UTSA Roadrunners (23-24, 14-10 SLC) vs. Northwestern State Lady Demons (5-40, 3-23 SLC)
Saturday, April 25 (DH) ? 1/3 p.m. | Sunday, April 26 ? noon
Roadrunner Field (300) ? San Antonio, Texas
Series History: UTSA leads, 35-27
Last Meeting: UTSA, 2-1 [8 innings] (Feb. 15, 2009)
SAN ANTONIO ? UTSA (23-24, 14-10 SLC) will conclude the home schedule with a three-game Southland Conference series against Northwestern State (5-40, 3-23 SLC) this weekend. First pitch in a Saturday twinbill is slated for 1 p.m. followed by a single game at noon Sunday.
Special Weekend: It will be a special weekend at Roadrunner Field with two pregame ceremonies scheduled. On Saturday, UTSA will honor former player Hope Ortiz, who passed away last May, as part of its “Strike Out Leukemia Day.” Commemorative t-shirts will be available with a $5 donation with all proceeds going to the San Antonio Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in the name of Hope Ortiz. Additionally, UTSA players will wear commemorative jerseys and both coaching staffs will don special armbands. On Sunday, UTSA will honor its lone senior, Leanne Risberg, at its annual “Senior Day.”
On The Web: UTSA will provide live stats and audio for free at goUTSA.com. Ed Suarez has the call. Rowdy Zone subscribers will have access to live video also at goUTSA.com.
Base Hits:
? This will be the 63rd meeting between UTSA and Northwestern State
? UTSA has won five straight and 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Lady Demons
? The Roadrunners are 12-10 at home this season, including 8-4 in SLC games
? Dating back to 2004, UTSA is 74-34 (.685) at Roadrunner Field
? UTSA has won 12 of its past 15 league series, including six of eight this season
? The Roadrunners are 12-1 when they score five or more runs and 17-3 when leading after five innings
? Senior Leanne Risberg is tied for eighth on the school’s career home runs chart with 30 and she ranks seventh with 55 extra-base hits
? Junior Rudi Cantu ranks second in UTSA annals with six career triples, one shy of Shannon Steadman’s school record set from 1993-96 ... Cantu also is third with 34 career stolen bases, 14 behind Steadman’s standard of 48
? Junior Kelly Cato (Feb. 24) and freshman Amber Anderson (Feb. 10) have earned SLC Hitter of the Week honors this season
Last Time Out: UTSA dropped an 8-0 decision at Baylor on Tuesday evening. Sophomore Emily Humpal and freshman Ashley Kappler recorded the only two hits against a pair of Baylor pitchers in the contest. Nicole Wesley led the Bears at the plate with two hits and three RBIs.
UTSA/Northwestern State Series History: The Roadrunners lead the all-time series, 35-27, and have won five straight and 11 of the past 12 meetings. Fourth-year head coach Lori Cook is 8-1 against Northwestern State and UTSA owns a 16-10 advantage all-time in games played in San Antonio.
Scouting Northwestern State: The Lady Demons have struggled to a 5-40 overall record, including a 3-23 mark in league play. Junior infielder Stormi Stech leads the offense with a .226 batting average, while freshman infielder Samantha Roberts has 11 doubles and 16 RBIs. Kelee Grimes is the top pitcher with a 3-24 record, 5.02 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 168.2 innings. Head coach Donald Pickett is in his first season.
SLC Race Coming Down To The Wire: With a 14-10 league record, UTSA finds itself in the middle of a tight race for the top six spots and automatic berth in the Southland Conference Tournament. The Roadrunners currently are tied with Nicholls for fourth place, but own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Colonels by virtue of their series win on April 4-5. UTSA and Nicholls both are just one game behind Stephen F. Austin and McNeese State, who both carry 15-9 ledgers, while Texas State is on top of the league standings at 19-5. UT Arlington currently has the sixth spot locked down with a 15-12 record, but Sam Houston State is close behind at 12-12.
Home Field Advantage: Dating back to 2004, UTSA boasts a 74-34 (.685) record at Roadrunner Field. The Roadrunners are 12-10 at home this season, including 8-4 in league action.
Major Milestones: UTSA picked up victory No. 500 for the program in an 8-0 run-ruling at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Feb. 24. The Roadrunners now own an all-time record of 516-432-2. Additionally, fourth-year head coach Lori Cook earned win No. 100 with an 8-5 victory over UT Arlington on March 15. She now totes a UTSA career record of 112-94, including a 74-37 (.667) mark in Southland Conference games.
Working Overtime: UTSA has played nine extra-inning games this season ? including four in the month of April ? and is 4-5 in those contests. The Roadrunners opened the season with a 4-3 loss to Tulsa in eight frames at the Aggie Classic, but outlasted Northwestern State, 2-1, in eight in the final game of the Getterman Classic the following weekend. Senior Leanne Risberg’s walk-off grand slam in the eighth lifted the Roadrunners to a 10-6 win over Sam Houston State on March 1, and UT Arlington edged UTSA, 5-3, in nine innings on March 15. On March 24, UTEP edged UTSA, 2-1, in eight frames. The Roadrunners played three consecutive extra-inning affairs in early April. Nicholls used an Audrey Wood homer in the eighth for a 3-2 victory on April 4, while freshman Amber Anderson singled home junior Rudi Cantu with the winning run in a 3-2, 11-inning win on April 5. On April 10 in the first game of the Texas State series, freshman Caitlin Ivy’s bases-loaded single pushed the winning run across in a 3-2 win in nine frames. Cal State Bakersfield slipped past UTSA, 3-1, in eight innings on April 18.
