Roadrunners came back to defeat New Mexico State, 5-1, Texas Tech, 11-3 and Tulsa, 8-2. UTSA lost a tough, 3-2 affair to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Going, Going, Gone:
Under seventh-year head coach Corrie Hill, UTSA has emerged as one of the top power-hitting programs in the country. The Roadrunners have led the NCAA in home runs per game each of the past two seasons, hitting 1.45 per game (80/55 games) in 2003 and an NCAA-record 1.87 (101/54 games) last year. Additionally, UTSA posted the nation’s highest team slugging percentage last season (.582) and set NCAA single-game records for home runs (10) and total bases (64) in a 26-1 win at Texas Southern on April 8.
You Do The Math:
UTSA welcomes back 385 of the 452 hits (85 percent), 269 of the 329 runs (82 percent), 251 of the 310 runs batted in (81 percent) and 79 of the 101 long balls (78 percent) recorded in 2004.
Preseason Polls:
UTSA is the favorite to win the Southland Conference crown again in 2005 in both the head coaches and sports information directors preseason polls. The Roadrunners received all but one first-place vote in both polls. Sam Houston State was the runner-up pick in the coaches poll, while Texas State was the second choice by the SIDs.
All-SLC Accolades:
Seven Roadrunners were named to the 2005 Preseason All-SLC Team, including five on the first team. Seniors Krystal Gibson (1B) and Jennifer Davis (OF), junior Jessica Rogers (3B) and sophomores Aimee Murray (SS) and Ursula Mares (P) all were voted to the first squad, while juniors Amanda Horton (OF) and Jessica Els (C) made the second team.
Tough Slate:
The 2005 schedule is one of the program’s toughest in recent memory, beginning with five road games against opponents that are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll. UTSA opens with a three-game set at Arizona State (26 votes) and then plays Texas A&M (64). The Roadrunners also have two games scheduled with No. 15 Texas and No. 18 Nebraska this season. The Fastpitch Express College Classic on Feb. 11-13 features three teams that were in the NCAA Tournament last year — UTSA, Centenary and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Head Coach Corrie Hill:
Entering her seventh season at the helm of the UTSA softball program, Corrie Hill has emerged as one of the top offensive minds in fastpitch softball today and has turned the Roadrunners into one of the top programs in the region. In six years in San Antonio, Hill has tutored one All-American in Amanda Michalsky, seven all-region performers and 36 all-conference players, including 12 first-teamers. Hill guided UTSA to its first Southland Conference regular season and tournament titles in 2004, clinching the school’s first NCAA Tournament berth in the process. She was voted the SLC Coach of the Year as the Roadrunners racked up 37 wins and a 20-6 league mark. She now has the distinction of being the only SLC coach to win a league crown as a player (Texas-Arlington in 1989) and coach. UTSA also has taken over as the winningest program in conference history with a .583 winning percentage (189-135). Hill, who needs just three wins to become the school’s all-time winningest coach, has averaged 30 wins per season in her six years at UTSA and needs just 21 victories to reach 200 with the Roadrunners.
Up Next:
UTSA travels to College Station for a 2 p.m. doubleheader at Texas A&M. The Roadrunners then host the Fastpitch Express College Classic on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 11-13, at Roadrunner Field. UTSA welcomes Centenary, North Texas, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UTEP to town for the three-day tournament.
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