The Daily Update Page

McAllister, Michelle. P, Vienna VA Stars, to St Petersburg College, FL

Johnson, Gwen. C, Vienna VA Stars, to Louisburg College, NC

#1 UCLA defeated its second PAC opponent since reclaiming the top ranking in the national poll with a 3-0 victory on Friday, which ended California’s 6-game win streak. Keria Goerl pitched a no-hitter for the Bruins for her 23^rd win. UCLA is now 9-3 in Pac 10, while the Bears dropped to 8-5. Natasha Watley hit Jocelyn Forest’s first pitch up the middle; Amanda Freed and Tairia Mims hit bloop singles, Natasha scoring, then Stacey Nuveman hit an rbi single for the 2-0 lead. Goerl had 4 Ks. Cassie Bobrow relieved Forest for the last two scoreless innings.

#2 Arizona was scheduled to play Oregon at 6pm Friday (9pm SPY time).

Nebraska closed out its home-game regular season in that split Wednesday with Kansas; the Huskers end the regular season at Texas Tech this weekend. (PS: Peaches James was 2-4 at the plate in that game against the Jayhawks.)

#5 Arizona State was scheduled to play #16 Oregon State Friday night at 7pm.

#20 Ohio State won its 16^th in a row, an 11-0 defeat of Ohio on Friday, setting a new school mark for wins in a season. The 5-inning shutout, which combined the pitching of Wendy Allen and Kristi DeVries, raised the Buckeye record to 47-9. Ohio State used 18 players, with Anna Smith and Meaghan Rowlands getting two hits apiece. Smith and Jennifer Link also pulled a double steal, giving Smith 36 for the year.

On Tuesday, Florida was 9-15 in the SEC’s Eastern Division, Tennessee was 8-14. The Gators widened that gap Wednesday and Thursday by overwhelming the Volunteers: 15-3 (14 hits) and 7-6, then sweeping the series today 13-2 (13 hits). Tennessee has lost 12 of its last 14 games. We tip the Spyglass to the scribe who writes for the Volunteers; you get all the details on hits, pitches and plays – by players’ names for both teams!

Led by Katie Junge, UC Santa Barbara won its sixth in a row Friday, while also breaking Utah State’s 4-game winning streak. The Gauchos improve to 9-7 in the Big West.

Georgia Tech also has a 6-game winning streak going, sweeping Mercer 10-2, 4-0.

Minnesota, tied for 5^th in the Big 10 (top six teams go to conference tournament) with Wisconsin, put its 7-game winning streak on the line Friday and came up on the short end of a 10-inning, 4-1 loss to Northwestern. Cindy Muran, JC Kira, Brett Nakabayashi, Katie Gross and Carrie Leto got critical hits in the 10^th for the Wildcat runs. NU is in 4^th place with a 10-5 record.

NCAA Statistical Leaders (thru 4/21)

UCLA’S Stacey Nuveman leads the nation with a .542 batting average.  Barbara Moody of Pacific is the doubles leader with 25.  Fresno State’s Jamie Southern has the lowest ERA at 0.47, but the Bruins’ Keira Goerl is a notch behind at 0.49.  Arizona’s Leneah Manuma leads with 17 homers; Cornell’s Lauren May leads in homers per game, 0.38.  Three of the top 20 HR hitters are from Arizona: Manuma, Jenny Finch and Lovie Jung.  Washington has two in the top 20: Jaime Clark and Kristen Rivera.

Nikki Myers of Florida Atlantic has the most pitching victories at 30-4.  Jamie Southern of Fresno State is just behind at 28-6 and Texas’ Catherine Osterman is 27-7.

Tiffany Whitton of Harvard leads in rbi per game at 1.24 but Leneah is at 1.23 and has 59 rbi.  The leader is Jamie Clark with 61.  Kristen Dennis of Virginia has 53, and Stacy Roth of Ohio State has 52.  Three sluggers from Illinois-Chicago have broken into the 50+ group: Amanda Rivera 52, Amber Stachura 51 and Edel Leyden 50.

Among the speedsters, Tiffany Tolleson of North Carolina has been successful on 53 of 58 attempts, but the sparkler is Nicole Barber of Georgia , perfect on 55 attempts.

