Upcoming Event: Softball versus Southern Utah on March 4, 2026 at 3 p.m.
3 p.m.
Softball
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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Softball Hosts Five Games This Week
4/24/2000 12:00 AM | Softball
April 24, 2000
Salt Lake City - This Week: On Wed., Apr., 26, Utah plays Southern Utah at home in a single-game contest at 2:00 p.m. (MST). Utah hosts New Mexico on Fri., Apr., 28 at 1:30 p.m. (DH) (MST) and Colorado State on Sat., Apr. 29 at 12:00 p.m. (DH) (MST).
The Opposition: Southern Utah is 10-31 this season, 5-5 in Mid-Continent play, riding a six-game win streak. After an outstanding week, in which she garnered Mid-Con Player of the Week honors, Emily Cederholm now leads the team in batting average (.319), runs (19), hits (37), triples (7) and slugging percentage (.509). Shay Stoddard also improved last week, connecting at a .667 clip with six RBI against Youngstown State. Kelly Grundy had a .428 batting average with five RBI and a home run against YSU. Joni Bardsley connected at a .353 rate with three doubles against the Penguins. SUU also had 10 stolen bases over the four-game set. Renee Hietbrink improved to 6-18 with a 4.95 ERA, 15 complete games and 57 strikeouts. Lori Shephard is 4-13 with a 5.09 ERA, 12 complete games, one shutout and 36 strikeouts. Bardsley and Stoddard are each riding nine-game hitting streaks.
The University of New Mexico softball team kept its narrow lead in the Mountain West Conference by sweeping a doubleheader from the Colorado State Rams, 5-2 and 4-3. The Lobos, who have won five straight and 14 of their last 16, improved to 10-2 in the MWC and 32-13 overall.
UNM's Kathy Moore picked up the win in both games to improve her record to 14-7. She hurled a complete game in the opener and aided her own cause with two hits and an RBI. Moore won the second game in relief of starter Danielle Cassara with five scoreless innings as the Lobos rallied from a 3-0 deficit.
In the first game, the Lobos scored one in the first on Moore's run-scoring single then two in the second on RBIs by Krissy Keene and Marianna Fenelli. UNM added two more in the sixth on a wild pitch and an RBI walk by Lainie Horne. Kenne led UNM at the plate, going 3-for-4. Rachel Wennekamp scored two runs.
The Rams touched Cassara for three runs and three hits in the second inning of the second game to take the 3-0 advantage. The Lobos chipped away in the third on a two-run double by Keene. UNM tied it in the fourth as Horne doubled, advanced to third on a ground out, then scored on a wild pitch. New Mexico scored the eventual game-winner in the fifth. Wennekamp singled and moved to second on a ground out by Keene. Kelly Glass then singled to bring home Wennekamp. Moore set down the Rams the rest of the way, scattering six hits.
Holly Schmillen leads the Rams with a .400 batting average in 39 games. She leads the team in home runs (9), RBI (26), triples (6) and hits (48). Sara Hyzer bats .311 in 122 at bats, with 17 runs, 38 hits and 13 RBI. Kyla Kiester leads Colorado State on the mound, with a 2.54 ERA in 143.1 innings pitched. Kiester is 10-12 in 32 appearances and has struck out 67 batters. Sara Doherty, who is 3-3 overall, posts a 3.38 ERA in 49.2 innings pitched.
Southern Utah Head Coach: Coach Laurel Simmons is 20-79 in her second season at Southern Utah. Last year, she guided the Thunderbirds to a 10-48 record. She spent the prior five seasons at the prep level, coaching Salt Lake City's East High and Copper Hills High in West Jordan, where she compiled an 11-3 record and a second-place finish in Utah' 5A Region Two.
New Mexico Head Coach: In 16 of the 22 years that head coach Susan Craig has been at New Mexico, she has coached teams to national rankings. Despite a recent rebuilding process for the program, her softball teams have been consistently among the most successful programs at the University of New Mexico.
