With only one weekend of conference play left, the hunt for a C-USA Tournament berth becomes even more heated; DePaul, UAB and Southern Miss have clinched a tourney spot, however Louisville, South Florida, East Carolina, Houston and Charlotte are all battling it out for the final three berths; Get ready for another exciting postseason of C-USA softball by checking out this week's C-USA Notebook.
HITTER OF THE WEEK CANDICE HITHE, UAB Junior, SS, Daphne, Ala. Hithe batted .611 (11-for-18) with one double, five RBI and five runs scored to help the Blazers sweep both Lipscomb and Houston last week. She was 3-for-4 against Lipscomb in the first game, collecting three RBI and one run. She went 6-for-10 against the Cougars, notching two more RBI and one double. She currently is tied for the team lead with a .322 batting average and ranked second in the conference with 28 stolen bases.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK LINDSAY CHOUINARD, DEPAUL Junior, LHP, Fresno, Calif. Chouinard went 4-0 last week, including two victories over conference foe Southern Miss. She competed all four games, while striking out a total of 34 batters and giving up only six walks in 26 innings pitched. Against the Golden Eagles, she notched a season-high 12 strikeouts for a 3-0 shutout. She currently has not given up an earned run in 37 innings pitched this season and holds an eight-game win streak. She leads the conference with a 16-1 C-USA record and marks the fourth time this season that she has received weekly pitching honors.
DEPAUL WINS REGULAR SEASON TITLE No. 18 DePaul swept a doubleheader at Southern Miss on Saturday to clinch its second consecutive Conference USA regular season title. The Blue Demons, who currently are 36-8 overall and 17-1 in C-USA, have also claimed the No. 1 seed for the C-USA Tournament, May 9-12 in Tampa, Fla.
IN THE TOURNAMENT DePaul claimed the No. 1 seed, while UAB, Southern Miss and Louisville have also earned spots in this year's C-USA Tournament. Battling it out for the last two tourney berths are South Florida, East Carolina and Houston. Houston hosts the Cardinals in a three game series this weekend, while South Florida travels to Greenville, N.C., to take on East Carolina. Charlotte will meet Southern Miss in its last weekend series of the season.
AROUND THE HORN
CHARLOTTE (23-26, 5-14): Charlotte dropped a two-game series against Louisville last weekend. AUTUMN LAWSON hit her third home run of the year in the first game against the Cardinals. Charlotte now has a season total of 23 HR . LEAH HESTON currently leads Charlotte and ranks second in C-USA with a .413 batting average. As a team, the Niners are tied for first in Conference USA with 74 doubles and ranked second in hits (389) and on base percentage (.355).
DE PAUL (40-8, 17-1): The 18th-ranked Blue Demons clinched the C-USA regular season title after sweeping Southern Miss last weekend. DePaul also broke the league record, posting 16-consecutive conference wins. LIZ BOUCK led the Blue Demon bats, going 11-for-17 (.647) with seven runs, one double and one run batted in. LINDSAY CHOUINARD (20-3) captured two wins over the Golden Eagles, completing both games and giving up only three hits. She currently has not given up an earned run in 36 innings pitched, while winning her last eight decisions. DePaul leads the league in batting average (.315), on base percentage (.358) and ERA (1.14).
EAST CAROLINA (37-23, 9-12): The Pirates did not compete in conference play last weekend. On April 24, East Carolina swept Liberty in a doubleheader to improve to 33-23 on the season. ANGELA MANZO leads the conference with 71 hits and 18 doubles. She now only needs two more doubles to tie the league record of 20 set by Melissa Jacobo of Louisville. NICOLE BACON is just one victory away from reaching the 20-win plateau. She remains as the team leader and third in the conference with a 19-14 record.
HOUSTON (33-24, 7-13): The Cougars were swept by UAB in a three-game series last weekend. LINDSAY DURHAM and KIM NESLONEY both posted home runs last weekend. As a team, Houston has now compiled 45 home runs on the season and only need four more to tie the C-USA record. Southern Miss set the record in 2000 with 49. HOUSTON also leads the league in hits (439), runs scored (259), runs batted in (226) and doubles (74).
LOUISVILLE (24-24, 10-8): The Cardinals improved to 24-24 on the season, after sweeping Charlotte in a doubleheader. JESSICA RAK set a school record with 21 wins on the season. She completed the game, giving up only one run and striking out eight for a 6-1 victory. She currently leads the conference with a 21-13 record. JODI THOMAS led Louisville, batting 4-for-5 (.800) and posting three RBI. She also posted an on-base percentage of .833.
SAINT LOUIS (24-27, 5-17): Saint Louis ended the 2002 season with a doubleheader against Tennessee-Martin on Monday. Head coach Jim Molloy became the winningest softball coach at SLU with his 68th career victory, surpassing the previous mark of 67 by Vicki Schneider from 1978-1982. NICOLE BOHNENSTIEHL has broken the single-season total bases record this year with 73, topping the previous record of 67 set last season by ERIN JEFFERY. Bohnenstiehl (29), ADRIE BOGAARS (25) and JANET VENORSKY (25) all have surpassed the previous RBI record of 22 this season. Venorsky needs two RBI to break the career record of 65.
SOUTH FLORIDA (23-30-1, 8-10): The Bulls remained in the hunt for a C-USA Tournament berth, after sweeping Saint Louis in a three-game series. GINNY GEORGANTAS led South Florida, batting 4-for-8 (500) with three RBI, two runs and one double. CORIN TASSIO earned her 10th win of the year, giving up only three hits and striking out two. Sophomore SHELLY RIKER tallied five stolen bases for the weekend. She currently ranks first in the conference with 31 steals for the season. As a team, the Bulls have stolen 90 bases this season, compared to 40 for their opponents.
SOUTHERN MISS (25-32,14-7): The Golden Eagles dropped three games against No. 18 DePaul last weekend. Southern Miss has lost eight consecutive games, its longest skid since 1992. All eight losses have come against ranked opponents, including No. 15 Alabama, No. 3 LSU and No. 18 DePaul. SARAH BOYD continues to produce during conference games. She cracked a three-run homer against DePaul. In league games, she posts a .308 batting average with five doubles, 11 RBI and a league-best .635 slugging percentage. Southern Miss will meet its fourth consecutive ranked opponent on Tuesday, when it hosts No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette.
UAB (36-17, 14-7): The Blazers captured a berth in the C-USA Tournament, after sweeping Houston in a three-game series. CANDICE HITHE batted 6-for-10 (.600) against the Cougars, including five runs and two RBI. She is currently tied for the team-high with a .322 batting average and leads the squad in runs scored (33) and hits (55). MEGAN STEPHENSON went 2-0 for the weekend to improve her record to 14-8 on the season. In her 19 innings of work, she allowed only one walk and struck out 13. Her ERA of 1.25 is the lowest among UAB pitchers. She also leads the team in strikeouts with 113 in 134 innings pitched.
