| April 28, 2005
Contact: Kyle Stephens (210) 458-4907 UTSA battles Sam Houston State for SLC supremacy this weekend at Roadrunner Field Complete Release | Live Stats | Listen Live | SLC Showdown SAN ANTONIO - The Southland Conference regular season championship will be on the line as first place Sam Houston State (26-20, 19-4) visits defending champion UTSA (37-16, 18-5) for a three-game series this weekend at Roadrunner Field. The Roadrunners can clinch a share of the crown and the No. 1 seed for the SLC Tournament with two victories and win the title outright with a sweep of the Bearkats, winners of 11 straight games. The series will match Sam Houston State’s team earned run average of 2.13 against UTSA’s team batting average of .342, both conference-leading marks. UTSA Roadrunners (37-16, 18-5 SLC)
vs.
Sam Houston State Bearkats (26-20, 19-4 SLC) Roadrunner Field • San Antonio, Texas
Game 1: Saturday, April 30 - 1 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, April 30 - 3 p.m.
Game 3: Sunday, May 1 - 1 p.m. Series History:
UTSA leads 23-20
Last Meeting:
UTSA 6, SHSU 0 (May 2, 2004 • San Marcos, Texas)
Base Hits
• UTSA has won six of its past 10 meetings with Sam Houston State
• Both teams are hot in April: UTSA is 14-2 and the Bearkats are 11-2
• UTSA is 13-1 at home this year and 24-1 over the last 25 home games
• The Roadrunners have won 31 of their past 37 conference games
• UTSA has an NCAA-best 94 home runs through the first 53 games (1.77)
UTSA Tidbits:
UTSA has won 31 of its past 37 Southland Conference regular season games and 35 of the last 41 league contests including last year’s conference tournament … UTSA is 14-2 in the month of April and 13-1 at Roadrunner Field this season … in last year’s record-setting season, UTSA posted a 14-1 record in April, including an 8-0 mark at home … UTSA has slugged an NCAA-leading 94 home runs through the first 53 games for an average of 1.77 home runs per game … last year, UTSA hit a SLC record 101 home runs in 54 contests for an NCAA record 1.87 average … junior Jessica Rogers broke the school’s single-season RBI record of 52 with her 53rd RBI in the 5-0 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on April 16 … Rogers surpassed the career RBI standard of 136 set by Christy Brownlee with five in a 9-1 victory at Texas-Arlington on April 23 to give her 137 for her career … Rogers became the sixth player in school history to reach 200 hits with, fittingly, a three-run home run that tied the SLC single-season home run record of 22 set by Brownlee in 2004 … senior Krystal Gibson was the fifth Roadrunner to reach 200 hits with a single in the top of the sixth in a 7-1 loss at No. 4 Texas on March 9 … with her next double, Gibson will tie the UTSA career record of 46 … senior Jennifer Davis posted a school-record five hits in the 11-4 win over Western Michigan on March 6 and has been tabbed SLC Hitter of the Week twice this season … Davis needs three hits to reach 200 for her career … sophomore Ursula Mares struck out a school-record 14 batters in the 13-0 win over Albany on Feb. 25 … with the 5-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 13, head coach Corrie Hill surpassed Chickie Mason as the school’s all-time winningest coach … Hill reached 200 wins for her UTSA career with an 8-6 decision over Northwestern State on March 22.
Last Time Out:
UTSA won its fourth straight conference series with a pair of victories last weekend at Texas-Arlington. The Roadrunners held a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the sixth in game one, but UTA scored three unearned runs on a throwing error with two outs to come back for a 4-2 win. UTSA responded with a 9-1 run-ruling in game two as Jessica Rogers hit two-run and three-run homers to tie the SLC single-season record of 22. UTSA jumped on Maverick ace Jill Garro for seven runs on nine hits in two-plus innings in game three en route to a 10-1 run-ruling.
Scouting Sam Houston State:
Winners of 11 straight games, the Bearkats are 26-20 overall and in first place in the league with a 19-4 mark. Sam Houston boasts one of the top pitching tandems in the league in sophomore Melissa Collins and freshman Shalayne Blythe, the reigning SLC Pitcher of the Week. In conference games only, Collins has a 9-2 record, 1.36 ERA and a league-best .148 opposing batting average, while Blythe totes a minuscule 0.68 ERA, 9-2 record and 83 strikeouts in 72 innings. Junior Lauren Boone leads a potent offense with a .413 batting average, five doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI. Head coach Bob Brock, who won three national titles at Texas A&M in the 1980s, has an overall record of 821-408-1 in 21 seasons and an 89-106 mark at Sam Houston.