Hello Russia, Goodbye Botswana
ISF announced that Botswana has withdrawn from the
2002 Women's World Championship, due to financial problems.

Russia has been designated as the replacement, as a result of having been the
highest placed team in all Regional Qualifiers.  This will mark Russia's
debut in the Women's World Championships, the 10th in the
event's history.  Russia and 14 other teams will try to dethrone the four-time defending gold medal champion United States team.  The last country other than the U.S. to
have a team win the gold medal was New Zealand in 1982.  The event takes place this summer from July 26 - August 4 in Saskatoon, SK,Canada.

#4 Nebraska split a double-header Wednesday with Big 12 foe Kansas, winning the first game 9-4 behind Leigh Ann Walker before losing the nightcap 3-2. Amanda Buchholz and Cindy Roethemeyer were both 2-4. Peaches James struck out 9 in the second game but took the loss. Serena Settlemeir struck out 7 Huskers for the win. Nebraska slips to 9-5 (40-11) and winds up conference play this weekend against Texas Tech.

#10 Florida Atlantic racked up a season-high 19 hits Thursday, to defeat Lynn University 11-0, the Owls improving to 55-8. Candace Freel was 4-4 at the plate while pitching the shutout.

Correction. In the Texas-Texas A&M game reported 4/24, the line should have read that Lindsay Wilhelmson got 13 straight outs between the two Longhorn hits – not all Ks.

The NCAA today published its "real" rankings today (previous rankings were simply in alphabetical order) reflecting where teams stand, by region, on a 1-10 basis. The last three rankings which NCAA will publish include only teams above the .500 mark. The rankings are compiled by NCAA’s Division I Women’s Softball Committee.

Central
1.	LSU	                40-8
2.	Alabama	                41-13
3.	DePaul	                30-8
4.	South Carolina	        35-14
5.	Mississippi State	30-24
6.	Georgia	                47-12
7.	Arkansas	        31-22
8.	Eastern Kentucky	27-11

East
1.	Notre Dame	        27-13
2.	Villanova	        37-9
3.	Syracuse	        19-15
4.	Seton Hall	        25-13
5.	Long Island	        24-20
6.	Virginia Tech	        30-16
7.	St. Peter's	        22-14
8.	Canisius	        20-12
9.	Fairfield	        25-22
10.	UMBC	                35-16
 
Mideast
1.	Michigan	        36-9
2.	Ohio State	        44-9
3.	Iowa	                29-16
4.	Minnesota	        33-16
5.	Northwestern	        21-14
6.	Central Michigan	25-13
7.	Wisconsin	        25-15
8.	Penn State	        25-21
9.	Illinois-Chicago	30-18
10.	Akron	                25-9
Others receiving votes:  UMKC

Midwest
1.	Texas	                39-10
2.	Oklahoma	        37-12
3.	Nebraska	        39-9
4.	Baylor	                43-14
5.	Texas A&M	        34-13
6.	Louisiana-Lafayette	39-10
7.	Oklahoma State	        26-18
8.	Florida International	34-26
9.	Illinois State	        24-14
10.	Kansas	                26-21
Others receiving votes:  Southern Illinois

Northeast
1.	Massachusetts	        39-10
2.	Princeton	        29-15
3.	Harvard	                26-8
4.	Lehigh	                29-11
5.	Boston U.	        22-19
6.	George Mason	        33-16
7.	Towson	                26-18
8.	Cornell	                22-18
9.	Army	                26-17
10.	Dartmouth	        20-14

Pacific
1.	UCLA	                40-6
2.	Arizona	                41-7
3.	California	        42-14
4.	Arizona State	        37-11
5.	Washington	        36-13
6.	Stanford	        35-11
7.	Oregon State	        32-16
8.	San Diego State	        34-20
9.	Brigham Young	        27-19

South
1.	Florida Atlantic	52-8
2.	Florida State	        41-14
3.	Georgia Tech	        41-15
4.	Virginia	        43-17
5.	UCF	                39-16
6.	Stetson	                39-8
7.	Troy State	        41-15
8.	North Carolina	        29-23
9.	Jacksonville State	32-13
10.	Chattanooga	        31-13

