Sarah Martz of DePaul earned Hitter and Pitcher of the Week honors after posting four wins including a perfect game and batting 15-for-25 on the week. The Blue Demons recorded a three-game league sweep over Saint Louis last weekend, while Louisville and No. 19 USF took three each from Houston and UAB, respectively.

HITTER OF THE WEEK

SARAH MARTZ, DE PAUL
Sr., RHP, Lanark, Ill.

Martz earns C-USA Hitter of the Week after leading the Blue Demons to a 7-0 record over the period ending April 18. The two-time All-American went 15-for-25 (.600) with three doubles and a home run. Martz collected eight RBI at the leadoff position and scored eight runs. She hit safely in all seven games with multiple hits in six of the contests and successfully stole four bases. Martz also drew two walks and never struck out.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

SARAH MARTZ, DE PAUL
Sr., RHP, Lanark, Ill.

Martz tossed her second career perfect game in a 10-0 win over Valparaiso last Tuesday. The senior retired 18 batters in six innings, while striking out eight. Martz added three more victories on the week, including two more shutouts. Through four wins, she struck out 31 batters in 27.0 innings, walking two and allowing one extra-base hit. Martz did not allow an earned run over the week’s competition. Her record improves to 14-9 on the season.

NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA Poll (as of Apr. 11)
1. Arizona (23)
2. Florida State
3. UCLA
4. California
5. Washington
6. LSU
7. Georgia
8. Louisiana-Lafayette
9. Michigan
10. Stanford
11. Tennessee
12. Fresno State
13. Alabama
14. Oregon
t15. Oregon State
t15. Florida
17. Oklahoma
18. Nebraska
19. USF
20. Baylor
21. Long Beach State
22. Auburn
23. Pacific
24. Texas State
25. South Carolina


ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (as of Apr. 11)
1. Arizona (20)
2. Florida State
t3. LSU
t3. UCLA
5. California
6. Washington
7. Louisiana-Lafayette
8. Georgia
t9. Michigan
t9. Stanford
11. Tennessee
12. Florida
13. Alabama
14. Oregon State
15. Oregon
16. Fresno State
17. Nebraska
18. Oklahoma
19. USF
20. Long Beach State
21. Baylor
22. Georgia Tech
23. Pacific
24. South Carolina
25. Auburn

ARV: LOUISVILLE (2)




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

TOURNAMENT CHAMPS
Five C-USA teams have combined to win 12 tournament crowns this season. East Carolina has claimed the most with four while USF has three tourney crowns under its belt. Here’s a look at this season’s tournament champions:


AROUND THE HORN

CHARLOTTE (18-20, 4-11 C-USA): Charlotte picked up a win in the series finale against Southern Miss after dropping the first two to the Golden Eagles last weekend. Freshman hurler CHRISTY MURRAY scattered six hits in the 49ers victory and improved her record to 9-9. Murray only gave up two hits in one inning, a scoreless fourth, and put USM down in order in the sixth and seventh innings to pick up the win. SAM MOORE led the Niners’ offense going 2-for-3 including two doubles. Charlotte next travels to Georgia on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. doubleheader.

DE PAUL (19-19-1, 10-5 C-USA): DePaul took three straight games from Saint Louis last weekend at Wish Field. The Blue Demons outscored the Billikens 17-1 over the trio of contests. SARAH MARTZ followed up a perfect game performance from earlier in the week with two more wins over SLU. She pitched 16 innings and struck out 18 while allowing no earned runs. She also batted 7-for-11 in the series against the Bills. CHRISTINA DOUGLAS recorded her seventh longball of the season in game three. The Blue Demons’ winning streak improves to seven games, a season-high.

EAST CAROLINA (41-14-1, 5-10 C-USA): MAGGIE LINGO tossed a complete-game no-hitter on Sunday against James Madison. The Pirates swept a doubleheader against the Dukes and split a pair with Liberty on Saturday. The second contest against the Flames saw a total of 28 runs scored as the Pirates won 17-11. Lingo struck out four in 6.2 innings of relief in the game. LACASSA HILL led ECU’s offense over the weekend, going 5-for-14 and scoring six runs. She also improved her conference record of stolen bases to 44 after posting five over four games last week. The Pirates return to action on Wednesday at Chapel Hill, N.C. against North Carolina.

HOUSTON (28-19, 7-8 C-USA): Despite the Cougars dropping three games to Louisville at home over the weekend, JENNY JOHNSON was dominant in the circle, giving up just three hits in 10.1 innings pitched. She allowed no runs to cross the plate and stuck out seven Cardinal batters. BROOKE JOHNSON led the Cougar offense going 3-for-7 (.429) with a .571 slugging percentage. She posted a double and was 2-for-2 in the middle game of the series. In games two and three, Houston came out strong with at 1-0 lead but couldn’t hold the Cards and lost each contest by just one run. UH will be in action again on Saturday when it takes on USF in Tampa Fla.

