For the fourth time this season, DePaul's Lindsay Chouinard was named C-USA Pitcher of the Week. She leads the league with 13 weekly pitching honors in her career; Houston's Kristen Glowacz and DePaul's Sarah Martz shared Hitter of the Week accolades; The Blue Demons are on a roll, notching their 13th consecutive win this past weekend; Houston blasted seven home runs this past weekend and are only nine dingers away from breaking the league's single-season record; Catch up on all the latest news in this week's C-USA Softball Notebook.


CO-HITTERS OF THE WEEK
KRISTEN GLOWACZ, HOUSTON
Sophomore, SS/OF, Katy, Texas
Glowacz went 6-for-10, including eight RBI anf four home runs to lead the Cougars to a three-game sweep over UAB last weekend. She had at least two hits in all three games, including a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Cougars a 4-2 win on Sunday. She currently leads the team in home runs (11), batting average (.354), hits (46) and RBI (39).

SARAH MARTZ, DE PAUL
Junior, OF, Lanark, Ill.
Martz batted .800 (12-for-15), notching one double, eight runs and five RBI last weekend. She went a perfect 4-for-4 in a doubleheader sweep over UIC, and followed that performances by notching a .727 batting average (8-for-11) vs. UAB. Martz currently leads the Blue Demons with a .455 batting average and a .624 slugging percentage.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
LINDSAY CHOUINARD, DE PAUL
Senior, LHP, Fresno, Calif.
Chouinard notched three wins last week to improve to 18-3 on the season. In 18 innings pitched, she struck out 21 batters and gave up only one earned run, six hits and three walks. She posted her ninth shutout of the season with an 8-0 win over UIC, and notched two consecutive two-hitters verses East Carolina. She currently leads the league with a 0.50 ERA.

NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA Poll (April 8)
In the most recent USA TODAY/NFCA Poll, DePaul is ranked No. 9, while South Florida is No. 23. The Blue Demons were ranked No. 8 on Feb. 17, marking the highest ranking by a C-USA team since Southern Miss finished No. 6 in the final 2000 poll. Here’s a look at the entire poll:

1. Arizona (23)
2. UCLA
3. Washington
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas
6. California
7. Nebraska
8. Cal State Fullerton
9. DE PAUL
10. Georgia
11. LSU
12. Arizona State
13. Michigan
14. Florida State
15. South Carolina
16. Stanford
17. Alabama
18. Texas A&M
19. Oklahoma State
20. Florida
21. La.-Lafayette
22. Oregon
23. SOUTH FLORIDA
24. Illinois
25. Ohio State

WIN STREAKS
With a three-game sweep over East Carolina last weekend, the Blue Demons extended its win streak to 13 games, ranking fifth on the all-time list. Here’s a look at the longest win streaks in league annals:

25 – Southern Miss (April 8-May 19, 2000)
19 – DePaul (March 24, 2000–April 14, 2001)
17- South Florida (Feb. 9-Mar. 7, 2003)
17 – Southern Miss (Feb. 29–March 18, 2000)
13- DePaul (March 26, 2003-)
12 - DePaul (April 9-May 2, 2002 )
11- Houston (Feb. 1-Feb. 16, 2002)
11- South Florida (Mar. 9, 2002- Mar. 23, 2002)
10- UAB (Mar. 8, 2002-Mar. 26, 2002)
10 – Southern Miss (Feb. 13-Feb. 27, 2000)

WINNING BIG
Four different Conference USA teams have combined to post seven wins over Top 20 teams, including six victories over top 10 squads. Last season, C-USA defeated six nationally-ranked non-conference foes, but just one was ranked in the Top 10 at the time: Here’s a look at this season’s ranked wins:

2003 RANKED NON-CONFERENCE WINS
Feb. 8 DePaul 4, (7) LSU 0
Feb. 9 South Florida 5, (8) Oklahoma 4
Feb. 14 UAB 6, (8) Oklahoma 5
Feb. 15 South Florida 5, (17) Notre Dame 4
Mar. 1 Houston 3, (8) LSU 1
Mar. 9 DePaul 1, (1) UCLA 0
Mar. 13 DePaul 7, (3) Nebraska 2

AROUND THE HORN

CHARLOTTE (13-24, 4-13 in 2003): Charlotte dropped a three-game series against Southern Miss last weekend. Against the Golden Eagles, SAM MOORE took over the team lead in home runs with her sixth of the season. Her six homers this year is tied for fourth in the school's single season record book. The record is seven, which has been done three times. Charlotte's doubleheader at Furman last week was rained out. The team's will now play two on Wednesday, April 16, before the 49ers travel to Chicago for a three-game series at DePaul next weekend.

DE PAUL (29-4, 14-1 in 2003): DePaul extended its 13-game win streak with sweeps over UIC and East Carolina last week. SARAH MARTZ went 12-for-15 for the week, recording eight runs and five RBI. She notched five consecutive multiple hit games, including a perfect 3-for-3 outing in the second game of the doubleheader verses East Carolina. LINDSAY CHOUINARD went 3-0 last week, after pitching 18 innings and giving up only two hits and three walks, while striking out 21 batters. This year, she has a team-leading 18-3 record and a 0.50 ERA. As a team, DePaul leads the league in ERA (1.02), earned runs allowed (25) and opposing batting average (.176).

EAST CAROLINA (17-25, 1-14 in 2003): East Carolina dropped three games to ninth-ranked DePaul last weekend. KRISTIN JOHNSON led the Pirates, batting 3-for-7, including one triple and one double. CHRISTINE SHERIDAN is the team’s leading hitter at .386 and also has a team-high 23 RBI. She leads the league with a .594 on-base percentage, thanks in part to a C-USA best 30 walks.

