April 12, 2006
SAN DIEGO -
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SDSU Softball Prepares For Home MWC Doubleheader Versus UNLV
The San Diego State softball team will host UNLV in a Mountain West Conference doubleheader at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Aztecs (21-8 overall) are off to a 6-0 start in league play, their best conference start since they began the 2003 MWC season with a 9-0 record. The 2003 season was also the last time SDSU made the NCAA tournament. The Rebels, who were picked to finish second in the MWC preseason poll, are 17-28 and 2-6 in the MWC.
The Aztecs are No. 19 in the latest RPI rankings out of 275 schools, their highest RPI rating in school history. SDSU is ranked behind Auburn (15), Georgia (16), Washington (17) and LSU (18), and ahead of Baylor (20), Virginia Tech (21), Georgia Tech (22), and Nebraska (23).
The Aztecs received 11 points in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate national poll and have the 28th most points, 15 behind No. 25 Southern Illinois (26 pts.).
The six MWC wins eclipses SDSU's league win total from last year, when it finished 4-16. In their six MWC wins, four of them have been come-from-behind victories.
Last Weekend With the Aztecs
SDSU swept New Mexico and Colorado State last weekend at SDSU Softball Stadium. On Friday, the Aztecs defeated the Lobos, 4-1 and 6-5. Against the Rams on Sunday, SDSU took two games by the score of 3-1 and 4-1.
Click on the PDF release for notes on SDSU's games last week.
A Look at the Rebels
UNLV, which was picked to finish second in the MWC preseason poll, are 17-28 and 2-6 in the MWC after splitting with New Mexico on Sunday.
Shannon Crisp leads the Rebel offense with a .325 batting average (40-for-123) and 22 RBI. She has also added six doubles and four home runs. Marissa Nichols is batting .300 (24-for-80) and leads the squad with her 12 stolen bases, while Kendall Fearn (.281) has belted seven home runs and 21 RBI.
Christi Robinson leads the UNLV pitching staff with a 5-9 record and 3.07 ERA. Crisp (8-13) has pitched the most innings (115 2/3) for the Rebels and leads the team with 120 strikeouts.
SDSU and UNLV are meeting for the 62nd time with each team claiming 31 games. The Rebels won all five meetings last season by a combined score of 15-3. However, the Aztecs won the previous five by a combined 21-6 score.
Against common opponents this season, SDSU is 9-6 while UNLV is 5-9.
Aztecs Back in the National Spotlight
SDSU is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate poll for the fourth time in six weeks with 11 points, the most it has received this season. The Aztecs' 11 points puts them in 28th place, just 15 points short of No. 25 Southern Illinois. DePaul (20 pts.) and Virginia Tech (17) are 26th and 27th, respectively. The Aztecs have been tied for 32nd (April 4, one point and March 12, three points) and 33rd (March 5, three points).
In the USA Today/NFCA poll, SDSU received enough votes to be mentioned among the top 35 teams for consecutive weeks. The Aztecs debuted on the March 8 version of the poll with seven votes, good enough for a tie for 31st with Iowa. The following week, SDSU dropped to two votes, but remained in a tie for 31st with Florida.
Seven teams that were originally on SDSU's schedule have been either ranked or receiving votes in the polls at the same time as the Aztecs, including UCLA, California, Northwestern, Fresno State, Brigham Young, Cal State Fullerton, Oregon and Colorado State.
Click on the PDF file to see how the Aztecs have moved up in the polls.
SDSU and the RPI
The Aztecs are No. 19 in the latest RPI rankings of 275 schools. The ranking is the highest they have ever been. SDSU is behind Auburn (15), Georgia (16), Washington (17) and LSU (18), and ahead of Baylor (20), Virginia Tech (21), Georgia Tech (22), and Nebraska (23).
According to the rankings, the Aztecs have the 27th-best winning percentage in the nation (.724) while playing the 30th toughest schedule. SDSU's 2006 opponents have a combined winning percentage of .568.
The Aztecs are 10-5 against top 50 RPI schools, 4-3 against teams rated between 51 and 100, 6-0 versus 101-200 schools and 1-0 against teams rated higher than 201.
Click on the PDF file to see SDSU's RPI ratings each week.
Team Batting Notes
The SDSU offense is having one of its best seasons in recent memory and are threatening many of the team batting records ... Despite hitting at sea level while the other five teams hit at elevation (New Mexico - 5,000 feet, Colorado State - 4,800, Brigham Young - 4,553, Utah - 4,500 and UNLV - 2,030), the Aztecs are first in MWC contests in on base percentage (.432), tied for first in runs per game (5.83), second in batting average (.315), second in doubles per game (0.83) and third in slugging percentage (.427) ... Also, SDSU strikes out the fewest of any team (1.00 per game) and it takes the most walks per game (4.17) ... The Aztecs' 16 home runs are just three shy of tying the team record of 19 set by the 1999 squad, while the current overall .283 batting average is percentage points behind the 1996 team (.289) ... Other overall records that could be broken this season include slugging percentage (.396 this season, .345 in 2002 and 1996) and on base percentage (.380 this season, .344 in 1996) ... SDSU has reached double-figures in hits on eight occasions this year after doing so only three times all of last year ... The Aztecs almost have more runs this season in 29 games (138 runs) than they did in 57 games in 2005 (148) ... SDSU also has walked more times this year (110) than in 2005 (101) despite playing in 28 less games, and has just as many stolen bases (31) as last season.
Click on the PDF file for individual batter notes.
Team Pitching Notes
Through 29 games, the SDSU hurlers are 21-8 with a 1.82 ERA, lowest in the MWC ... The staff is also ranked first in the league in win percentage (.724), fewest walks allowed per game (0.93), strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.96) and WHIP (Walks + hits/innings pitched) at 1.07 ... Opponents are only hitting .241 off the Aztecs and their four saves are second in the league ... Against then No. 2 UCLA on Feb. 12, SDSU held the Bruins, who came into the game averaging 13.0 runs per game, to their then lowest run total of the year in a 2-1 loss ... After allowing four runs in their first game of the season against Cal Poly (W, 9-4), the Aztecs gave up only 18 runs over their next 14 games (1.29 runs per game) before being shut out by No. 25 Fresno State, 11-0. Included in the 14-game streak were five shutouts ... SDSU has given up two or less runs in 20 of its 29 games, one or less runs in 16 games and has six shutouts ... To show how remarkable the pitching staff is when given run support, the Aztecs are 17-0 when scoring four or more runs and 20-1 when scoring three or more runs.
Click on the PDF file for individual pitcher notes.