LOUISVILLE (35-10, 16-2 C-USA): Louisville increased its winning streak to a program-best 13 wins with a three-game league sweep at Houston. In the last two games of the series, the Cardinals came back from a 1-0 deficit to edge the Cougars by one run. In the nightcap of Saturday’s doubleheader, AJA SHERMAN and LACY WOOD each connected on a home run to lead their squad to a 4-3 win. Wood’s two-run game-winner was her sixth of the year. Sherman (12-2) picked up her eighth straight win in the series finale, allowing one earned run on four hits and striking out four in seven innings.

SAINT LOUIS (16-34, 1-14 C-USA): Saint Louis dropped three straight to DePaul last weekend, including a 1-0, 10-inning heartbreaker in the first of the series. The loss was the first time the Billikens have lost in extra innings this season. SLU had been 4-0 in extra-inning games. In game two, junior ADRIENNE MAY notched the 100th hit of her career. She became the second SLU player to hit that mark this season, after KERRI HIGGINS also reached the milestone. ASHLEIGH WILLIAMS needs four more total bases to break the single-season mark of 79. Also, ELIZABETH NIELSEN has thrown 199 innings this season and is approaching the school record of 207.

USF (47-8, 15-3 C-USA): DANIELLE URBANIK helped lead USF to a three-game sweep of C-USA foe UAB this weekend at the USF Softball Complex. In the first game of the series, she connected on her first career home run, then pitched her first no-hitter in game two. The freshman struck out four and walked four in seven innings pitched. It was the first no-hitter for a Bull this season. USF finished off the Blazers with an 8-0 win in the series finale. LEIGH ANN ELLIS pitched the five-inning victory, allowing just one hit and striking out nine.

SOUTHERN MISS (24-21, 11-4 C-USA): Southern Miss took its fourth Conference USA series of the season, winning two of the three games on the road at Charlotte. SUE LOGAN led the team with a .615 average on the week, tying AURIEL JENKINS for a team-best eight hits over the span. JESSICA HUERTA hit a pair of home runs against the 49ers, while Jenkins registered one longball. SARAH BOYD notched the 35th double of her career, surpassing former All-American Amy Berman for No. 1 on the USM all-time list. DANIELLE WYMER and JESSICA HOLAWAY led the team in pitching for the week, combining for a 3-0 record with just one run allowed in 26.2 innings.

UAB (16-29, 3-15 C-USA): UAB lost its fifth-consecutive C-USA series this weekend as the Blazers were swept by No. 19 USF, 4-0, 3-0 and 8-0, at the USF Softball Complex in Tampa, Fla. BETH MULLINS and HOLLY KRZAN both led USF in game one, batting 2-for-3. The Blazers are currently in the midst of an 11-game losing streak and have not won a game since March 27. After a 2-1 victory over Louisville in the opening game of a three-game series, UAB lost the next two contests against the Cardinals and were then swept by Southern Miss, Houston and USF.

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

FLAWLESS ON THE BASES
East Carolina’s LACASSA HILL has stolen a conference-leading 44 bases in 44 attempts for a perfect record this season. Her mark of 39 ranked sixth in the nation as of April 11.

ONE-RUN GAMES
Charlotte 7-3
DePaul 5-5
East Carolina 13-3
Houston 8-10
Louisville 7-4
Saint Louis 10-7
USF 7-5
Southern Miss 9-1
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 14-9
DePaul 9-14-1
East Carolina 34-4-1
Houston 21-11
Louisville 19-8
Saint Louis 15-20
USF 32-5
Southern Miss 13-17
UAB 13-14
TOTAL 170-102-2



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.

GROVES AND ELLIS ON PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST
Teammates HOLLY GROVES and LEIGH ANN ELLIS of USF have been named to the list of 25 finalists 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 softball 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 was comprised of 40 players and will be narrowed down for the second time, to ten players, on April 28.

COACHING MILESTONES
Charlotte head coach AIMEE DEVOS earned her 200th win of her career on April 9, with the 49ers’ win over Saint Louis. Devos is in her 10th year as head coach and 11th year with the Niners’ program.

Louisville’s head coach SANDY PEARSALL recorded her 400th career win in the Cardinals’ 5-0 shutout against UAB on March 28. In her fifth season with U of L, Pearsall has accumulated 164 victories.



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.

2004 C-USA TOURNAMENT
The 2004 Dr. Mark Lynn & Assoc., PLLC 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.

RE-WRITING THE BOOKS
KATE MANUSE of East Carolina has claimed the league single-season record for doubles. She has tallied 25 this year and has outdone former Pirate, Angela Manzo who set the record with 21 in 2002. Manuse’s record-setting extra base hit lifted ECU to a win over No. 18 USF on April 9.

This season, HOLLY GROVES of USF has collected 71 RBI to take over the No. 1 slot in the C-USA single-season record book. The top spot was previously held by Amy Berman of Southern Miss who batted in 58 in 2000.

Houston’s JENNY JOHNSON has also made the C-USA annals after recording eight saves this season. The previous record of five was held by Jamie Peterka of USF (2001) and Lindsay Chouinard (2000, 2002).

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
Apr. 12 Courtney Moore SS Louisville
Apr. 19 Sarah Martz RHP DePaul

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
Apr. 12 Kady Garrick RHP Louisville
Apr. 19 Sarah Martz RHP DePaul