USF extended its winning streak to 16 with a trio of victories over Saint Louis. It marked the Bulls' third consecutive league sweep. USF's Tiffany Stewart earned C-USA Hitter of the Week while teammate Leigh Ann Ellis earned Co-Pitcher of the Week alongside Louisville's Aja Sherman. Louisville and Southern Miss also recorded conference sweeps over the weekend with wins over East Carolina and UAB, respectively.

HITTER OF THE WEEK
TIFFANY STEWART
So., OF, Odessa, Fla.
Stewart batted .714 (5-for-7) to help the Bulls capture a league series against Saint Louis. In two games, she tallied seven RBI and three runs. Stewart posted a double on Saturday and connected on her second grand slam of the season in the sixth inning of the series finale. She now has seven home runs and 38 RBI on the year.

PITCHERS OF THE WEEK
LEIGH ANN ELLIS, USF
Sr., LHP, Barboursville, W. Va.
Ellis led the Bulls to a three-game sweep over Saint Louis last weekend. The left-hander allowed no earned runs in 13.0 innings, while picking up two wins. Ellis struck out 20 batters and only walked two. In the last 30.1 innings of work, she has not allowed an earned run and in 17 appearances, she has not allowed an extra base hit.

AJA SHERMAN
Jr., RHP, Las Vegas, Nev.
Sherman posted two complete-game shutouts against East Carolina, during the Cardinals’ trio of wins over the Pirates. She registered 13 strikeouts in 12 innings and held her opponents to a .152 batting average. Sherman scattered seven hits and walked just two batters. The junior has not allowed a run in four games (26 innings) and boasts an ERA of 0.19 in C-USA competition.

NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA Poll (as of Mar. 28)
1. Arizona (25)
2. UCLA
3. California
4. Florida State
5. Georgia
6. LSU
7. Washington
8. Louisiana-Lafayette
9. Michigan
10. Alabama
11. Stanford
12. Tennessee
13. Oklahoma
14. Fresno State
15. Oregon
16. Oregon State
17. Florida
18. USF
19. Baylor
20. Pacific
21. Nebraska
22. Auburn
23. South Carolina
24. Arizona State
25. Georgia Tech


ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (as of Mar. 28)
1. Arizona (19)
2. UCLA (1)
3. California
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Georgia
7. Louisiana Lafayette
8. Washington
9. Stanford
10. Michigan
11. Alabama
12. Tennessee
13. Florida
t14. Oklahoma
t14. Oregon State
16. Fresno State
17. Oregon
18. South Carolina
19. Pacific
20. Nebraska
21. USF
22. Auburn
23. Georgia Tech
24. Long Beach State
25. Baylor




USF PICKED TO WIN 2004 C-USA TITLE
CHICAGO – Nationally ranked and NCAA Tournament regular, USF (54-19, 17-6), has been selected to win the 2004 Conference USA Softball Championship, as voted on by the league’s nine head coaches. The Bulls’ Leigh Ann Ellis has been named preseason Pitcher of the Year while DePaul’s Sarah Martz has been chosen as the preseason Most Valuable Player.

Ellis led the USF program to its fifth NCAA appearance after notching a 1.29 ERA and a 34-11 record last season. The Barboursville, W. Va. native struck out a conference-high 320 batters in just 315.2 innings pitched. Ellis was also named to the All-C-USA first team as well as All-Southeast Region first team as a junior last year.

Martz, a two-time All-American, finished the 2003 season with a .448 batting average that ranked 12th in the nation, while also producing 15 pitching wins with just one loss.

PRESEASON POLL
(2003 Overall, Conference Records)

1. USF (54-19, 17-6)
2. DePaul (48-7-1, 22-2)
3. Houston (36-24, 15-9)
4. Louisville (24-26, 12-11)
5. Southern Miss (28-30, 12-12)
6. UAB (28-28, 10-14)
7. East Carolina (24-31, 5-19)
8. Charlotte (14-31, 4-19)
9. Saint Louis (21-18, 9-14)

PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
C: Arelis Ferreris, Houston
IF: Kattrina Dowd, USF
IF: Kristen Glowacz, Houston
IF: Carmela Liwag, USF
IF: Saskia Roberson, DePaul
IF: Christine Sheridan, East Carolina
IF: Aja Sherman, Louisville
OF: Heather Bell, Southern Miss
OF: Holly Groves, USF
OF: Shannon Nord, Louisville
OF: Shelly Riker, USF
P: Leigh Ann Ellis, USF
P: Jamie Falco, Houston
UT: Sarah Martz, Jr., DePaul
DP: Jenilee Skender, Houston

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Sarah Martz, DePaul
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Leigh Ann Ellis, USF


AROUND THE HORN

CHARLOTTE (13-15, 1-8 C-USA): Charlotte returns to conference play this week with a three-game series at Saint Louis on Friday and Saturday. Freshman JESSICA MOORE leads the team at the plate in league games with a .345 average. She also owns the team's top numbers in hits, runs scored and RBI. The 49ers split a pair of games last week against Coastal Carolina. After coming up short in the first game against the Chanticleers, the Niners bounced back for a 3-2 win in the second game.

