No. 1 UW To Play At Oregon Schools Before First Homestand
April 5, 2000
UP NEXT
Fri., Apr. 7, at No. 12 Oregon State, 2 p.m.
Sat., Apr. 8, at No. 22 Oregon, 2 p.m.
Sun., Apr. 9, at No. 22 Oregon, 1 p.m.
Mon., Apr. 10, at Portland State (DH), 2 p.m.
IN THE POLLS (Apr. 5)
Washington: No. 1, USA Today/NFCA
Oregon: No. 22, USA Today/NFCA
Oregon State: No. 12, USA Today/NFCA
NO. 1 HUSKIES TO FACE OREGON SCHOOLS IN PACIFIC NORTHWEST SHOWDOWN: The top-ranked UW softball team (38-4) will make its final road trip this weekend before its first homestand, traveling to Oregon for a showdown between three Pacific Northwest ranked in the top-25. The Huskies will meet No. 12 Oregon State (26-9-1) on Friday at 2 p.m. before facing No. 22 Oregon (24-13) on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Portland State (15-15) will host the Dawgs in a doubleheader on Monday at 2 p.m.
HUSKIES ON THE AIRWAYS: Both games against Oregon this weekend in Eugene will be broadcast live on KKOL AM-1300, with Mike Brown providing the play-by-play. The pregame show will begin 30 minutes before game time. To listen to the game over the internet, go to the Husky web site at www.gohuskies.com, scroll to the bottom of the main page, and click on the Yahoo Broadcast icon on the right side of the screen.
PAC-10 SCHEDULE FEATURES SINGLE-GAME WEEKENDS: The Pac-10 schedule will have a different look to it this season. In the past, teams have played home-and-away weekend doubleheaders with each league foe. This season, single games will be played on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with each team playing the other three times in a home-and-away format. For instance, when UW travels to Oregon, it will face Oregon State on Friday and Oregon on Saturday and Sunday. When those teams come to Seattle, UW will play Oregon on Friday and Oregon State on Saturday and Sunday.
PAC-10 MOVING UP IN POLL: You've never had to look far to find Pac-10 representatives in the USA Today/NFCA poll, and now your search will be even shorter. All eight squads are in the top 25, the league holds the top four positions, and two more are in the top 10. Right behind the No. 1 Huskies are Arizona, UCLA and ASU. Cal and Stanford are seventh and ninth, respectively. OSU (12th) and Oregon (22nd) round out the conference.
POLLING THE HUSKIES: Washington is the No. 1 team in the nation for the sixth straight week in the USA Today/NFCA poll after appearing in the second spot in the preseason rankings. The Huskies have been ranked No. 1 three other weeks in program history, all late during the 1996 season, and have been ranked in the top six in the nation the past 59 weeks dating back to the first weekly poll in 1996. UW has been in the top 25 every year since late in its inaugural year.
Pre: 2nd
2/23: 1st
3/1: 1st
3/8: 1st
3/15: 1st
3/22: 1st
3/29: 1st
4/5: 1st
STRENGTH OF THE PAC-10: If anyone still questions the strength of the Pac-10 in softball, consider this: the league posted an amazing 241-39-1 (.859) pre-conference record, with nine of those losses coming at the hands of another Pac-10 squad and 23 defeats to top-25 opponents. Last year the conference sent all eight teams to the NCAA for the first time in history.
ABOUT OREGON STATE: The No. 11 Beavers are 26-9-1 and opened the Pac-10 season with losses to Arizona State (1-6) and Arizona (0-11, 1-4). OSU has been ranked in the top 12 in the nation all season. Tarrah Beyster leads the squad at the plate with a .488 (39-80) average, including 11 home runs and 31 RBI. Brynnen Guthrie is hitting .405. Crystal Draper leads the staff in ERA (1.79) and strikeouts (116) in 113.2 innings, while Beyster is at 3.01 with 102 strikeouts. Head coach Kirk Walker is 157-174-2 in his sixth season with OSU. Washington leads the series, 20-7.