After almost 1,000 games, three conference championships and several national postseason appearances, Craig knows what it takes to run a successful program.
Craig's current overall record is 538-461. Her 538 wins rank her in the top 20 of all NCAA Division I head softball coaches who are active and it ranks her 24th of all who have ever coached in Division I.
Colorado State Head Coach: After four season as a Rams assistant coach, Teri Klement made her debut last season as head coach. The Rams posted a 17-24 record, just missing postseason play.
As a player at Colorado State in the late 80's and early 90's Klement was a stand-out. When she concluded her senior season as a Ram, she held records in career (.382) and season (.433) batting averages, runs (95), hits in a season (68) and career (210), career doubles (35), career triples (11), second-most home runs in a season (11), longest hitting streak (23 games), second-highest slugging percentage in a season (.611) and career (.557), RBI in a game (6), a season (.43), and a career (121), career walks (48) and most games started (179).
Colorado State used last season as a rebuilding year. Klement has four seniors and five juniors to aid her achieving success this season.
Weekend Wrap-up: After four weeks of MWC play, Utah is second with a 10-4 record. Utah posts an overall record of 30-20.
Utah swept the San Diego State Aztecs at home in a MWC softball match-up on Sat., Apr. 22. Utah won game one, 1-0 and game two, 7-3. San Diego State is now 27-23 overall, 9-5 in the MWC.
In game one, senior Sunny Smith hit a solo home run in the first inning. Smith was 2-for-3 at the plate with one run and one RBI. She continues to break Utah's single-season record for home runs with the record now at 15. Utah totaled six hits and zero strikeouts in the first game. Kristin Arbogast tallied the win for the Utes, pitching seven innings, giving up only two hits, zero runs, four walks and struck out two. San Diego State managed two hits in 23 at bats with zero runs and zero RBI.
In game two, San Diego State scored first but the Utes came right back with two runs of their own. In the bottom of the second inning, Utah's Molly McLean hit her first home run of the season. It was a two-run shot that put Utah up by two. McLean was 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. When it was Jenny Monson's turn up at the plate, she hit a two run homer, extending the Utes lead to 6-2. Monson was 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI. Utah had 10 hits in 29 at bats, with seven runs and six RBI. Kristin Arbogast recorded the win for Utah, pitching seven innings, giving up nine hits, three runs, zero walks and struck out one. Arbogast now moves to 29-16 on the season. San Diego State had nine hits in 29 at bats with three runs and three RBI.
Utah rallied in bottom of the eighth with a run-scoring single to right field by Lyndsey Trevis that drove in Lisa Hashimoto-Hall for a 7-6 win and a doubleheader split with UNLV on Fri., Apr. 21, in Mountain West Conference action.
Jeanette Herbert threw four solid innings of relief before surrendering a three-run homer by Charelle Ainslie in a four-run seventh inning for UNLV. Kristin Arbogast, who pitched the first two innings of the game, then came back to throw two scoreless innings with the two teams level at 4-4. In three innings of work in all, Arbogast gave up five hits and an earned run while striking out three. Hashimoto, who scored the game-winning run, went 4-for-4 in the game with three runs scored.
After getting the win in the opener, Geney Orris allowed seven earned runs off of 13 hits in a complete-game effort to fall to 8-15 on the season. The two teams combined for 27 hits in the game, but also left 16 on base.
In the opener, Jenny Monson hit a three-run shot to right center in the bottom of the third to key a four-run frame for Utah. Angie Kenney also had an RBI single for the Utes.
However, Arbogast was touched for four runs in the top of the fourth and gave up three more runs in the top of the seventh to take the loss. The junior from Eugene, Ore., struck out six, gave up six hits and walked five in seven complete innings.
Coming Up: The Utes finish their regular season at home vs. Brigham Young in a doubleheader match-up at 12:00 p.m.