Statistical Comparison:
Here is a look at how UTSA and Sam Houston State compare in several major statistical categories (conference rankings): UTSA - Category - SHSU
.342 (1st) - Batting Average - .298 (3rd)
357 (1st) - Runs Scored - 209 (4th)
510 (1st) - Hits - 364 (4th)
331 (1st) - Runs Batted In - 191 (4th)
94 (1st) - Home Runs - 31 (4th)
121 (4th) - Walks - 89 (8th)
253 (6th) - Strikeouts - 204 (9th)
21 (9th) - Stolen Bases - 10 (10th)
2.78 (3rd) - Earned Run Average - 2.13 (1st)
304 (2nd) - Batters Struck Out - 267 (5th)
.964 (2nd) - Fielding Percentage - .969 (1st) 2004 Sam Houston State Series Rewind:
UTSA won game one of a three-game series at Sam Houston State last March, 7-2, behind a 3-for-4, two-RBI performance from Jessica Rogers. The Roadrunners tied game two at 3-3 in the top of the seventh on an RBI-single by Aimee Murray and took a 4-3 lead in the top of the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Rogers, but the Bearkats won the game, 5-4, on a walk-off, two-run home run by Chrissy Dileo in the bottom of the frame. Sam Houston State scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth and held on for a 6-5 win in the rubber game.
Early Bird Gets The Worm:
UTSA has struck early and often for runs in the 2005 campaign. The Roadrunners have outscored their opponents, 165-64, in the first three innings combined, including a 67-18 margin in the third frame, and own a 357-156 advantage overall. The Roadrunners own more than a 2:1 margin over their opponents in runs scored in each of the first six innings this season.
SGP Reunion:
Three former South Grand Prairie High School standouts have been reunited in uniform at UTSA. Jennifer Davis, Jessica Rogers and Mel Torres all had outstanding careers for the Warriors and have continued that trend at UTSA.
Name Game:
UTSA has four players named Jessica (Els, Ellison, Rogers, Saenz), three named Jennifer (Davis, Garcia, McQueen) and two named Krystal (Gibson, Guevara) and Amanda (Horton and Nikolenko). The similarities do not stop with the first names as there are two players with the last name Garcia (Jenny and Laura) on the roster.
Tough Slate:
The 2005 schedule is one of the program’s toughest in recent memory as the Roadrunners have played five teams that have been ranked in at least one of the two major polls this year. 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, and then played at No. 23 Texas A&M (now No. 5/4) in the same week. UTSA also has played two games against Texas (No. 6/6), Nebraska (RV/No. 25) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a team that was ranked No. 25 in the NFCA Top 25 and has received votes in both polls earlier this season.
RPI Update:
As of April 28, UTSA was rated 64th in the latest Rating Percentage Index found online at www.warrennolan.com, down slightly from its highest rating of 54th two weeks ago. The Roadrunners have played several highly-rated opponents such as Texas A&M (4), Texas (6), Arizona State (21) and Nebraska (30) and are 6-11 against teams in the top 100, which also includes Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (44), Houston (62), Albany (71), Colorado State (90) and Texas State (93). The Roadrunners play Sam Houston State (86) this weekend.
League Honors:
A UTSA player has been named Southland Conference Hitter or Pitcher of the Week seven times this season, including four of the last five weeks. Stacey Gillespie shared Hitter of the Week honors with UTA’s Autumn Petrino on April 18, her first career award. Jennifer Davis received her second Hitter of the Week honor on April 11 (also on March 8), while junior Jenny Garcia was named Hitter of the Week for the first time of her career on April 4. Krystal Gibson shared the hitting honor with Northwestern State’s Shay Hunt on March 28, while Jessica Rogers and Ursula Mares swept Hitter and Pitcher awards on Feb. 15.
Road Warriors:
The Roadrunners might seek an official name change to the Roadwarriors for the 2005 campaign. UTSA has played just 14 of 53 games at home, posting a 13-1 mark at Roadrunner Field. The Roadrunners are 16-12 in true road games and 8-3 in neutral site contests. With at least five games remaining, UTSA has just three home games left on the schedule against Sam Houston this weekend.