ABOUT OREGON: The Ducks are 24-13 and at No. 22 in the latest poll, up a spot from the past several weeks. Oregon split with Arizona State over the weekend (10-0, 3-7) and fell to Arizona (2-3). Triawn Custer is batting .431 (44-12) and has accounted for 55 runs, scoring 31 herself and knocking in 24 more. Connie McMurren has a 2.13 ERA in 121.1 innings and leads the staff with 91 strikeouts. Head coach Rick Gamez has a 128-108-1 record in his fourth year at Oregon. The Huskies lead the series, 25-3, including a 5-2, 10-inning thriller this season at the Kia Klassic.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE: The Vikings began the week at 15-15, exceeding their expectations in their second season of Division I play after winning just 12 games a year ago. PSU is competing in the Western Athletic Conference in softball after playing as an independent since 1970. Portland State has 11 home runs this season. Kiauna Anderson leads the team offensively with a .323 average, with 31 hits and 17 runs. Head coach Teri Mariani is in her 24th season with the Vikings and has a 554-399 mark.
HUSKY QUICK FACTS
Head Coach: Teresa Wilson (Missouri '84)
Record at UW: 375-136 (.734)/8th year
Career Record: 579-297 (.661)/14th year
2000 Record: 38-4/2-1
1999 Records: 51-18/15-12
1999 Finishes: 2nd in CWS, 3rd in Pac-10
PAC-10 OPENING WEEKEND: Washington jumped out of the gates quickly against No. 8 Stanford, with three runs in the first inning off a dinger by Jenny Topping, and went on to blank the Cardinal, 6-0. Jennifer Spediacci recorded the win. The No. 4 Cal Bears handed UW just its second shutout of the season the next day and scored two runs in the third inning to record the mild upset, as the Huskies could not capitalize on six hits and five hit batters. UW left 10 runners on base. But Washington came back with a vengeance on Sunday to upend the Bears, 10-1 in five innings. UW's first four batters scored to lead off the game, and five more Dawgs crossed home plate in the second frame to put the game away. Jaime Clark and Spediacci hit back-to-back pitches out of the park in the midst of the second-inning explosion. Spediacci struck out three in four innings before Bridget Wilcox relieved her.
ANOTHER TOP-25 LADEN SCHEDULE: Eighteen of Washington's 32 regular-season opponents this season are ranked in the top 25 in the polls or were at game time. With all eight Pac-10 teams in the rankings, all 21 league outings and 20 non-league games will be vs. top-25 squads.
LEUTZINGER HITTING STREAK TOPS SCHOOL MARK: Senior Rosie Leutzinger's current 20-game hitting streak tops the UW record of 15. Leutzinger has garnered at least one hit per game since the Mar. 4 outing against No. 23 Nebraska and has had eight multiple-hit outings during that span. Her average during the streak of .390 (30-77) includes six doubles and a triple, and 14 games against ranked foes.
LEUTZINGER STEALS THE RECORD: Senior Rosie Leutzinger topped UW's most wanted list in the thieves department. Her stolen base in the sixth inning of the first game against Long Beach State on Mar. 24 gave her a program-record 106 stolen bases in 124 attempts, topping Shelley Brown's numbers of 105/118. Leutzinger has 22 SB this season and should have three season totals in UW's top 10 by the end of her career.
GRAVES KILLS APPEARANCES RECORD: Senior Jamie Graves toppled another record in UW's first outing against Cal this year. Graves' appearance that game gave her 154 in her career, displacing Stephanie Burns for the top spot in that category. She already holds the UW season records for ERA (0.76) and appearnaces (53), and the season and career marks for saves (6 and 10), and fewest walks per seven innings (0.59 and 0.92).
LONG BALL RECORD WATCH: The Huskies already have broken two school home run records this season. Washington has hit 55 home runs in its first 42 games, on pace to knock about 92 balls out of the park. That number would more than double the previous program record of 39 set in 1995. The long ball hasn't figured prominently in Washington's success the past couple of years, with just 26 a year ago and 15 in 1998. Redshirt Jenny Topping leads the squad with a program-record 18, and freshman Jaime Clark has 13, her first coming on her second collegiate pitch.