Utah vs. Ranked Opponents: Utah is currently 7-8 against Top-25 teams. On Feb. 11, 2000 the Utes were defeated by No. 16 Cal State Fullerton, 8-0. No. 12 Oregon State beat Utah 11-3 on Feb. 11, 2000. Utah recorded its first win of the 2000 season against a ranked team on Feb. 18., topping No. 25t Oregon, 1-0. The Utes went on to defeat No. 12 Oregon State, 7-6 in eight innings on Feb. 18, 2000. Utah lost to No. 11 Stanford, 2-1 on Feb. 25, 2000. The Utes were shut-down by No. 1 Washington, 14-1 on Feb. 26. Utah lost to No. 25t Oklahoma State, 5-3 on Feb. 27, 2000. On Mar. 3, Utah defeated No. 25 Florida, 1-0, and then lost the late game to No. 1 Washington, 8-0. The Utes defeated No. 20 Illinois-Chicago, 5-3 on Mar. 4. Utah lost to No. 25 Florida, 4-2 on Mar. 5. Utah defeated No. 19 Long Beach State, 13-12, and lost to No. 3 Arizona State, 2-0 on Mar. 10. The Utes went 1-2 with No. 5 California (Berkeley), losing 4-0 on Mar. 11, winning 5-2, on Mar. 14 and losing 2-1, on Mar. 18.
Utah in the Polls: Utah received votes in the preseason and the Feb. 20 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll.
MWC Statistical Leaders: Utah as a team is first in stolen bases (67), walks (115), total bases (575), hits (398) and runs scored (248). They are first in RBI (213), at bats (1363), home runs (39), sac flies (9) and total plate appearances (1539). Utah is first with a .292 team batting average. They are second in on base percentage (.351), slugging percentage (.422) and third in doubles (50). The Utes are first in strikeouts looking (73), second in innings pitched (332.1) and wins (30). Utah is third with a 3.35 ERA and in strikeouts (173).
Senior Sunny Smith leads the MWC in home runs (15), doubles (11), walks (26), runs scored (39), RBI (41) and sac flies (4). Smith is second in on base percentage (.450) and total bases (108), and third in slugging percentage (.739). She is fourth in hits (52), sixth with a .354 batting average, seventh in at bats (147) and ninth in stolen bases (8). Sophomore Molly McLean is first in stolen bases (24), third in at bats (165), runs scored (37) and hits (53). Lisa Hashimoto-Hall is tied for first in doubles (11), second in stolen bases (21), fourth in hits (53) and at bats (150), fifth in runs scored (34), seventh with a .353 batting average and eighth in on base percentage (.399). Sophomore Lyndsey Trevis is third in home runs (10), fourth in RBI (35), walks (21) and fifth in total bases (79). She is seventh in slugging percentage (.545), on base percentage (.408) and runs scored (30). Senior Nicole Wilkinson is second in sac flies (2), eighth in RBI (26), and ninth in doubles (9). Freshman Niki Hayhurst is fifth with a .355 batting average, seventh in RBI (30), eighth in hits (49), 10th with a .392 on base percentage. Stacy O'Farrell is second in sac bunts (11) and Jenny Monson is seventh in walks (15) and eighth in home runs (6). Junior Kristin Arbogast is first in appearances (49), strikeouts (151), strikeouts looking (64), wins (29), innings pitched (273.0) and sixth with a 3.00 ERA. Jeannette Herbert is tied for second in saves (1) and fourth in games finished (10).
Utes Fourth in Region: The Division I Women's Softball Committee produces a poll which is used as part of the championship tournament selection process. They rank the top ten teams in each region in the biweekly 1999 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I women's softball regional rankings. Utah was ranked fourth in the West Region in the Mar. 30 poll.
