Southland Conference Tournament
Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10
Bobcat Field ? San Marcos, Texas
Thursday, May 8
No. 3 UTSA (25-24) vs. No. 6 Nicholls State (28-27)/No. 7 Sam Houston State (30-30), 6:30 p.m.
Friday, May 9
Thursday winner vs. No. 2 UT Arlington (27-21), 4 p.m.
Saturday, May 8
Championship Game, 4 p.m.
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (25-24) will make its fifth straight and 11thoverall appearance in the Southland Conference Softball Tournament setfor Thursday-Saturday, May 8-10, at Bobcat Field in San Marcos. TheRoadrunners tied with UT Arlington for second place at 20-10 in thefinal conference standings and will be the No. 3 seed due to theMavericks 2-1 head-to-head advantage in the first tiebreaker. UTSA willface the winner of the first-round game between No. 6 Nicholls State(28-27) and No. 7 Sam Houston State (30-30) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. Thewinner will face No. 2 UT Arlington (27-21) at 4 p.m. Friday. Thechampionship game in the single-elimination tourney is slated for 4p.m. Saturday.
Tuning In: Live stats will be provided at goUTSA.com. Live audio will be available for Rowdy Zone subscribers at goUTSA.com.
Base Hits
? UTSA finished tied with UT Arlington for second place at 20-10 in the final conference standings, marking the fifth straight season with 18 or more league victories and a third-place or higher finish
? UTSA is making its fifth straight and 11th overall SLC Tournament appearance
? The Roadrunners own a 17-16 all-time record in SLC Tournament games
? UTSA won SLC Tournament titles in 2004 and 2006 and finished second in 2000
? The Roadrunners are 13-8 combined against the eight-team SLC Tournament field this season, including 2-1 against both Nicholls State and Sam Houston State
SLC Tournament History: UTSA is making its fifth straight and 11th overall appearance in the SLC Tournament, and the Roadrunners, SLC members since 1993, have missed just two postseason events overall. UTSA owns a 17-16 all-time record in the SLC Tournament, including an 11-4 mark the past four years. The Roadrunners captured SLC Tournament titles with perfect 4-0 records both in 2004 and 2006, and also reached the championship game in 2000. The last time the SLC Tournanent was held in San Marcos was 2004.
SLC Tournament Honors: UTSA has had two players earn SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player honors ? Ursula Mares (2004) and Jessica Els (2006) ? and 15 Roadrunners have combined to garner 18 total all-tournament nods.
Every Other Year?: UTSA captured the SLC Tournament title and the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2006, with the 2004 crown won at Bobcat Field in San Marcos.
SLC Supremacy: UTSA is the winningest program in Southland Conference history, owning a 270-167 (.618) all-time record in conference games. Over the past five seasons, the Roadrunners are 101-38 (.727) in league play. UTSA won three consecutive SLC regular season crowns from 2004-06 and captured SLC Tournament titles in 2004 and 2006. The Roadrunners have won at least 18 SLC contests for five straight seasons and eight of the last 10 years.
Tough Slate: UTSA has faced a tough schedule this year, including five teams that made the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Houston is ranked No. 9 in last week’s USA Today/NFCA Top 25, while Missouri is receiving votes. Houston is No. 13 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, while Missouri is receiving votes. The Roadrunners defeated Texas, 3-2, when it was ranked No. 22 on Feb. 9, in Austin, and own a 4-1 win against Missouri on March 25. UTSA also is 2-5 against the top 40 in the latest NFCA RPI Index.
Nikolenko Notches Five Records: Senior Amanda Nikolenko has set five UTSA career pitching records this season ? starts (106), innings (713), wins (65), strikeouts (571) and complete games (72). The Ashland, Mo., native also appears on seven different single-season lists, including second with 44 appearances last season, and tossed one of only eight no-hitters in school history on Feb. 10, 2007, against Rutgers.
Cantu Can Hit: Sophomore Rudi Cantu leads the team with 55 base hits and seven of those have gone for extra bases, including a team-high three triples. Her .320 batting average is second on the squad and she has registered a team-best 17 multi-hit games. Cantu enjoyed a season-long 11-game hitting streak from Feb. 23-March 8 in which she raised her average from .240 to .419. The Alvin native recorded at least one hit in 22 of the 30 conference games and ranks third in runs, fifth in triples, eighth in hits and at-bats and 11th in stolen bases.
Freshman Phenom: Freshman Dany? Holmes has emerged as one of the top first-year players in the SLC this season, as her impact has been felt at the plate and in the circle. She leads UTSA with a .328 batting average, five doubles, eight home runs, a .540 slugging percentage, .465 on-base percentage and 34 walks, which is a freshman record and just six shy of the school mark of 37 set by former All-American Amanda Michalsky, and has posted 45 hits and 33 RBIs, both second on the squad. The left-hander also has posted a team-best 2.23 ERA to go along with her 9-6 record, 78 strikeouts and three shutouts in 100.1 innings of work. In league play, Holmes is even better with a .360 average, 8-1 record and 1.45 ERA. She ranks fourth in ERA and ninth in batting, while no other player appears in the top 10 in both categories. The Sugar Land native struck out a season-best 13 batters in a 7-3 win over McNeese State on March 1, one K shy of the school record, and tossed three consecutive shutouts as part of a 28-inning scoreless streak from April 19-May 4.