West
1.	Cal State Fullerton	41-11
2.	Fresno State	        41-14
3.	Pacific (California)	36-13
4.	Long Beach State	35-17
5.	Hawaii	                30-20
6.	Cal State Northridge	23-22
7.	Tulsa	                37-12
Others receiving votes:  Cal Poly, Louisiana Tech,

Loyola Marymount

On April 24, SPY published the list of conferences which will hold qualifying tournaments, which we extracted from the NCAA web site. Although the list is dated January 2002, the indication is that the list has been updated only in part since last year. For example, it correctly shows the collective dates for regionals and for the WCWS.

But, we are now advised that the Patriot League, which formerly had a play-in, now qualifies for a berth from its own tournament.

We have asked NCAA for an updated list.

ASA/USA, responding to SPY’s inquiry, advised Wednesday that the Open Olympic Tryouts are "designed to give players who may not have been seen by the Selection Committee an opportunity to showcase their talents. Any player who has competed on a National Team or been to a National Team camp is already considered part of the player pool and would not need to attend these open tryouts."

Forty-eight Division I teams will compete in 8 regional tournaments (sites tba). Twenty-four teams qualify through conference tournaments, winners receiving an automatic bid. Twenty-four other teams are chosen at-large, according to NCAA.

America East Conference
Atlantic 10 Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference*
Big East Conference
Big South Conference
Big Twelve Conference
Big Ten Conference
Big West Conference
Conference USA
Ivy Group
Metro Atlantic Conference
Mid-American Conference
Mid-Western Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
Mountain West Conference
Pacific-10 Conference
Southeastern Conference
Southern Conference
Southland Conference
Trans America Conference (now Atlantic-Sun)
Western Athletic Conference

*In 2001, the ACC and two area teams formed a Southern Alliance

and 7 teams competed for a regional berth.  

SPY has asked NCAA how the ACC qualifies this year.

Play-In Qualifiers
Patriot League at Northeast Conference
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference at Ohio Valley Conference
Southwestern Athletic Conference at Mid-Continent Conference

DIVISION I SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP DATES AND SITES
21st Annual
Regionals (8):To be determined
(on campus)
May 16-19, 2002
Finals:ASA Hall of Fame Stadium
Oklahoma City May 23-27, 2002
University of Oklahoma, host
Ticket Information: www.okcallsports.org

#1 UCLA affirmed its new status in the USA Today poll by also claiming first place in the PAC 10 with a 5-3 victory over #8 Washington. Keria Goerl struck out 13 Huskies and Claire Sua jacked an Ashley Boek 1-1 pitch over the right field fence – a grand slam. The Bruins were down 3-0 after freshman sensation Kristen Rivera drove in two runs and Kathy Fiske homered. UCLA got back into the game in the 6^th; Natasha Watley and Amanda Freed singled, the latter a shot off the leg of starter Tia Bollinger. Leslie Scott took the mound and hit Tairia Mims with her first pitch, followed by Stacey Nuveman’s rbi single. Boek took over with the bases loaded, got a K, but then threw the gopher ball to Sua. Goerl improved to 22-4 as the Bruins moved up to 9-3 Pac 10 (41-6), and the Huskies dropped to 6-6 (37-1).

#2 Arizona hosts PAC 10 rivals Oregon and Oregon State this weekend.

#3 LSU is scheduled to play a 3-game set this weekend against Ole Miss.

#4 Nebraska was scheduled to play Kansas on Wednesday, closing out the Husker regular season. No score had been reported by SPY’s press time.

#5 Arizona State also plays Oregon and Oregon State this coming weekend.

#6 California over-powered St. Mary’s 3-0 and 4-0. Candace Harper gave the Bears their first lead on an rbi double in the 1^st inning of the first game. Pitcher Cassie Bobrow threw a 1-hitter. The Gaels actually pitched to Veronica Nelson who thanked them with two hits before they walked her twice. The Gaels are 13-32, but in the best tradition of Herman Wiedemeyer, they next take on Stanford. (Remember Herman?)