"OVER THE FENCE CLUB": UW's "Over the Fence Club" added yet another member from the team's road trip to Southern California. Senior ace Jamie Graves hit her first career homer against No. 12 Oregon State in the semifinals of the Kia Klassic to up the membership total to 12. The Huskies have pounded a school-record 55 dingers this season, and Jenny Topping's 18 also breaks the individual season mark.
MORE ON HOME RUNS: Washington has hit home runs in all but 13 games this season, and 98 of its 263 runs have come off four-baggers. Six Huskies have hit two or more homers this season-Jenny Topping (18), Jaime Clark (13), Erin Helgeland (6), Kim DePaul (6), Jennifer Spediacci (4) and Christie Rosenblad (2). Four UW players have hit two or more four-baggers in one day: Clark (twice), DePaul (twice), Helgeland and Topping (four times).
THIS NOTE SPONSORED BY DENNY'S: Grand slam, anyone? Jenny Topping has served up three this year and Kim DePaul two, doing what only three other Huskies had ever done before. DePaul, a Tomball, Texas, native, debuted in the Lone Star State by hitting a bases-loaded home run in the second game against Southwest Texas State and added another against Utah. Topping also slammed Utah at the Red Desert Classic, her second in as many days after serving up No. 25 Oklahoma State the previous day. Topping's latest came at the hands of No. 17 Illinois-Chicago at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
HIT INEQUITY: There seems to be an inequity in the hit category of Washington games. The Huskies have collected double-digit hits in 16 games and have five or more in all but four outings. In contrast, UW has given up more than five hits just nine times. The Dawgs pounded 15 hits in five innings against South Florida for a season high.
CLUTCH HITTING: The Huskies have had some clutch hitting this season, with 128 of their 247 RBI-more than half-coming with two outs. Jenny Topping leads in that category with 29, with Jaime Clark adding 20 and Kim DePaul 17.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PITCHING?: With all this talk about the Husky hitters, one might forget UW has one of the best pitching staffs in the nation. Seniors Jamie Graves and Jennifer Spediacci each have earned All-America honors, and last year, with sophomores Shannon Walsh and Bridget Wilcox, UW had the second-best staff in the nation with a 0.88 ERA. The foursome are on their way to possibly breaking that school record in 2000, with a staff ERA of 0.70.
THE GOODS ON GRAVES: Graves is 17-3, with five wins over ranked opponents. She sports a team-best 0.63 ERA, with 110 strikeouts and 20 walks in 121.1 innings. The lefty had a career-best day in the semifinals of the Kia Klassic against No. 12 Oregon State, striking out 12 and hitting her first-ever home run. She threw 8.1 innings, allowing no earned runs, before Jennifer Spediacci relieved her to pick up the win. Graves earned Pac-10 Player of the Week honors for her efforts during the Kia Klassic and was named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic all-tournament team after shutting down Utah and No. 5 Louisiana State in the semifinals.
"SPED-ING" TOWARD ANOTHER STRIKEOUT RECORD: Jennifer Spediacci already holds the UW career strikeout mark-she established that record two-thirds of the way through her junior season-but she could break her own season mark of 250 this season. Spediacci has 180 whiffs in 141.0 innings at about the halfway mark of the year. She is 21-1, defeating 16 ranked teams, with a 0.65 ERA and 28 walks. Spediacci has struck out 10 or more batters against six ranked opponents: No. 19 Texas (12), No. 17 Illinois-Chicago (10), No. 23 Nebraska (12), No. 8 Fresno State (10), No. 14 Iowa (11) and her 13 against No. 16 Louisiana-Lafayette was a career high.
TOPPING THE RECORDS: At the current rate, Jenny Topping could own quite a few offensive records at Washington, both season and career, along with a few national marks. Realizing her career is young, consider: with 30 walks in 38 games this year, and 37 in 47 games in her career, she would break the NCAA career record for walks, which is 178. UW hitting coach Jen Cline, coincidentally, is second on that list with 175. Topping also has 18 home runs in 38 games this season, which breaks the Husky season mark. The NCAA homer season record is 37. Her RBI total of 65 is close to the UW mark of 71 and is on pace to eclipse the NCAA record of 128.