Home Sweet Home:
With just 14 home games so far, UTSA has made the most of its time at Roadrunner Field, posting a 13-1 record this season and a 24-1 mark over the last 25 home contests dating back to last season. Included in that stretch was a 19-game winning streak that was snapped by Northwestern State on March 22 in the first game of the series. UTSA responded by winning the next two against the Demons and carries a five-game streak into this weekend’s meeting with Sam Houston State. UTSA is batting .381 as a team at home, compared to a .255 mark for its opponents, and is led by a quartet of players hitting above .400 in Jessica Rogers (.480), Aimee Murray (.472), Krystal Gibson (.452) and Jessica Els (.432). The Roadrunners have slugged 37 home runs at home (2.64 per game) and have outscored foes, 117-35, for an average score of 8.4-2.5 per game. The home success is not limited to the hitters as freshman Amanda Nikolenko is undefeated in four decisions, while Ursula Mares boasts a 7-1 mark, 1.76 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 47.2 innings.
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 (45/record: 46), extra-base hits (88/record: 92), walks (86/record: 89) and putouts (1,170/record: 1,172). Having broken the career RBI record of 136 with her 137th on April 23, Jessica Rogers has 50 career home runs and has her sights set on the career mark of 55 held by Christy Brownlee. Jennifer Davis is one triple shy of the school record of seven set by Shannon Steadman.
Single-Season Record Watch:
As UTSA continues its amazing offensive production deep into the 2005 campaign, Jessica Rogers already has broken the school single-season record for RBI with 62 and matched the home run mark of 22. Jennifer Davis is just two triples shy of the single-season standard of five held by Shannon Bonner (1993).
Record-Setting Roadrunners:
Speaking of school records, the 2004 squad staked its claim to 10 team single-season and eight single-game marks, including an NCAA record 10 home runs and 64 total bases in a 26-1 win at Texas Southern. The 2005 team already has broken single-season records for runs scored (357), RBI (331), total bases (882), sacrifice flies (14) and hit by pitch (29). UTSA is on pace to shatter the batting average record of .312 set last year (currently .342).
Single-Game Standouts:
This season, two Roadrunners have broken school single-game records already. Ursula Mares struck out 14 Albany batters on Feb. 25 to eclipse the former mark of 13 shared by Paige Whitley and Angela Graham. On March 6, Jennifer Davis went 5-for-5 in an 11-4 victory over Western Michigan, breaking the former standard of four held by many. The single-game home run record of two has been matched eight times this year, as well.
Tournament Trifecta:
UTSA won three titles in four tournaments played this season. The Roadrunners claimed the Fastpitch Express College Classic title on Feb. 11-13 in San Antonio and the UTEP Miner Invitational on Feb. 25-27 in El Paso with perfect 4-0 records. UTSA and Houston both ended the Hyatt Regency Cougar Classic on March 4-6 in Houston with just one loss, but the Roadrunners owned the tiebreaker with a 3-0 win in the only head-to-head meeting.
Spring Is In the Air:
Four Roadrunner regulars are batting .400 or better for the month of April (16 games). Jessica Rogers leads the way with a .509 average, seven home runs and 23 RBI, while Stacey Gillespie is hitting .477 with four doubles and 11 RBI. Jennifer Davis (.460) and Jessica Els (.400) also are above the .400 mark, while Jenny Garcia is just below at .394.
Ring Of Fire:
UTSA’s three-armed pitching staff of Ursula Mares, Amanda Nikolenko and Hope Ortiz have heated up the pitching circle during April, posting a combined ERA of 2.02 and a 14-2 record. Mares is 7-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 51 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 49.1 innings of work. Nikolenko is 5-1 with a 2.40 ERA, 33 punchouts and 10 walks in 35 innings, while Ortiz is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA.
Senior Sidekicks:
UTSA’s senior duo of Jennifer Davis and Krystal Gibson has made its mark on the Roadrunner softball program the past five years. Combined, the two have played in 422 games (395 starts), scored 245 runs, driven in 234 runs and collected 424 hits, including 68 home runs. The two appear on 23 of UTSA’s single-season or career lists as Gibson is on pace to break several career records, while Davis set the single-game mark for hits in a game with five on March 6.
Rogers On Record Pace:
Jessica Rogers is on a record-setting pace for hitting the long ball this season. The 2004 Southland Conference Softball Student-Athlete of the Year already tied the SLC single-season record with her 22nd home run on April 23, giving her an NCAA-leading average of 0.42 in 53 games, a mark that would rank fifth on the all-time NCAA list. Her 22 home runs would be tied for the 16th-best season in NCAA history, while her 50 career bombs currently rank 18th. Rogers, who leads the SLC in four different categories, also is ranked nationally in RBI per game (third/1.15), slugging percentage (12th/.817), toughest to strike out (21st/20.0), a category she led the nation in last season, and batting average (45th/.400).
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 94 home runs through the first 53 games (1.77 avg).
Up Next:
UTSA travels to Hammond, La., for the 2005 Southland Conference Tournament hosted by Southeastern Louisiana at North Oak Park on May 6-8.
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