#7 Stanford, set back by two 3-game losing streaks, embarked on a 10-game home stand winning a double-header Wednesday against Sacramento State, 3-0 and 7-1 Sarah Beeson had a 2-run single in the first game. Tori Nyberg threw a 4-hitter. The Cardinal got a 2-run blast from Jessica Mendoza in the second game, won by Maureen LeCoq, with a save by Elizabeth Bendig.

#9 CS Fullerton which lost the Big West lead and two out of three games to Pacific this past weekend resumes play Saturday against conference foe UC Riverside. The Titans need help from another team in conference, eg, Long Beach and Northridge still have games against Pacific.

#10 Florida Atlantic plays Lynn on Thursday.

#11 Michigan plays Illinois on Friday. Senior Stefanie Volpe, who had two grand slams in one game and hit .417 with 10 runs batted in for the week, was named Big Ten Player of the Week

#12 Oklahoma won the second Bedlam Bowl game Wednesday, defeating Oklahoma State in 10 innings, 5-4. After Oklahoma State went up 4-3 in the top of the tenth inning, Oklahoma freshman first baseman Christina Enea hit a game-winning two-run single in the bottom of the frame. Enea had also stroked the game-winning hit in the first matchup in Stillwater. The teams combined for five runs on three home runs in the first three frames, the Cowgirls scoring two runs in the first inning. Shortstop Casey O'Neill (3-for-4) singled and crossed home plate on a two-run homer by catcher Ryan Realmuto (2-for-3). In the bottom of the first inning, OU’s Kelli Braitsch hit a solo home run, her seventh of the season, to right center field to narrow OSU's advantage to 2-1. The Sooners captured the lead in the 3^rd when Enea singled and scored on Leah Gulla’s two-run homer to left field to give OU a 3-2 lead. The lead held until the seventh inning when OSU pinch hitter Jamie Koshmider (1-for-1) laced a double into right field off of OU starter Jennifer Stewart to bring pinch runner Erika Ennis home with the tying run and send the game into extra frames. Tiffany Weight and Christy Ring singled ahead of Enea’sgame-winning hit. Stewart had retired 17 of 20 batters after that 1^st inning Cowgirl HR but was relieved by Kami Keiter after the tying run scored. Freshman Keiter who got the win was named Co-Big 12 pitcher of the week – sharing the honor with Catherine Osterman of Texas.

#13 Fresno State plays Louisiana Tech on Thursday and Tulsa on Saturday to conclude a 10-game road trip. Senior 3^rd Lindsay Fossatti was named WAC Player of the Week after having a superb week: 8 hits including 2 HRs and 3 doubles; 4 runs scored; 8 rbi; 17 total bases; and a slugging % of 1.000 after hitting .471 in six games.

#14 Texas drew a record crowd of 1,338 fans to watch the Longhorns defeat # 24 Texas A&M 1-0. Catherine Osterman, just named Co-Big 12 pitcher of the week, fanned 10 in recording her 14^th shutout (28-7), giving up 1 hit. The Aggies Lindsay Wilhelmson struck out 13 Longhorns, also giving up just one hit. Alexis Garcia reached on an error and scored on an error for the only run. Texas is 21-1 at home.

#15 Alabama has 3 games against South Carolina, who leads the SEC East division, this weekend. The Tides All-American 1^st base player Jackie McClain was named SEC player of the week.

#16 Oregon State which has dropped two rungs in the national polls has crucial weekend games against Arizona and Arizona State.

#17 Pacific has Big West games remaining with Long Beach State and Northridge which it needs to win to stay ahead of Fullerton.

#18 DePaul run-ruled Northern Illinois 9-1. Christina Douglas had 4 rbi, while Sarah Douglas and Saskia Roberson hit solo HRs. Lindsay Chouinard had a no-hitter until the 5^th. The Blue Demons are now 33-8.

#19 Louisiana-Lafayette had a game scheduled Wednesday against UL Monroe but no score had been reported by SPY’s press time.

#20 Ohio State, enjoying the highest ranking in the history of the program and standing atop the Big Ten, got 12 Ks and a 1-hitter from Kristi DeVries and rolled over Wright State 7-0. Kristine Himes, the Buckeyes career HR hitter, got her career 30^th.