HER REPUTATION PRECEDES HER: Redshirt freshman Jenny Topping had made only 32 plate appearances in her collegiate career prior to this season. Yet her first three of the 2000 season were walks, two of them intentional, against first-team All-American pitcher Courtney Blades. Topping hit .533 (8-for-15) in her first six games as a freshman before tearing her ACL in the eighth game of the season. She hit three homers, knocked in 11 runs and walked seven times a year ago.
HAUXHURST PUTS TOGETHER 15-GAME STREAK: Junior Kelly Hauxhurst put together a string of 15 games in which she collected at least one hit, tying the school record in that category before senior Rosie Leutzinger's current 20-game streak. Hauxhurst hit at least one single in every outing from games against Cal State Northridge (2/12) through Utah (2/26). She was 17-52 during that streak, hitting .327. Her average for the season is .309 with 12 RBI and a dinger while hitting in the second slot.
ROSENBLAD'S STREAK ENDS AGAINST FRESNO STATE: Junior Christie Rosenblad has made the most of her hitting opportunities this season and has become a steady fixture in the offensive lineup after hitting part-time a year ago. Rosenblad's .337 average, fifth on the squad, was been bolstered by a 14-game hitting streak, which ended against Fresno State in the title game of the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The second baseman hit .475 (19-40) during that streak, including 10 runs, three RBI, three doubles and a homer.
FOUR STRIKEOUTS IN AN INNING?: Three strikeouts in an inning just isn't enough for Jennifer Spediacci. In the fifth inning against No. 23 Nebraska (at approximately 11:45 p.m.), Spediacci fanned four batters. How? On third strikes, if the catchers drops the ball, the batter must be thrown out at first or will be called safe, which is what happened.
THREE PITCHES AND YOU'RE OUT: Jennifer Spediacci needed just nine pitches to strike out the side in the first inning against No. 17 Illinois-Chicago at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. She followed that by striking out the next two batters and struck out two in the final inning. All totaled, she whiffed 10 Flames.
UCLA MATCHUP TIME CHANGED TO ACCOMMODATE TV: A College World Series title game rematch will be aired on Fox Sports Net when the network broadcasts the Apr. 22 game between Washington and UCLA at 1 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for 2 p.m.
U-DUB DRIBBLES: UW broke the school record for consecutive wins with 23 from mid-February to mid-March. The Huskies sandwiched a loss between streaks of nine and 23 to jump out to the best start in program history...UW is 19-1 in shutouts this year and has won all 10 of its run-rule games...Eleven Huskies have multiple-hit games, led by Jaime Clark's 14 ...UW is one of only two teams which has a current four-year streak of appearances at the College World Series. Arizona is the other...UW is tied for sixth all-time in CWS wins with 11 and was the youngest program to win a game in the NCAA CWS...UW competed in six regular-season tournaments in five different states this season: Arizona Softball Classic (Tucson, Ariz.), Matador Invitational (Northridge, Calif.), Texas Invitational (Austin, Texas), Utah Tournament (St. George, Utah), NFCA Leadoff Classic (Columbus, Ga.) and Kia Klassic (Fullerton, Calif.).
DEAR DIARY...: Wonder what goes on behind the scenes and in the minds of Husky softball players and coaches? You'll have two opportunities to read a more personal account of Washington softball. Head coach Teresa Wilson will post bi-monthly diary submissions to the cnn-si.com site every other Thursday, starting Feb. 17, while one Husky player per week will write about the team's fortunes on and off the field. Those will be posted on www.gohuskies.com each Tuesday, beginning Feb. 15. Check in this week with Melissa Downs.
BIG INNINGS: Washington has put together some high-scoring innings. The Huskies scored seven runs in the sixth inning against Southwest Texas State and Utah, and got six in the first frame versus South Florida. UW put five runs across against San Diego State (first inning), Cal State Northridge (fourth), Southwest Texas State (fifth), No. 19 Texas (second), No. 25-tie Oklahoma State (fifth), No. 23 Nebraska (fifth) and No. 4 Cal (second).
