Aja Sherman pitched her second no-hitter in less than a week and her third of the season in Louisville's 1-0 win over Evansville. Charlotte swept a pair of games at Appalachian State where Jessica Moore set the 49ers' single-season record with her eighth home run of the year. Houston also claimed a doubleheader with victories over McNeese State on Tuesday.

HITTERS OF THE WEEK
ASHLEY BRENAN, SOUTHERN MISS
So., 3B, Spring, Texas
Brenan hit safely in each game last week, helping Southern Miss to a 2-1 record. In the nightcap of the doubleheader against DePaul, the sophomore went 2-for-4 with two runs, four RBI and ended the game with a walk-off homer. Over three games, including a matchup against No. 2 LSU, Brenan went 4-for-11 and posted three runs, five RBI, while connecting on two longballs.

SHANNON NORD, LOUISVILLE
Sr., OF, Jeffersonville, Ind.
Nord led Louisville to a 3-1 mark, including a league sweep over Charlotte, as she hit .462 over the period ending April 26. The senior collected three stolen bases and struck out just once over the four contests. In game one against the 49ers, Nord went 2-for-2, with two runs, two RBI and a double. She is now No. 2 on U of L’s list for career stolen bases with 36.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK
AJA SHERMAN, LOUISVILLE
Jr., RHP, Las Vegas
Sherman posted Louisville’s first perfect game in the Cardinals’ 8-0 five-inning win over Charlotte. She retired all 15 batters she faced, while striking out six. The feat marked her second no-hitter of the season and the third of her career. Sherman also posted a win in the series finale over the 49ers. Over 12.0 innings pitched, Sherman held a 0.58 ERA, allowed one run, no extra-base hits, and limited her opponents to a .122 average. She is 10-0 in C-USA action this season.

NATIONAL POLLS
USA Today/NFCA Poll (as of Apr. 26)
1. Arizona (19)
2. Florida State
3. UCLA
4. California
5. LSU
6. Michigan
7. Washington
8. Georgia
9. Stanford
10. Louisiana-Lafayette
11. Oregon
12. Tennessee
13. Nebraska
14. Fresno State
15. Auburn
16. Alabama
17. USF
18. Oregon State
19. Long Beach State
20. Oklahoma
21. Baylor
22. Florida
23. Texas A&M
24. Pacific
25. Notre Dame

ARV: LOUISVILLE (17)


ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (as of Apr. 26)
1. Arizona (20)
2. Florida State
3. LSU
4. UCLA
5. California
6. Michigan
7. Stanford
8. Washington
9. Louisiana-Lafayette
10. Georgia
11. Oregon
12. Tennessee
13. Nebraska
14. Alabama
15. Fresno State
16. Oregon State
17. Auburn
18. USF
19. Oklahoma
20. Florida
21. Long Beach State
22. Baylor
23. Georgia Tech
24. Texas A&M
25. Pacific

ARV: LOUISVILLE (8)

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.

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


THE 50-WIN CLUB
With a 49-8 record, USF is only one victory away from reaching the 50-win plateau. Last year, the Bulls became only the fourth school in league history to claim 50 or more wins. Southern Miss set the C-USA record for victories when the Golden Eagles notched a 63-13 mark in 2000. DePaul followed with back-to-back 50-plus win seasons in 2001 (51-16-1) and 2002 (50-11).

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:

CHARLOTTE (21-26, 4-14 C-USA): Charlotte split a doubleheader with Gardner-Webb on Tuesday before picking up a pair of wins at Appalachian State on Wednesday. SAM MOORE led the charge in game one against the Mountaineers, batting 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. JESSICA MOORE broke the 49ers’ record for home runs in a season with her eighth of the year in game two. She moved past Stephanie Dunlap and Leah Heston and into sole possession of first place on the Niners’ single season list. It was also her second home run in as many days. She also connected on a dinger in Tuesday’s loss against Gardner-Webb. Charlotte will travel to Houston this weekend for a trio of conference contests.

DE PAUL (21-23-1, 10-7 C-USA): DePaul split a pair of non-conference games at Notre Dame on Tuesday. The Blue Demons’ all-time record against the Fighting Irish now stands at 25-15-1. SARAH MARTZ picked up the win in game one, her 26th complete contest of the year. She also smacked a home run to give DePaul a 1-0 lead. Later that game, Martz posted a triple that marked the 288th hit of her career and set a record in DePaul annals. The previous record holder was Missy Nowak (1992-95). In game two, SARAH DOUGLAS connected on her fourth home run of the season to put the Blue Demons up 1-0, but the Irish rallied back in the third inning to score two runs that secured the win.

