| Feb. 23, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 Roadrunners head west for UTEP Miner Invitational Complete Release
SAN ANTONIO - The UTSA softball team travels to El Paso, Texas, to compete in the UTEP Miner Invitational on Friday-Sunday, Feb. 25-27, at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. The Roadrunners (7-7) open the tournament against Albany (0-0) on Friday at 1 p.m. (CST) and then play New Mexico State (8-8) at 3:30 p.m. On Saturday, UTSA meets Northern Colorado (0-4) at 10 a.m. and UTEP (1-10) at 7 p.m. Seeded play on Sunday begins at 10 a.m. with the championship game set for 4:30 p.m. UTSA Roadrunners (7-7)
at
UTEP Miner Invitational Friday-Sunday, Feb. 25-27
Helen of Troy Field • El Paso, Texas Friday, Feb. 25
1 p.m. UTSA vs. Albany (0-0)
3:30 p.m. UTSA vs. New Mexico State (8-8)
Saturday, Feb. 26
10 a.m. UTSA vs. Northern Colorado (0-4)
7 p.m. UTSA vs. UTEP (1-10)
Sunday, Feb. 27 - seeded play
All time Central Quick Hits
• UTSA has won seven of its past nine games
• The Roadrunners have 21 home runs through 14 games (1.50 avg.)
• UTSA will play UTEP and New Mexico State for the second time this season, having won the first meeting with both teams.
• Junior Jessica Rogers has eight home runs and 20 runs batted in
• The Roadrunners finished second (3-2) at the Troy Cox Classic last weekend in Las Cruces, N.M.
UTSA vs. UTEP Miner Invitational Opponents Series History
vs. Albany: never met
vs. New Mexico State: UTSA leads, 6-5
Last Meeting: Feb. 19, 2005 (Las Cruces, N.M.) • UTSA 8, NMSU 4
vs. Northern Colorado: never met
vs. UTEP: UTSA leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Feb. 11, 2005 (San Antonio, Texas) • UTSA 10, UTEP 2
UTSA Tidbits:
UTSA has slugged 21 home runs through the first 14 games for an average of 1.50 home runs per game … that pace is one long ball ahead of the NCAA record-setting pace of 2004 when the Roadrunners had 20 through the first 14 contests … Krystal Gibson had a nine-game hitting streak snapped in the 10-0 win over Loyola (Ill.) on Feb. 18 … junior Jenny Garcia enjoyed a career-best nine-game hitting streak until an 0-for-2 outing in the 4-3 loss to New Mexico on Feb. 20 … Jessica Rogers now owns the team’s longest active hitting streak at five games … Rogers also has a team-best six multiple-hit games, including three with three hits, and five multiple-RBI games … … Rogers is 2-for-2 with the bases loaded … senior Jennifer Davis is 7-for-11 (.636) with runners in scoring position … Garcia is 5-for-8 with two outs … Gibson has reached base 10-of-16 times as a leadoff hitter … with the 5-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 9, head coach Corrie Hill passed Chickie Mason as the school’s all-time winningest coach with 183 victories … UTSA is batting .320 with 79 runs scored, 20 home runs and 15 doubles in 11 day games (7-4 record) compared to a .191 average and just two runs in three night contests (0-3).
Last Time Out:
UTSA finished second with a 3-2 record at the Troy Cox Classic hosted by New Mexico State last weekend in Las Cruces, N.M. The Roadrunners opened with a pair of victories over Loyola (Ill.), 10-0, and Colorado State, 7-6, on Friday, before splitting with No. 19 Nebraska (L, 14-6) and New Mexico State (W, 8-4) on Saturday and closing with a 4-3 loss to New Mexico on Sunday. Jenny Garcia and Jessica Rogers led the UTSA offense, hitting .500 (7-for-14) and .450 (9-for-20, three home runs), respectively, while freshman Amanda Nikolenko posted a 3-1 record and a 4.27 ERA in five appearances.