Arbogast Sets Utah Single-Season Records: Junior Kristin Arbogast has broken many of Utah's single-season pitching records this season. She broke the record for appearances, which is now 49. The old record of 45 was held by Janet Womack (1990). Arbogast broke the record for games started, which is now 44. The old record of 39 was held by Ali Andrus (1994). She broke the record for hits allowed, which is now 296. The old record of 218 was held by Sarah Farnworth (1998). Arbogast broke her previous record for runs allowed, which is now 169. The old record of 92 was set in 1999. She broke the record for earned runs (117), doubles (47), home runs (16), and walks allowed (144). The old record of 68 earned runs was held by Sarah Farnworth (1999). The old record of 28 doubles was held by Sarah Farnworth (1999). The old record of 11 home runs was held by Sarah Farnworth (1999). The old record of 78 walks allowed was held by Monica Jiminez (1995).
Smith Sets Utah Single-Season Home Run Record: Senior Sunny Smith continues to set Utah's single-season home run record. On Sat., Apr. 22., Smith hit a solo home run to give Utah the win over San Diego State, 1-0. The record is now at 15 home runs on the season. The old record of 14 home runs was set by Smith on Sun., Apr. 9, when she hit two bombs against New Mexico. The record of 12 home runs that stood since 1994 was held by Cyndee Bennett.
All-Tournament Honors: Senior Lisa Hashimoto-Hall was selected to the 2000 NIST All-Tournament team on Sun., Mar. 12. Senior Nicole Wilkinson was selected to the 2000 Capital Classic All-Tournament team on Sun., Mar. 19.
McLean Garners MWC Player of the Week Honors: Sophomore Molly McLean received the Apr. 24th McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Softball Player of the Week honors. This was McLean's second MWC Player of the Week honor, and the third player of the week of the season for Utah.
McLean, from Bingham High School in Riverton, Utah, earned the second conference player of the week award of her career and the third of the season for Utah after hitting .429 (6-for-14) with her first home run of the season and her career as well as four stolen bases during the week. The sophomore outfielder who hits in the second slot, scored five runs and collected two RBI during the week.
Utah Sweeps MWC Player and Pitcher of the Week: Sophomore Molly McLean and junior Kristin Arbogast received the Apr. 4th McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Softball Player and Pitcher of the Week honors. This was the second player of the week and first pitcher of the week of the season for Utah which became the fourth team to sweep the awards. The duo helped the Utes to a 6-0 record during the week of Mar. 27-Apr. 2. In its home opener, Utah started the week with a doubleheader sweep over in-state rival Utah State (9-1, 8-0) on Wed., Mar. 29. The Utes then claimed a pair of games at San Diego State (3-1, 12-5) on Fri., Mar. 31 and won both halves of a twinbill at UNLV (14-6, 14-3) Sun., Apr. 2.
McLean, from Bingham High School in Riverton, Utah, earned the first conference player of the week award of her career and the second of the season for Utah after hitting .609 (14-for-23) with three doubles and four stolen bases during the week. The sophomore outfielder who hits in the second or third slot, scored 10 runs and collected four RBI during the week. Against Utah State, McLean went 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base and two runs scored in the doubleheader. During the twinbill at San Diego State, McLean went 2-for-4 and 4-for-5 for an impressive .667 average against the Aztecs. She had a double, scored three times and drove in two runs in the series. At UNLV, she notched her third double of the week, stole two bases, scored five times and collected two RBI while hitting 5-for-9 in the doubleheader.
A product of North Eugene High School in Eugene, Ore., Arbogast claimed her first pitcher of the week recognition after posting a 6-0 record, including three complete games during the week. In her 33 innings of work, the junior struck out 16 of 142 batters faced and walked nine. The starter in all six games, she posted a 1.91 ERA for the week. Against Utah State, she allowed just one run, struck out seven and walked just one in 10 innings over the two games. At San Diego State, Arbogast did not allow an earned run and struck out four in the 3-1 victory in the series opener. The Aztecs reached her for four earned runs in four innings, but Utah cruised to a 12-5 victory in the second game of the day. The Utes scored 14 runs in each game at UNLV, while Arbogast held the Rebels to four earned runs in the twinbill.