UW'S SITUATIONAL RECORDS
Overall: 38-4
Pac-10: 2-1
Home: 0-0
Away: 11-2
Neutral: 27-2
Day: 32-4
Night: 6-0
Run-Rule Games: 10-0
7-Inning Games: 27-3
Extra Inning Games: 1-1
1-Run Games: 3-1
2-Run Games: 1-2
Shutouts: 19-1
vs. Top-25 Opponents At Game Time: 20-3
Last Year At This Time: 31-11/7-6
When UW Scores First: 31-0
When Opponent Scores First: 7-4
Sunday: 7-0
Monday: 0-0
Tuesday: 1-0
Wednesday: 1-1
Thursday: 6-0
Friday: 10-1
Saturday: 13-2
THAT'S QUITE A ROAD TRIP: Washington opens the season with a very long road trip, of sorts. Although the Huskies return home between each trip, they will play 47 games-about 73 percent of their regular-season schedule-on the road before gracing the fields of Husky Softball Stadium. Washington does not open at home until mid-April and will play 13 home contests by mid-May.
ZONING OUT: The Huskies played in four different time zones in four consecutive weekends and logged 15,852 air miles by the time they returned home from their Spring Break trip to Southern California.
SIX-FOR-SIX: The Huskies won all six regular-season tournaments they entered this season after sweeping the Kia Klassic with seven wins. UW swept through four other tournaments undefeated, including the Pepsi Arizona Classic, the Matador Invitational, the Red Desert Classic, a title they shared with Stanford, and the NFCA Leadoff Classic. The Dawgs also brought home the Texas Invitational title, avenging a loss in round-robin play to No. 7 LSU in the championship game.
HUSKY HONORS
Jaime Clark: NFCA Player of the Week (3/1), Pac-10 Player of the Week (2/15)
Jamie Graves: Pac-10 Player of the Week (3/21), NFCA Leadoff Classic all-tournament
Kelly Hauxhurst: NFCA Leadoff Classic all-tournament
Jennifer Spediacci: Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (3/28), Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (3/21), Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week (3/7)
Jenny Topping: Pac-10 Player of the Week (3/7), NFCA Player of the Week (3/7), NFCA Leadoff Classic MVP
JAIME CLARK DEBUTS WITH PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Freshman shortstop/right fielder Jaime Clark burst on to the collegiate scene with power and consistency, earning the season's first Pac-10 Player of the Week honor. In seven games, three against top-five opponents, Clark hit .444 (8-18) with a 1.167 slugging percentage. She knocked her second collegiate pitch-against first-team All-American Courtney Blades, no less-out of the park at the Pepsi Arizona Classic. In that tournament, in which No. 2 Washington defeated No. 5 Southern Miss twice and No. 4 Arizona once, Clark registered a home run, a double and three walks.
CLARK EARNS NATIONAL HONORS: Freshman Jaime Clark earned Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week honors after her .706 (12-17) performance at the Red Desert Classic. In five games, Clark turned in four home runs and three doubles for a 1.588 slugging percentage. The shortstop/right fielder maintained a 1.000 fielding percentage while collected 10 RBI with one walk and no strikeouts.
HUSKIES SWEEP PAC-10 HONORS: Jennifer Spediacci and Jenny Topping earned Pac-10 Pitcher and Player of the Week honors for their performances at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Topping earned the honor for the first time in her career, while it was Spediacci's sixth such honor.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Jenny Topping hit five homers, including two game-winners, to earn MVP honors at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. She hit .667 (10-15), with two doubles, 12 RBI and five walks for 1.800 slugging and .750 on-base percentages while playing first base, catcher and designated hitter. Jamie Graves (3-0 and 0.44 ERA with 10 strikeouts and a shutout over No. 5 Louisiana State) and Kelly Hauxhurst (eight runs, two doubles, a career-first homer and two stolen bases) also earned spots on the all-tournament team.
TOPPING EARNS NFCA HONORS: Jenny Topping was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week after the NFCA Leadoff Classic. She won the tournament's "triple crown," leading the Classic in batting average (.667 on 10-for-15), home runs (five) and RBI (12). Topping's solo home run was the difference in UW's 1-0 win over No. 8 Fresno State in the title game. Topping follows shortstop/outfielder Jaime Clark with the honor.