HOUSTON (29-17, 11-4 in 2003): The Cougars swept UAB in a three-game series at home last weekend. KRISTEN GLOWACZ was Houston’s top hitter, batting .600 with four home runs and eight RBI. She blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to give Houston a 4-2 win on Sunday. She currently leads the team in batting average (.354), hits (46), RBI (39) and home runs (11). Freshman pitcher CRYSTAL BRISCOE picked up her eighth win of the season on Sunday. She made her 15th start and finished her sixth complete game by striking out nine and giving up only one earned run. Briscoe leads the Cougar staff in winning percentage (.667) and ranks third on the team with an 8-4 record.

LOUISVILLE (19-15, 10-4 in 2003): The Cardinals went 2-1 against Saint Louis last weekend. LISA MCMILLEN led the Louisville offense, batting .750 and notching a .750 on-base percentage. She was 3-for-3 with three doubles and six RBI in U of L’s 9-0 win over Saint Louis. JESSICA RAK recorded both wins in the SLU series, recording a 9-0 shutout, while combining with KRYSTLE HEROLD for a 2-0 shutout. She struck out 12 batters and gave up only eight walks in 11 innings pitched.

SAINT LOUIS (14-12, 7-10 in 2003): The Billikens went 1-2 last weekend in a three-game series at Louisville. NICOLE BOHNENSTIEHL claimed her 11th win of the season, striking out five and giving up no earned runs in Saturday’s game. She would finish the weekend, striking out 13 batters in 13 innings pitched. Bohnenstiehl has pitched more innings than any previous pitcher at Saint Louis. She surpassed the previous record of 483 innings against UT-Martin (April 9) and now has thrown 496-1/3 innings in her career. She has also tied the career RBI record of 65. The mark was first set by Dawn Elser from 1986-89. KERRI HIGGINS currently has an eight-game hitting streak, the longest by a Billiken this season.


SOUTH FLORIDA (41-12, 11-3 in 2003): No. 22 South Florida swept Saint Louis in a doubleheader on April 5. The third game of the series was cancelled, because of rain. LEIGH ANN ELLIS led the Bulls, posting a 2-1 record and a 2.16 ERA last week. She struck out 31 batters in less than two innings, and gave up only eight walks. SHELLY RIKER batted .538 (7-for13) for the week, scoring the winning run from first base in game two against Saint Louis. South Florida leads C-USA in batting (.306), runs scored (247), runs batted in (218), hits (393), total bases (541), doubles (60) and triples (11).

SOUTHERN MISS (20-23, 6-9 in 2003): The Golden Eagles collected three victories against Charlotte last weekend. It was their second conference series win this season and their first series sweep. SARAH BOYD batted .429 in the series. The junior has performed well in USM’s nine home games this season, leading the squad with a home batting average of .483. HEATHER BELL is hitting .314 in the last 15 games, and she leads the Golden Eagles in batting against C-USA opponents with a .324 batting average. This week, Southern Miss hosts nationally ranked LSU in a single game, and after the three-game series at Saint Louis, the Golden Eagles have four-straight home games.

UAB (21-23, 6-12 in 2003): The Blazers dropped three games to Houston last weekend. CLIFFANIE ENGRAM led UAB, going 5-for-9 in the series. KRIS LARA also recorded her second home run of the season on Sunday. UAB will look to snap a three-game losing streak, when it takes on Stephen F. Austin in non-conference action on Tuesday.

2003 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The 2003 Conference USA Softball Tournament is scheduled for May 8-10 in Houston, Texas. The University of Houston will serve as the host institution for the event with all games being played at the Houston Softball Stadium.

The top six finishers in the regular season standings will compete in the double-elimination tournament, with the champion receiving the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship. The championship game on May 10 will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network.

BY THE NUMBERS
- On Monday, DePaul’s LINDSAY CHOUINARD earned her 13th C-USA Pitcher of the Week honor of her career. No other C-USA pitcher has earned more weekly accolades. With four Players of the Week honors this season, Chouinard could break the single-season record set by former Southern Miss pitcher Courtney Blades, who recorded seven weekly honors in 2000.

- South Florida’s LEIGH ANN ELLIS became the first C-USA pitcher to reach the 20-plus win plateau this season. She currently leads the league in wins (23), strikeouts (239) and appearances (39).

- Last year, Houston came within three home runs of breaking the C-USA record of 49, set by Southern Miss in 2000. The Cougars have started where they left off, nabbing 41 this season to rank first in the conference.

DID YOU KNOW?
For three consecutive seasons, Conference USA has had four teams reach the 35-plus win plateau. With over a month of play still left to play, South Florida has already notched 41 wins, while DePaul and Houston are on the brink of reaching 30 victories this season.

MAKING PROGRESS
For the fourth year in a row, Conference USA teams are showing an improvement in non-conference action: League teams have won 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 four years the league has had softball:

2003: 128-84 (.604)
2002: 180-125-1 (.589)
2001: 94-81-1 (.537)
2000: 78-71 (.523)



CHOUINARD EARNS ANOTHER HONOR
The Amateur Softball Association announced that DePaul’s LINDSAY CHOUINARD has been selected as USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week for the week of March 10 -16. She was also chosen to be the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Player of the Week. At the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., Chouinard and her teammates won their pool after beating out national powers Fresno State, No. 3 Nebraska, and Notre Dame. Against Fresno State, Chouinard hit a home run in the seventh inning to win the game 3-2. In the Blue Demons' game against Notre Dame, she hit a three-run homer and a double to help beat the Fighting Irish 11-2. In three games, she hit 5-for-10 and hit two home runs and a double. She scored four runs and collected an outstanding nine RBIs. Chouinard was also a force on the mound at the tournament. In fourteen innings, she retired 10 batters and walked no one while allowing just two earned runs.