Tough Slate:
The 2005 schedule is one of the program’s toughest in recent memory. UTSA opened with a three-game set at Arizona State, which is receiving votes in both the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls, and then played at No. 23 Texas A&M, now ranked No. 16/23. UTSA shut out Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a team that is receiving eight votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 2, 5-0, on Feb. 13. UTSA lost the first of two games with then-No. 19/23 Nebraska on Feb. 19, as the two teams will play again in Houston on March 5. The Roadrunners also have two games scheduled with No. 10/3 Texas.
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.
Hot Hitting:
Three Roadrunners regulars are batting .400 or better over the last nine games. Jenny Garcia has been on a tear with the bat, hitting .458 (11-for-24) with two doubles, nine runs and six RBI, in nine starts dating back to the opening game of the Fastpitch Express College Classic on Feb. 11. Jessica Rogers is 15-for-35 (.429) with seven home runs, two doubles, 12 runs, 18 RBI and a 1.086 slugging percentage over that stretch. Krystal Gibson also is batting .429 (12-for-28) with three two-baggers, eight RBI, nine runs and a .515 on-base percentage.
Ring Of Fire:
Amanda Nikolenko has heated up the pitching circle after a slow start to her UTSA career. Over the last two weekends of play, the Ashland, Mo., native owns a 5-1 record with a 3.13 ERA. She has struck out 33 batters against 10 walks in 31.1 innings of work. Nikolenko leads the pitching staff with a 3.85 ERA and 5-4 mark overall this season.
Change of Scenery:
Last year, Amanda Horton made a successful transition from pitcher as a freshman to third team all-conference designated player. Horton, who is a preseason second team All-SLC outfielder, saw the most innings (129.1) of any pitcher on UTSA’s staff two seasons ago, but earned a regular spot in the batting order midway through the 2004 campaign and finished with a .284 batting average, 13 home runs and 29 RBI. This year, sophomore Stevi Simpson, who was the No. 2 pitcher in 2004 with a 9-6 record and 3.40 ERA, has emerged as one of the top options at designated player with a .333 batting average and three RBI.
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. This year, UTSA has hit 21 home runs through the first 14 games (1.50 home runs per game). In the record-setting 2004 season, the Roadrunners had 20 long balls through the first 14 contests.
Night And Day:
UTSA has played 11 games during the day, as opposed to just three at night and the statistical difference between the two is like, well, night and day. In the three night contests — all losses — the Roadrunners are batting .191 with just two runs scored. Under the bright sunshine, UTSA has a 7-4 record behind a .320 batting average.
Early Bird Gets The Worm:
UTSA has struck early and often for runs in the 2005 campaign. The Roadrunners have outscored their opponents, 33-15, in the first two innings combined and own an 81-55 advantage overall.
Chart Climbing:
Several Roadrunners are making their way up the school’s career record book in several different categories. Krystal Gibson appears on 10 different career charts and is within reach of the school record for doubles (41/record: 46), extra-base hits (76/record: 92), RBI (101/record: 136) and putouts (995/record: 1,172). Jessica Rogers, a junior already with 36 career home runs, has her sights set on the career mark of 55 set by Christy Brownlee.
Record-Setting Roadrunners:
Speaking of school records, the 2004 squad staked its claim to 10 team single-season and eight single-game records, including an NCAA record 10 home runs and 64 total bases in a 26-1 win at Texas Southern on April 8.
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. Krystal Gibson (1B), Jennifer Davis (OF), Jessica Rogers (3B), 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.
Head Coach Corrie Hill:
Now in 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. Hill, who become the school’s all-time winningest coach with a 5-0 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 13, has averaged 30 wins per season in six years at UTSA and needs just 14 victories to reach 200 with the Roadrunners.
Up Next:
After two consecutive weekends traveling west down I-10, the Roadrunners head the other direction to Houston to compete in the Hyatt Regency Cougar Classic hosted by the University of Houston on Friday-Sunday, March 4-6.
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