DE PAUL (12-15, 7-2 C-USA): DePaul took two out of three from Houston over the weekend. The Blue Demons dropped the first game (9-1) of the series but came from behind in the last two (6-5, 5-4) to capture the wins. LESLIE SCOTT recorded her first win as a DePaul pitcher while SARAH MARTZ recorded the other Blue Demon victory. SASKIA ROBERSON blasted three home runs including a game winner, in the nightcap of the doubleheader. Roberson recorded five RBI’s on the weekend and notched a 1.182 slugging percentage.

EAST CAROLINA (35-11-1, 4-8 C-USA): East Carolina dropped three on the road at Louisville. In game one, ANDIEY ACOSTA and KATE MANUSE each hit 2-for–2. In game two of the series, LACASSA HILL went 2-for-3 with a run and a stolen base for the Pirates. Since its 14-game winning streak was snapped on March 27, ECU has posted a record of 1-5, all of which were conference games.

HOUSTON (25-16, 4-5 C-USA): Houston won the first game of its conference series at DePaul, but dropped games two and three. Both losses were one-game decisions in which the Cougars lost the lead. In UH’s win, JENILEE SKENDER connected on her fourth home run of the season. JAMIE FALCO picked up the complete-game win, scattering three hits and striking out two. The victory marked the first time Houston has ever defeated DePaul in softball. The Cougars will return to action this weekend as they travel to UAB for a trio of conference games.

LOUISVILLE (27-10, 10-2 C-USA): Louisville posted three straight wins in a conference sweep over East Carolina last weekend. SHANNON NORD led the Cardinal offense, going 7-for-11 (.636). She posted one double and one stolen base while collecting four RBI. Nord is currently batting .330 and leads the Cards in runs scored with 28. The league sweep was U of L’s second of the season. Earlier in the year, Louisville took three straight from Saint Louis. The Cards now will take their five-game winning streak to Western Kentucky on Wednesday where they will play a doubleheader.

SAINT LOUIS (13-27, 0-9 C-USA): Saint Louis dropped three straight to league-foe USF over the weekend. Senior KERRI HIGGINS’ next hit will be the 100th in her career. Her current career total of 99 puts her in 10th place on the career
hits list at SLU. Freshman pitcher LISE NIELSEN has already made 32 appearances this season. The SLU single-season record for appearances is 34 set by Nicole Bohnenstiehl and Heather Hubert. Saint Louis will host UT-Martin on Tuesday before returning to conference action this weekend when the Billikens play host to Charlotte.

USF (42-7, 10-2 C-USA): The Bulls swept their third consecutive league series last weekend against Saint Louis at home. Two of the wins were shutouts, marking USF’s 15th and 16th of the year. LEIGH ANN ELLIS pitched those two victories and improved her record to 27-4 and lowered her ERA to 0.77. The weekend’s games have extended the Bulls’ winning streak to 16, the sixth longest string of victories in C-USA history. USF will travel to East Carolina this weekend for a league series beginning Friday.





SOUTHERN MISS (21-18, 9-3 C-USA): Southern Miss picked up its second-straight Conference USA weekend sweep with three victories over UAB. The Golden Eagles have now won seven of their last eight games, the lone loss was a 3-1 midweek defeat to Southeastern La. AURIEL JENKINS improved her season batting average to .372 after posting five hits, one double and one home run over the week. CHARITY BUTLER led all players with six hits (.667 BA), while also adding two RBIs and moving into second overall with a .340 average. Butler is on a team-high hitting streak with eight games. Pitchers JESSICA HOLAWAY and DANIELLE WYMER picked up league victories this weekend, with Holaway taking two wins and a save. USM next takes on Mississippi State in a non-conference game on Tuesday.

UAB (16-23, 3-9 C-USA): UAB lost two games by a one-run margin over the weekend as the Blazers played a three-game series against Southern Miss on the road. In Saturday's doubleheader, the Blazers fell against the Golden Eagles, 5-4 and 4-3. With the pair of one-run defeats, UAB upped its total of one-run losses to 11 this season. Over the 2004 campaign, it holds an 11-11 record in one-run games. In Sunday's series finale, UAB lost, 4-1, and fell victim to its second-consecutive road sweep against a conference opponent. The Blazers will host the Houston Cougars in a three-game set this weekend at George Ward Park in Birmingham, Ala.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK RECORDS
LEIGH ANN ELLIS has earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors five times this season and seven times in her career. She is currently tied for the third most POW accolades in league history. Here’s a look at the top four single-season recipients:

# Player, School Year

7 Courtney Blades, Southern Miss 2000
6 Lindsay Chouinard, DePaul 2003
5 Leigh Ann Ellis, USF 2004
5 Lindsay Chouinard, DePaul 2002

WINNING BIG
Houston and Louisville have combined to post five wins over nationally-ranked teams. USF has also recorded a win, beating then-No. 7 Stanford. Here's a look at this season's ranked wins:

2004 RANKED NON-CONFERENCE WINS
Feb. 18 Houston 6, (15) Texas A&M 5
Feb. 18 Houston, 3, (15) Texas A&M 0
Feb. 20 Louisville 3, (4) Oklahoma 1
Feb. 28 (22) USF 8, (7) Stanford 0
Feb. 29 Louisville 2, (19) Iowa 0
Mar. 6 Houston 2, (5) Oklahoma 1

2004 NO-HITTERS
Louisville’s AJA SHERMAN pitched the second no-hitter of the 2004 season against UAB on Sunday, March 28. She held the Blazers hitless and struck out five in seven innings. In 2003, there were six no-hitters thrown in Conference USA

2004 No-Hitters
March 28 Aja Sherman, Louisville (5) at UAB (0)
March 4 Jessica Saunier, Southern Miss (10) vs. Alabama State (0)


ONE-RUN GAMES
Charlotte 6-2
DePaul 4-4
East Carolina 11-3
Houston 8-8
Louisville 4-4
Saint Louis 7-6
USF 7-4
Southern Miss 8-1
UAB 11-11

NON-CONFERENCE RECORDS
Last season, Conference USA teams posted a non-conference record of 156-92-1, the best non-league ledger in C-USA’s first four seasons of softball. Here’s a look at this year’s non-conference marks:

Charlotte 12-7
DePaul 5-13
East Carolina 29-3-1
Houston 21-11
Louisville 17-8
Saint Louis 13-18
USF 32-5
Southern Miss 12-15
UAB 13-14
TOTAL 154-94-1

MAKING PROGRESS
For the fifth year in a row, Conference USA teams are in position to show an improvement in non-conference action. League teams won more than 60 percent of their non-league games in 2003. Here’s a look at how the league has fared in non-conference action in all five years the league has had softball:

2004: 154-94-1 (.620)
2003: 156-92-1 (.628)
2002: 180-125-1 (.589)
2001: 94-81-1 (.537)
2000: 78-71(.523)

ELLIS NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
USF’s LEIGH ANN ELLIS was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week for the period ending March 7. The southpaw pitched recorded four wins and one save to earn MVP of the Speedline Invitational. She struck out 19 batters in 24 innings while posting a perfect 0.00 ERA. The senior held her opponents to a .163 batting average to lead the Bulls to a 6-0 mark over the week and the tournament title.

MARTZ ON PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
DePaul's SARAH MARTZ has been named to the initial watch list for the third annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award. This award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy in women's collegiate softball and is the only national player of the year award, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country. The initial watch list is comprised of 40 players and will be narrowed down to 25 finalists on April 6.

ERIKSEN NAMED TO USA SOFTBALL COACHING STAFF
USF’s KEN ERIKSEN will serve on the 2004 Olympic Team coaching staff. Eriksen joins John Rittman (Stanford University) as an assistant to head coach Mike Candrea (University of Arizona). The trio will attempt to lead the Women’s National Team to its third (of a possible three) consecutive gold medal, in Athens, Greece this summer.

Eriksen’s teams met up on March 6 as USF matched up against the USA Olympic team at Clearwater, Fla. in an exhibition game. LEIGH ANN ELLIS struck out five batters and held USA scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning but the Olympians rallied to win 3-0. Team USA also met up with DePaul at the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif. on March 18. The Blue Demons fell 9-0.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Each Monday during the season Conference USA names a Hitter of the Week and a Pitcher of the Week. Here’s a look at the season’s winners:

HITTER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 9 Michelle Keith 1B Houston
Feb. 16 Mandi Nichols INF East Carolina
Audrey Rendon 3B Louisville
Feb. 23 Lisa Estes C/OF Louisville
Mar. 1 Courtney Moore SS Louisville
Mar. 8 Courtney Moore SS Louisville
Mar. 15 Holly Groves OF USF
Mar. 22 Kate Manuse INF East Carolina
Mar. 29 Auriel Jenkins OF Southern Miss
Apr. 5 Tiffany Stewart OF USF

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Feb. 9 Leigh Ann Ellis LHP USF
Feb. 16 Kady Garrick RHP Louisville
Feb. 23 Jenny Johnson P Houston
Mar. 1 Catherine Bishop RHP Louisville
Erica Mascarenas RHP UAB
Mar. 8 Jenny Johnson P Houston
Leigh Ann Ellis LHP USF
Mar. 15 Jenny Johnson P Houston
Mar. 22 Leigh Ann Ellis LHP USF
Mar. 29 Leigh Ann Ellis LHP USF
Sarah Martz RHP DePaul
Apr. 5 Leigh Ann Ellis LHP USF
Aja Sherman RHP Louisville


2004 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The 2004 Conference USA softball tournament will be held May 13-15 in Louisville, Kentucky. Three year old Ulmer Stadium on the University of Louisville’s campus will serve as the host site of the double-elimination tournament. The championship game on Saturday, May 15 will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. Louisville played host the 2001 Conference USA Tournament, where Southern Miss defeated DePaul, 2-0, in the championship. The Blue Demons are the defending tournament champion.

CONFERENCE USA ON TV
WDRB-TV of Louisville will broadcast U of L’s game against DePaul at Ulmer Stadium on April 10.