HUSKIES SWEEP PAC-10 HONORS, ROUND TWO: Jamie Graves and Jennifer Spediacci Pac-10 Player and Pitcher of the Week honors for their performances at the Kia Klassic, which helped UW win the title. It was the second time this season UW has swept the awards. Graves led the Dawgs at the plate, hitting .400 (4-10) over the weekend, including her first career home run to help the Huskies down No. 12 Oregon State in the semifinals. In that game, Graves also pitched 8.1 innings and struck out a career-best 12 batters before Spediacci relieved her to earn the win. Graves also hit two doubles, one in the midst of a three-run second inning against No. 2 Arizona in the final to put the Huskies ahead for good. She maintained a 0.00 ERA in 20.1 innings, with 20 strikeouts and two shutout wins, blanking No. 7 Fresno State and Texas. Spediacci went 5-0, including four wins over top-25 teams, four complete games and two shutouts. She allowed just one earned run in 30.2 innings, a 0.23 ERA, while striking out 46 and allowing just 13 hits. Spediacci defeated No. 2 Arizona in the final, shut out No. 16 ULL and DePaul, and handed No. 14 Iowa and No. 12 Oregon State defeats. Batters hit just .123 against her. Offensively, she hit a homer and knocked in four runs.
SPEDIACCI EARNS PAC-10 PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Senior Jennifer Spediacci maintained a 0.00 ERA through 19.0 innings of play to post three wins, including shutouts over No. 11 Cal State Fullerton and No. 19 Long Beach State, to earn Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week honors Mar. 28. Spediacci threw two complete games and struck out 23 batters while holding opposing hitters to a .186 batting average. Spediacci also was third on the team at the plate, hitting .364 (4-11), with one triple, two RBI and two walks. The award was her third of the season and eighth of her career.
HUSKIES NO. 2 IN PAC-10 COACHES POLL: The NCAA runners-up Washington softball team earned three first-place votes from Pac-10 coaches and was picked to finish second in the powerhouse Pac-10 Conference this season behind UCLA. UW picked up 44 points, just three behind the Bruins' 47. Arizona finished third in the poll with 38 points, followed by ASU (28), Stanford (23), Oregon State (19), California (13) and Oregon (12).
RADIO SCHEDULE RELEASED: Eight Husky softball games will be aired on KKOL 1300-AM this season, with Mike Brown handling play-by-play for the third-straight season. UW is one of the few softball programs in the nation with regular-season games broadcast by a local radio station. Times listed indicate time of the pregame show, which precedes the game by 30 minutes except when noted.
UW SOFTBALL ON THE AIRWAYS
Sat., Apr. 8 at Oregon, 1:30 p.m.-KKOL
Sun., Apr. 9 at Oregon, 12:30 p.m.-KKOL
Sat., Apr. 22 vs. UCLA, 1 p.m.*-Fox Sports Net
*NOTE TIME CHANGE FROM 2 P.M.
Fri., May 5 at Arizona, 6 p.m.-KKOL
(game may start in-progress at 6:30 p.m.)
Sat., May 6 at Arizona State, 5:30 p.m.-KKOL
Sun., May 7 at Arizona State, 12:30 p.m.-KKOL
Sat., May 13 vs. Oregon State, 1:30 p.m.-KKOL
time listed indicates pregame show
SEXTET OF SENIORS: The Dawgs will be a veteran group this year, led by six seniors who already have stamped their marks on the program. Melissa Downs, Jeanine Giordano, Jamie Graves, Erin Helgeland, Rosie Leutzinger and Jennifer Spediacci have taken the Huskies to three straight College World Series semifinals, finishing second in 1999, and have won 77 percent (191-56) of their games while wearing the Purple and Gold. The group includes three All-Americans (Graves, Leutzinger, Spediacci), five UW record holders (Giordano, Graves, Helgeland, Leutzinger, Spediacci), three WPSL draft picks (Giordano, Graves, Spediacci) and two Washington natives (Downs, Helgeland).