#21 Florida State is undefeated in ACC and plays Virginia and Maryland next week. The Seminoles have a non-conference weekend against Jacksonville State.

#22 Baylor is 4^th in the Big 12 and hosts #12 Oklahoma this weekend.

#23 Iowa rebounded from losses to Ohio State and Michigan by run-ruling Northern Iowa twice on Wednesday, 8-0 in five and 9-1 in six.

#25 Georgia improved to 49-12 with a double-header sweep of Kentucky, 8-0 in five, and 6-4. The Bulldogs, 17-12 SEC, scored 5 runs in the 2^nd, including 2-rbi each by Julie Raiskums and Michelle Tyree. The big story line was Nicole Barber who stole 2 bases – which put her within a steal of tying the ten-year old record for consecutive stolen bases set by East Carolina’s Laura Crowder (69). Nicole is 57-57 this year. Michelle Green got her 16^th win. Kim Wendland tripled to start Bulldog scoring in the second game. Georgia scored 5 runs in the 4^th. Lyndsey Angus provided the Wildcats their only highlights of the day, driving in both runs in the second game with a single in the 5^th. Nicole Urban got the win; Lacey Gardner relieved in the 5^th and got the save.

Ricci Lugo set a new Villanova record with her 11^th HR as the Wildcats took two games from Delaware, 5-4 and 5-3. Villanova is now 41-10.

The games don’t count in the ACC standing but Maryland won two games from St. Joseph’s, both by 2-1, but they were pushed 13 innings in the second game; while Virginia was splitting with new team James Madison, winning 9-1, losing 3-2.

Arkansas at 33-22 isn’t an SEC contender, but, we saw Heather Schlictman when she was in highschool, so we went into the Lady Backs site to check on her progress, and found that she just notched 13 Ks in a 2-1 eighth inning win over Oklahoma City. Teammate Rachel got 9 Ks in the second game win.

Oregon is still on the schneid in the Pac 10 but it evened its season at 22-22 with 7-1 and 4-2 wins over Portland State.

Massachusetts is starting to draw some votes again in the national poll, and today showed why it deserves some consideration: U Mass is running well ahead in Atlantic 10, and on Wednesday broke a school record with its 25^th straight win, a 3-0 victory over U Conn, in which Kaila Holtz had a perfect game until the 7^th when Amanda Schettini singled.

Notre Dame upset #4 Nebraska 3-2 on Tuesday, continuing the string of upsets which in less than a week have claimed top 10 teams: Arizona, Stanford, CS Fullerton.

The Irish came from behind to earn their biggest victory of the season on Liz Hartmann’s 3-run homer in the top of the 7^th, her first career home run. Steffany Stenglein, who was named Big East pitcher of the week, won her 17 – but had to survive a Husker rally which narrowed the score by one run. Peaches James, who knocked in the final NU run, took the loss. The Irish (27-13) defeated the highest-ranked opponent in the program's history. Ironically, Irish Coach Deanna Gumpf is a 1992 Nebraska graduate, and was a pitcher and played 1^st for the Huskers. Husker shortstop Amanda Buchholz gave her team the initial lead with a two-out HR in the 1^st. Amanda Bledsoe singled and Lisa Mattison reached on an error to put runners at the corners in the 7^th, and Hartmann hit her dinger. Amber Burgess and James hit doubles in the home 7^th for one run, but Stenglein nailed the victory with a strikeout.

# 10 Florida Atlantic strengthened its claim for a higher Top 10 ranking on Tuesday with a double-header sweep of Stetson that assured the Lady Owls the regulars season Atlantic Sun conference title and top seed in next month’s A-Sun tournament. FAU is now 54-8 on the year, 16-2 in A-Sun. Stetson, which at one time owned the nation’s longest winning streak (24?), fell to 43-10 and 10-4 in A-Sun. Candace Freel won the first game, 7-0, and Nikki Myers the second, 6-2. Heather Wright homered twice, leading off the first game with a HR. The first five Owls reached base, and FAU led 3-0 after one inning. Pam Mazzarella added a 3-run HR in the 7^th. This was Freel’s 11^th shutout. After Jennifer Piazza doubled in a run, and Michelle Shirah hit a 2-run single, Wright whalloped a 2-run HR for a 5-0 lead. Myers is 31-4 with this win, a new single season record for the Owls. She also has 1,308 career Ks, including 11 this game. The games marked Stetson’s first losses on their home field. FAU is 13-0 on the road.

