March 12, 2002
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STORYLINE: The UNLV Softball team (12-15) competes in tournament play for the final time in the 2002 regular season when it travels to Sacramento, Calif., to play in the Capital Classic. The four-day tournament will feature 15 teams and four fields in action at the Sacramento Softball Complex. The first two days of the tournament will cover pool play only. The Rebels join host Sacramento State, IUPUI, Middle Tennessee State and Virginia in Pool C. Every team will then advance to bracket play, beginning on Saturday, and play at least two games. UNLV will play at least six games and could play as many as eight. Aside from Pool C, the tourney's field also includes California, Kansas, San Jose State, Miami (OH) and Syracuse in Pool A, and Long Island, Nebraska, Saint Mary's, Utah State and Wisconsin in Pool B. This will be the first championship-style tournament the Rebels have played in this year.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV returns five starters in the field, three in the circle and 11 letterwinners from last year's 26-30 squad ... The Rebels are fresh off a 2-1 upset of Notre Dame last Sunday, fueled by a two-hit, six-strikeout complete game from Jackie Kerrigan ... Of the Rebels' 27 games this season, 12 have come against teams receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll ... At the plate, Geney Orris leads the team in batting average (.289), home runs (6) and RBI (14) ... In the circle, Kerrigan is the Rebels' leader with a 2.10 ERA and 54 strikeouts ... Head coach Shan McDonald is in her 16th season at the helm of the Rebel program, carrying a 472-431-2 (.523) mark.
ABOUT VIRGINIA: Virginia (15-7) has lost four of its last five following an eight-game winning streak ... Included in that stretch are two losses to top-ranked UCLA and a setback to No. 6 California ... The Cavaliers are led by Kristen Dennis, who owns a 7-3 record and a 0.81 ERA in the circle and hits .389 with 12 RBI ... In her fifth year with the Cavaliers, Cheryl Sprangel has a 167-116 record ... California is the only opponent common to both Virginia and UNLV. The Cavaliers lost to the Bears, 7-1, while UNLV fell 5-0 on Feb. 9 ... The Rebels won the only meeting between the two, back in 2000.
ABOUT IUPUI: IUPUI (3-3) just kicked off its 2002 campaign last week, rolling to a 3-3 record at the Western Kentucky Spring Fling ... Brandy Moser (.500/0/5) leads the squad in hitting after going 11-for-22 last week, and Julia Hartnell is 1-2 on the year with a 1.68 ERA ... Julie Bias is 39-73 in her third season as IUPUI's head coach ... Friday's clash will be the first meeting between the Jaguars and Rebels.
ABOUT SACRAMENTO STATE: Tournament host Sacramento State (8-12) dropped three straight games to No. 11 Cal State Fullerton last week and has lost four in a row ... The Hornets' are led in hitting by Erin Coyne (.328/0/6) and in pitching by Nicole Deatherage (4-1, 1.33 ERA) ... Kathy Strahan has an overall coaching record of 313-318-2 in her 12th year at Sac State ... Of the three opponents common to both Sac State and UNLV, only the outcome of the Cal Poly games were different. The Rebels defeated Cal Poly, 7-3, while the Mustangs dumped the Hornets, 2-0 ... UNLV leads the series, 4-0.
ABOUT MIDDLE TENNESSEE: Middle Tennessee (10-9) has not been more than a single game under .500 this year ... The Lady Raiders are led by star pitcher Jennifer Martinez, who owns a 9-3 record and a 0.66 ERA ... Martinez (.393/3/19) is also the team's top hitter ... Head coach Cindy Connelly is in her first season at MTSU, but established a 23-99 mark as the head coach at Tennessee State for two seasons ... Friday's game will mark the first meeting between the Raiders and the Rebs.
LAST WEEK: The Rebels split four games last week ... They fell to Oregon, 6-4, before edging Boston College, 3-2 ... BC got revenge with a 5-0 win the following day before the Rebels upset No. 29 Notre Dame, 2-1 ... Nicole Truax tossed a complete game four-hitter and struck out nine in picking up the win over Boston College ... Bridget Byrne drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh ... Jackie Kerrigan, after suffering the week-opening loss to Oregon, rebounded with an impressive effort to beat Notre Dame, holding the Irish to just two hits and striking out six ... Catcher Melissa Inouye quietly led the UNLV offense, hitting .500 for the week (5-for-10) with a double and two key RBI ... Pauline Glenn also looked sharp, hitting .417 (5-for-12) and scoring a run.
SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE ... : While head coach Shan McDonald might tell you that offense is the team's strength, it has been pitching that is coming through for the Rebels. In five games at the ASU Fiesta Bowl Tournament, UNLV got a complete-game pitching effort from all four hurlers on the staff. The Rebels turned the same trick during the third week of the season, including the team's first shutout by Nicole Truax in eight innings. At the Utah Red Desert Classic, seven-inning outings came from Geney Orris, Kacey Ellis and Jackie Kerrigan. The Rebels have 15 complete games in 27 contests this year.
JACKIE THE K: After slight disappointments in her first two outings, freshman pitcher Jackie Kerrigan responded with heroic efforts in Week 2. She struck out 13 in her first collegiate win over Kansas. She then closed a solid performance by Nicole Truax against Texas Tech to pick up her first career save. Just hours later, Kerrigan came to the rescue a second time, holding Central Michigan down for her second win. In the tourney finale, she shut the door on Cal Poly for her second save in as many days. She was chosen the MWC Pitcher of the Week for her efforts. Since then, the freshman phenom has posted her first shutout in a 1-0 win over Utah State and knocked off No. 29 Notre Dame, 2-1. Kerrigan leads the Rebels with a 2.10 ERA and 56 strikeouts.
IN A PINCH: When the game is on the line, head coach Shan McDonald looks no further down the dugout than to sophomore Wendy Godwin. Coming off the bench to hit 10 times this year, Godwin has delivered four key hits, all in the seventh inning. Against Saint Mary's, she began a seventh-inning rally that broke a 3-3 tie, and she drove in the Rebels' only run in a 3-1 loss to DePaul.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: UNLV turned out three Mountain West Conference Player or Pitcher of the Week selections in just the first two weeks of the season. Geney Orris earned the league's pitching award on Feb. 12, while Jackie Kerrigan and Pauline Glenn were honored the following week as the circuit's top pitcher and player, respectively.
ON THE AIR: For the first time, UNLV has had home softball games televised. Las Vegas UPN affiliate KTUD will show the Rebels' Feb. 24 game vs. DePaul and the March 10 contest against Notre Dame on a tape delay basis. The Notre Dame game will show on March 17 and the DePaul game on March 24. The games were produced by Caples Productions, a Las Vegas based production company.