USA SOFTBALL TEAM TO PLAY IN HUSKY SOFTBALL STADIUM: The USA Softball women's national team will make Seattle one of its 31 stops across America in preparation for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. The squad, which won the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Games, will play an exhibition game at Husky Softball Stadium on July 16 against players from the Women's Pro Softball League's Akron Racers. Stay tuned for more details.
FOUR HUSKIES CHOSEN IN WPSL DRAFTS FOR 2000 SEASON: Four current or former members of the Husky softball team were drafted by Women's Pro Softball League teams in preparation of the 2000 season, which runs June through August. Former All-American and current assistant coach Jennifer Cline went seventh in the Elite/Supplemental Draft, chosen by the Tampa Bay FireStix. Cline played for the Virginia Roadsters last season. Seniors Jamie Graves, Jennifer Spediacci and Jeanine Giordano were picked 19th, 20th and 22nd, respectively, in the Senior Draft. The Akron Racers snagged Graves and Giordano, and Spediacci will join Cline with the Tampa Bay FireStix. Former Husky Sara Pickering, who played with the Virginia Roadsters last summer, is now a member of the Akron Racers. The revamped league consists of four teams located in national training centers planned for Akron, Ohio, and Plant City, Fla. The Akron Races and the 1999 WPSL champion Tampa Bay FireStix remain as the foundation of the league. The Ohio Pride will share Firestone Stadium with the Racers, while the Florida Wahoos will join the FireStix in Plant City Stadium. The season includes 64 league games, 12 regular-season exhibitions, a best-of-three WPSL Championship Series, and two season-ending all-star exhibitions. ESPN2 has agreed to increase its WPSL television coverage from nine to 10 games for the 2000 season.
Name (Years at UW), current status
Jennifer Cline (1993-96), 7th pick, Elite, Tampa Bay FireStix
Jeanine Giordano (1997-cur.), 22nd pick, Senior, Akron Racers
Jamie Graves (1997-cur.), 19th pick, Senior, Akron Racers
Sara Pickering (1994-97), member, Akron Racers
Jennifer Spediacci (1997-cur.), 20th pick, Senior, Tampa Bay FireStix
HUSKIES INK FOUR DURING EARLY SIGNING PERIOD: UW got four commitments from high school athletes during early signing period this fall.
Callie Bergan, 1B/UT, Issaquah, Wash./Skyline H.S.
Tia Bollinger, RH P, Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei H.S.
Nicki Holt, SS/OF, Camarillo, Calif./Adolfo Camarillo H.S.
Amanda Oleson, SS/OF, Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura H.S.
NEWBRY LONE STARTER LOST FROM '99 SEASON: Becky Newbry is the only starter lost from last season, but the three-time All-American will be difficult to replace. Newbry saved her best season for her last, earning first-team All-America honors while hitting .436. That average ranked second in the Pac-10 and 17th in the nation. She finished her career ranked in UW's top 10 in every offensive category, including first in triples (16) and second in games played (266), runs (181) and hits (286). The Olympia, Wash., native became the program's first three-time All-American and broke the unofficial position record, playing at every spot in the field except pitcher in her career. All of that came after Newbry joined the team as a walk-on in 1996. Newbry recently won Seattle Post-Intelligencer's 1999 Female Seattle Sports Star of the Year award.
A LOOK BACK AT THE 1999 SEASON: After finishing third in the Pac-10 Conference, Washington turned it up a notch in the NCAA tournament, skating undefeated through its own regional and defeating three Pac-10 squads to advance to the College World Series final for the second time in four years. The Huskies clicked on all cylinders during the postseason, batting 40 points higher as a team in the playoffs than in the regular season and lowering their ERA by 36 points. UW hosted and won the No. 3 Regional by downing Colgate (8-0 in six), Tennessee (12-1 in five), Cal State Fullerton (1-0 in nine) and Hawai'i (3-0). At the World Series, the Dawgs then topped Arizona State (4-1), Arizona (3-0) and Cal (3-0) before a two-out, seventh-inning rally fell a run short against UCLA (3-2).
