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The University of Utah Athletics
Utah Hits the Road for SDSU and UNLV
4/8/2008 12:00 AM | Softball
April 8, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SALT LAKE CITY - Utah goes on the road this week to continue conference action, playing a doubleheader against No. 21/18 San Diego State on Thursday, April 10, before single games at UNLV on April 11 and 12.
Weekend in Review
The Utes opened the conference season with a doubleheader split against Colorado State, dropping game one, 13-9 in extra innings before winning game two, 7-2. Utah also split single games against New Mexico, falling 4-2 on Friday before winning 4-3 on Saturday.
Kara Foster hit .700 over the four games, including two home runs and six RBI. Diana Phillips had six hits with a .353 batting average, including a double.
Ashley Smuda had 19 strikeouts with a 3.50 ERA and a 1-1 record. Brittany Parker was also 1-1 for the week.
Utah was also scheduled to start the week against Utah Valley on Monday, but the game was postponed due to snow.
Foster Named MWC Player of the Week
Utah's Kara Foster was named the Mountain West Conference Softball Player of the Week for her performance against Colorado State and New Mexico.
Foster, from Derby, Kan., nailed hits in each of Utah's four games. The sophomore drove in the first run in game one of the Colorado State series to give the Utes a 1-0 lead. She also hit a two-run homer in the eighth to cut the Rams' late-inning lead. In the third inning of Utah's second game with CSU, Foster nailed a three-run home run, which eventually became the game-winning hit in the 7-2 victory.
In the series opener against New Mexico, Foster singled with a runner on base to advance the lead runner, who would then score on the next play for one of Utah's two runs of the game. She also had a hit in the second game of the series, which Utah won 4-2.
Scouting the Competition
San Diego State (29-10): Pitcher Christina Ross has been the key to the No. 21/18 Aztecs success this season. She leads the conference in ERA (0.89), strikeouts (163) and wins (18) and has won MWC Pitcher of the Week six times.
Tamani Wells is batting .339 on the season. Both her and Tonye McCorkle have 42 hits on the year. McCorkle (.328) has 25 RBI on the year. Erin Floros has a team-best 27 RBI.
Head coach Kathy Van Wyk is in her 12th season at the helm at SDSU.
UNLV (20-22-1): The Rebels are coming off a pair of losses to San Diego State. Jaci Hull leads the team with a .333 batting average, 10 home runs and 27 RBI. She also leads the conference with 29 walks. Alyssia De La Torre is batting .300 for UNLV.
Stephanie Bregante (11-12, 2.75 ERA) carries the load in the circle for the Rebels. She has 124 strikeouts on the season.
Head coach Lonni Alameda is in his fifth season at the helm at UNLV.
Phillips Watch
All-West Region and three-time all-Mountain West Conference selection Diana Phillips is nearing several career marks at Utah. She has 14 career triples (three this season) and ranks second all-time at Utah in the category. The all-time triples record is 19, held by Sandy Rhea (1995-98).
Her current .359 career batting average is second all-time.
Phillips has 223 total hits and is just nine hits from ranking in the top-five at Utah. She is also nearing the top-10 with 43 career stolen bases.
Phillips is batting .383 on the season with a team-best 44 hits and nine doubles. She also leads the team with 14 multi-hit games. Her longest hitting streak this year is nine games. Her 15 stolen bases is second in the conference to teammate Kelly Matthews.
Fantastic Foster
Kara Foster added to her team-leading 12 home runs with two in the doubleheader against Colorado State. She is second in the conference in the category. Foster is second on the team with a .371 batting average and has a team-best 28 RBI on the year. Nearly half of her 39 hits on the season have been for extra bases. She also ranks second in the conference with a .781 slugging percentage.
She was named MWC Player of the Week on April 8 for her performance against Colorado State and New Mexico.
Doubled Up
Utah has turned 12 double plays this season, which ranks second in the conference. Kara Foster leads the conference in players who have fielded a double play (11), while Staci Hemingway has been in on six double plays.
Players Mentioned
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