SLC Accolades: Two Roadrunners earned Southland Conference Hitter of the Week honors in the first three weeks of the season. On Feb. 10, freshman Amber Anderson picked up the award after batting .588 with 10 hits, three runs, two doubles, a pair of home runs, five RBIs, a 1.059 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage in the Aggie Classic on Feb. 6-8. On Feb. 24, junior Kelly Cato collected weekly accolades after batting .833 (5-for-6) with two home runs and six RBIs in the North Texas doubleheader on Feb. 10.
Senior Standout: UTSA’s lone senior ? Leanne Risberg ? has heated up at the plate over the past month, but missed six games due to injury after colliding with junior Rudi Cantu in the outfield in game two of the Texas State series on April 10. The New Orleans, La., native is batting .350 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs over her past 13 games and has recorded a hit in 11 of those games. For the season, the right fielder is hitting .298 with a team-best five round-trippers and 19 RBIs. She is tied for eighth place on UTSA’s career home runs chart with 30 and ranks seventh with 55 extra-base hits. Her 94 RBIs are just five shy of the top 10 list.
Alvin Express: A pair of Roadrunners ? junior Rudi Cantu and freshman Amber Anderson ? hail from Alvin, Texas, the hometown of Nolan Ryan. Cantu has been named all-conference in each of her first two seasons with the program, including first-team accolades at second base last year. A preseason first-team All-SLC pick who missed three games due to injury after the collision with Risberg, she is hitting .287 with 15 stolen bases (on 16 attempts). She is tied for second on UTSA’s career triples list with six and ranks third with 34 stolen bases. Anderson helped guide Alvin to the Class 5A State Championship last season, earning all-state and state tournament MVP honors. She is batting .294 with nine doubles, four home runs and a team-best 24 RBIs and was tabbed SLC Hitter of the Week on Feb. 10.
Dual Threats: UTSA has several players who can contribute at the plate and in the circle, beginning with sophomore Dany? Holmes. The Sugar Land native became the first player in school history to earn all-conference honors at two different positions in the same season when she was named second team at pitcher and third team at designated player. Holmes is batting .278 with three home runs and 14 RBIs and in the circle she owns a 9-10 record, 2.31 ERA, three shutouts and 102 strikeouts in 121 innings. In fact, UTSA boasts four pitchers who also will see time at the plate. Sophomore Emily Humpal, a Corpus Christi native who transferred after her freshman season at Creighton, totes a 2.75 ERA, 12-10 record, one save and 103 strikeouts in 150.1 frames and is batting .333 with a pair of home runs. Freshman Amber Anderson has pitched in eight games and is one of the team’s leading hitters with her .294 batting average, while freshman Morgan Luksa owns a 1-1 record, 3.50 ERA and 12 strikeouts against only five walks in 10 appearances and has started six games at designated player, two in right field and one in left.
Fountain Of Youth: With just one senior on the roster, UTSA is fielding a young squad this season. The four-person pitching staff is composed of two sophomores ? Dany? Holmes and Emily Humpal ? and two freshmen ? Amber Anderson and Morgan Luksa. Of the nine starting positions, five have been occupied by sophomores or freshmen, including more than 40 starts for sophomore Kristin Kappler at third base and freshman Ashley Kappler at second base.
Brazoswood Buddies: Three of UTSA’s four starting infielders all hail from Brazoswood High School, located in Clute, Texas. Junior shortstop Kelly Cato and sisters Kristin, a sophomore third baseman, and Ashley, a freshman second baseman, Kappler all played for the Buccaneers, a traditionally-strong prep program.
SLC Preseason Polls: UTSA was picked to finish third in the Southland Conference Preseason Polls by both the head coaches and sports information directors. The Roadrunners picked up one first-place vote and tallied 90 points in the coaches’ poll for third behind preseason favorite and defending SLC Tournament Champion Stephen F. Austin and defending regular season champ Texas State. UTSA garnered a pair of first-place votes and 84 total points in the SIDs’ poll for third behind SFA and Texas State.
Trio Named To Preseason All-SLC Team: Junior Rudi Cantu was named to the Southland Conference Preseason First Team at second base, while senior outfielder Leanne Risberg and sophomore pitcher/designated player Dany? Holmes were second-team selections.
Head Coach Lori Cook: Head coach Lori Cook is in her fourth season at the helm of the program and is in her ninth year overall in the Alamo City. In her three-plus seasons as the third head coach in school history, Cook has posted a 112-94 record (.544), including a 74-37 (.667) mark in Southland Conference play. Under her direction, UTSA has won at least 18 conference games and finished in the top three in the league standings each season, captured one SLC regular season and one tournament crown and made one NCAA Tournament appearance. Fifteen Roadrunners have combined to earn 20 All-SLC accolades during her head coaching tenure. Prior to her promotion to head coach in September 2005, Cook spent one season as associate head coach after serving as assistant coach for three seasons and a volunteer assistant in 2001, all under Corrie Hill. A native of Napa, Calif., Cook also has coached at Baylor (1999-2000), Cosumnes River College (1996-98), Peanut (Italy) Softball Club (1995-96), Napa Valley College (1991-95), Cal State Hayward (1990-91). She played two seasons at Napa Valley College before finishing her collegiate career at Nebraska in 1989-90. Cook also played professionally overseas for Ronchi dei Legionari (Italy) in 1992.
Next Up: UTSA will conclude the regular season with a doubleheader at Texas next Thursday, April 30, before traveling to Nacogdoches for a three-game league series at Stephen F. Austin on May 2-3.