EAST CAROLINA (44-16-1, 8-10 C-USA): East Carolina captured its second C-USA series of the season with a three-game sweep at Saint Louis. KELI HARRELL recorded two complete-game wins. She pitched 12.0 innings, scattering five hits while striking out 17. CHRISTINE SHERIDAN went 7-for-10 over the conference contests and scored four runs. KATE MANUSE connected on her 26th double of the season as she continues to lead the league in that category. In game two of the series, MANDI NICHOLS went 2-for-2 with four RBI, blasting a three-run homer to lift the Pirates. ECU will next face Southern Miss at home in a conference series starting on Saturday.

HOUSTON (31-21, 8-10 C-USA): Houston took two non-conference games from McNeese State on Tuesday. In game one, JENNY JOHNSON led the 4-0 victory from the mound. The senior threw eight shutout innings to pick up her 10th win of the season. She gave up just three hits and struck out eight of her opponents. JENILEE SKENDER lifted the Cougars in game two with a grand slam in the fifth inning. It marked her seventh home run of the season snapped a 1-1 tie to give UH a 5-1 lead. CRYSTAL BRISCOE notched her first save of the year with two innings of work. The Cougs will host Charlotte this weekend in their final series of home games.

LOUISVILLE (39-12, 19-2 C-USA): Junior AJA SHERMAN pitched her third no-hitter of the season and her second in less than a week in a 1-0 win over Evansville on Tuesday. She held the Aces hitless through seven innings and struck out 11. Sherman is just the fourth player in league history to pitch three or more no-hitters in one season. The Cardinals scored the only run of the contest with a bases-loaded walk in the first inning. U of L dropped game two 4-2 to the Aces. KADY GARRICK took the loss, allowing two earned runs on five hits. The teams will meet again in a single game matchup when the Cards travel to Evansville on May 5.

SAINT LOUIS (16-39, 1-17 C-USA): LOGAN JUSTICE launched a solo homer in SLU’s game against Southwest Missouri State on Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough to lead the Billikens to victory. It was her fifth home run of the season and second straight game with a roundtripper. In game two, freshman JENNA RENNER posted the Bills’ only hit, a double in the top of the second. Saint Louis returns to conference action this weekend with a three-game series at UAB.


USF (49-9, 17-4 C-USA): USF captured a conference series over Houston after dropping game one to the Cougars. The Bulls bounced back to claim games two and three with scores of 3-0 and 2-0, respectively. KASEY CASH made her fifth start of the season and picked up the shutout win in game two of the series. She scattered three hits, while walking one and striking out three. HOLLY GROVES knocked in the eventual game-winning run in the finale with a double off the top of the leftfield fence. CARMELA LIWAG added the second run of the day, with her fifth home run of the season.

SOUTHERN MISS (26-22, 13-4 C-USA): Southern Miss took its fifth C-USA series of the season, sweeping the Saturday doubleheader against DePaul. The Sunday finale lasted just eight minutes before it was called due to inclement weather. The two victories over DePaul marked the first wins by USM in two years. Prior to Saturday, the Golden Eagles’ last win over the Blue Demons came in the championship game of the 2001 C-USA tournament. CHARITY BUTLER led the team with five hits in eight at bats (.625), while AURIEL JENKINS, ASHLEY DAVIS and ASHLEY BRENAN each had four hits.

UAB (16-34, 3-15 C-USA): UAB dropped back-to-back games against Mississippi State on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Blazers registered three runs on seven hits in the first game to break out of their five-game hitting slump. Seven base hits against the Bulldogs proved to be the most in a single game since earning eight in a 4-0 loss against USF on April 17. The Blazers held their opponents to just one hit in game two but committed four errors that proved to be costly.

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 ranked fourth in the nation as of April 25.

ONE-RUN GAMES
Charlotte 8-5
DePaul 5-8
East Carolina 14-3
Houston 8-10
Louisville 9-5
Saint Louis 10-8
USF 7-5
Southern Miss 10-1
UAB 11-12

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: 178-119-2 (.599)
2003: 156-92-1 (.628)
2002: 180-125-1 (.589)
2001: 94-81-1 (.537)
2000: 78-71(.523)


MARTZ NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DePaul’s SARAH MARTZ was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I Player of the Week for the period ending April 18. Martz led the Blue Demons to a 7-0 record over the week as she recorded four wins from the circle, including her second career perfect game, and hit 15-for-25 (.600). This is the third time that a DePaul player has received a national player of the week award and the seventh time in league history. Earlier this year, USF’s LEIGH ANN ELLIS garnered the honor for pitching four wins and one save while holding a 0.00 ERA at the over the week ending March 7.

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 29.

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 166 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 26 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 72 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
Apr. 26 Ashley Brenan 3B Southern Miss
Shannon Nord OF Louisville

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
Apr. 26 Aja Sherman RHP Louisville