#17 DePaul defeated Loyola 7-0. Sarah Douglas drove in four runs and crushed her third home run of the season and Lindsay Chouinard (17-3) threw her ninth shutout of the year.

We’ve extended SPY’s publishing deadline until 2am on weekends, and still did not get some reports we wanted. So, in part, this is an update.

Princeton won its first Ivy League crown under head coach Maureen Davies, who once starred on the mound for her alma mater. In the run-up to the title, the Tigers prepared for their Ivy challenges by sweeping Monmouth, 8-0 and 6-1, then they defeated Yale twice, 2-1 and 10-1, an onslaught which included 3 HRs by Kristin Del Calvo. Then, as Harvard was losing to Cornell 5-1, the Tigers swept Brown on Sunday, 10-3 and 6-1, boosting their Ivy record to 13-1 (29-15 overall). In the second game, Melissa Finley hit two HRs, including a grand slam. In the first game, Princeton led 6-0 after four, and responded to a 3-run Brown rally in the 5^th, by scoring four more. Brie Gallicinao was 3-4 and drove in 5 runs, and was the winning pitcher in Game One on a 4-hitter. Finley was 2-3 in that game. Finley not only drove in all 6 runs in the second game, she was the winning pitcher. Her first HR gave the Tigers a 2-1 lead; her slam resulted in 6-1.

The Tigers and Crimson had one loss each to start the day, but the Crimson’s split with Cornell left Harvard at 10-2. The championship was Princeton’s first since 1996 – when a certain coach, who had pitched them to a 12-0 record the year before – was their ace.

Princeton earned an automatic berth in the NCAA regional tournament May 16-19.

Some honors: Kristen Dennis, whom we watched Sunday when she pitched and hit the game winning homer against Maryland, has been named ACC Softball Player of the Week. Theresa Hornick of Villanova has been named Big East Pitcher of the Week., after allowing one earned run in 24 conference innings. Florida Atlantic’s Nikki Myers has again been chosen A-Sun Pitcher of the Week, after throwing 2 shutouts and becoming the first 30-game winner this season. Charlotte’s Leah Heston has been named C-USA Hitter of the Week, after driving in 6 runs on Saturday, 11 for the week. Central Michigan’s Michelle Brander hit .409 last week, with 5 rbi, 3 doubles and a HR on 9-22 hitting and was named MAC West Player of the Week.

An Unusual Ruling. Utah swept UNLV on Sunday, 11-10 and 6-5 (11), which should have put the Utes into a tie for first-place with San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference. But, the conference bylaws dictate that games only count in the standings if played on the date originally scheduled (April 19). Why were these games postponed? There was the little matter of a snowstorm!

What’s In a Name? If you’re from Oklahoma, the Big Red are the Sooners, but to a Husker, the Big Red means Nebraska. KU, I am told, means Kansas, and UK means Kentucky. Actually, for someone of my background, it means the United Kingdom. Down in Tucson, they would prefer I use UA when referring to Arizona, but I’ve got to deal with Alabama, Akron, Arkansas, Auburn, etc. twelve schools in Division I which begin with "A". Which is why I always lead off paragraphs with the full name of the school. I will try to follow tradition. No slight intended.

ASA/USA Standards. Readers quite naturally are asking SPY what standards will be used at the Olympic tryouts. We have not seen the application forms for this set of tryouts, but, in the past, you had to have certain measurements verified by a coach – eg, bat speed, home to first, home to home, speed at which certain pitches are thrown, and fielding and throwing speed. When I have helped players in the past to verify their applications, I used a Jugs gun, including measurements of bat speed. As a general rule, you should have a bat speed of at least 60mph, a throwing speed of at least 55 mph, and , if you’re a pitcher, you should have command of a fast ball, curve, drop or rise, and a change. That said, if you’re a serious applicant, contact ASA and get the form.