Trevis Selected as MWC Player of the Week: Sophomore Lyndsey Trevis received McLeodUSA Mountain West Conference Softball Player of the Week honors for the week of Mar. 13-19. Trevis helped Utah to a 2-4 record in the National Invitational Softball Tournament in San Jose, Calif.
Trevis, from Glendora, Calif., batted .400 (6-for-15) with eight RBI and scored five runs in the six games. The sophomore, who primarily plays third base and hits in the No. 4 slot in the lineup, notched home runs and collected seven of her eight RBI in Utah's two wins. In the 13-12 win over No. 20 Long Beach State, she went 1-for-3 with three RBI and a home run. She went 2-for-3 with a home run, four RBI and two runs in the 10-2 win over Virginia. In Utah's four losses, that included No. 4 Arizona State and No. 6 California, she was a collective 3-for-9 at the plate.
This was the first weekly conference honor for Trevis and the first award of the season for Utah.
Head Coach Mona Stevens: Mona Stevens, who has built a reputation as one of the top coaches in the nation on both the national and international levels, embarks on her fourth season as head coach at Utah.
A former Ute player and assistant coach, the Provo, Utah, native came home in September of 1996, following a two-year stint at the University of Massachusetts. Stevens was the associate head coach for the Minutewomen during the 1995 and `96 seasons, and was named head coach at UMass in June of `96, three months prior to being hired by her alma mater. In three years under Stevens, the Utes have complied a 138-86 record (.616), chalked-up two third-place finishes in the Western Athletic Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1997.
Last season, Utah posted a 28-27 overall record and finished fifth in the Western Athletic Conference with an 8-11 mark. The Utes were the runner-up in the WAC Tournament with a 4-2 record, losing to No. 2 Fresno State in the championship game.
Stevens Hits 125 Career Win Mark: Utah head coach Mona Stevens recorded her 125th career win on Fri., Mar. 17 when the Utes defeated Nebraska, 5-1 at Sacramento State's Capital Classic. With seven games left to play in the regular season, along with the MWC Tournament, Stevens could reach her 150th career-win and possibly more.
Utah Softball Hits 725 Win Mark: The Utah softball team posted its 725th win on Sun., Apr. 2 in the 14-3 win over UNLV. With seven games left to play in the regular season, along with the MWC Tournament, Utah softball could reach the 750-win mark and possibly more.
MWC Pre-Season Poll: Utah was selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorite to win the first-ever Mountain West Conference crown. The Utes received three first-place votes and 23 points to edge out New Mexico which claimed two first-place votes and 21 points.
New Mexico had the most wins in school history last season, going 42-14 overall and tying for second place in the WAC with a 14-7 slate. The Lobos return eight starters among 10 letterwinners under the direction of 23-year veteran head coach Susan Craig who received co-Coach of the Year honors in 1999. San Diego State finished tied for third in the conference in 1999 with a 16-8 league record and a 24-34 overall mark. The Aztecs return nine starters and 12 letterwinners. UNLV finished the 1999 season with an 18-31 record and placed sixth in the conference. The Rebels return 10 starters and 15 letterwinners after losing just three players from the 1999 squad. Colorado State went 17-24 overall in 1999 and placed seventh in the final league standings. The Rams return seven starters among 10 letterwinners. The softball program at BYU is in its first season as a varsity sport under the direction of Utah graduate and former assistant coach Mary Kay Amicone.
Utah To Host 2000 MWC Softball Championship: The inaugural Mountain West Conference Softball Championship will be hosted by the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. All six MWC softball teams will compete in the double-elimination event for the first league title May 11-13. Seedings will be decided by regular-season results in conference games.
All requests for media credentials for the inaugural Mountain West Conference Softball Championship should be submitted in writing to Director of Communications Elaine Adams at the MWC office or Utah sports information contact Julie Lapomarda prior to the event.
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