A SPY Complaint. We recognize that college scribes are paid to boost the home team, but, why not mention the names of opposing players – especially when someone hits a grand slam or hurls a no-hitter against you? We read one report last weekend which went to great lengths extolling player feats but did not mention the scores – even though they won. One Southwestern school is so adroit at building up its players you don’t realize they lost until you are four paragraphs into the story. We have learned to log onto the web sites of both winners and losers to get the complete story – and the contrast on occasion is incredible. We see stories where a team got six runs in one inning, but the narrative only accounts for five, etc. We don’t ask for greater clarity for just us; we have multiple sources, but for all those readers who only access that one site – and they should come away with an informed insight into what happened.

Cameron, Lindsay. 3^rd,C, Palm Beach Gardens, to Florida.

ASA announced, in a press release dated Thursday, it will hold tryouts for the 2004 Olympic team in eight cities in August – and emphasized that the tryouts are open to any female U.S. citizen. The Olympics will be played in Greece.

Host cities are: (August 17) Killeen, TX; (August 24) Midland, MI; Altamonte Springs, FL; Hayward, CA; Wichita, KS; Philadelphia, PA; Fullerton, CA; and (August 31) Elizabeth, NJ.

Applicants must meet minimum standards; those approved by the National Team Selection Committee will be assigned to specific tryout sites. Players are responsible for all expenses related to the open tryouts.

Applications must be returned to the ASA National Office by June 15, with a fee of $75. Applications can be obtained through the Internet (www.usasoftball.com) or (www.asasoftball.com) or writing to ASA. For more information, call Brian McCall, USA Softball Office, 405-425-3463; fax 424-4734; or email: bmccall@softball.org.

SPY note: if past is precedent, these tryouts will be followed by one or more camps, eg, at Chula Vista or Altamonte Springs, from which the USA Olympic team will be chosen. Again given precedent, SPY assumes the 42+ players who will be competing in May at Chula Vista for berths on two USA 2002 national teams will either participate in these Olympic tryouts or be given invitations to the final selection camps. We are querying USA on these issues. Knowing virtually all of the players coming to Chula Vista, we can say confidently that most if not all believe they are competing ultimately for the Olympic team. Having witnessed the 1995-96 and 2000 tryouts, we can say the Olympic selection process is a novel experience, and, there will be surprises at the end. Any player who watched the two previous Olympic championship teams, with the gnawing feeling that it could be them up there on that podium, should put their skills to the test.

In the latest national high school poll (see SPY April 18), Mater Dei is ranked 11^th, Foothill 12^th, and Pacifica is down among the also-rans. In the just-concluded Foothill tournament, an annual classic in California, where the afficionados anticipated a match between Mater Dei and host Foothill, Pacifica defeated Foothill 2-0 in a morning game and then defeated Mater Dei for the tournament championship. Brittany Weil pitched both games for Pacifica and was named tournament MVP. Not as profound perhaps as the Truman-Dewey polls in 1948, but, to a bunch of kids from Pacifica, just as dramatic.

Readers in New Jersey are still in awe of Alicia Hollowell. They tell SPY that Alicia had 50 strikeouts in 23 innings, at the recent Wendy’s Classic in Ohio, leading Fairfield HS to a 3-0 record. SPY doesn’t have final results. Alicia of course holds the HS record with 61 strikeouts in a 30 inning game last year. New Jersey teams also played.

#1 Arizona lost its second consecutive game to #8 California on Sunday, 2-1, the first time the Wildcats have lost two consecutive conference games since April 2000. Bear Courtney Scott drove in a run in the 1^st, which was offset by Jenny Finch’s HR in the 4^th.  That was the only hit surrendered by Jocelyn Forest who smoked 15 Wildcats. The tie was broken by Candace Harper’s HR in the 5^th off Jenny Gladding. Arizona is now 8-3 Pac 10, tied with UCLA, while California is now in 3^rd place at 8-4.

#2 UCLA beat Oregon 3-1, and is now tied for the Pac 10 lead after California’s second win over Arizona 2-1. UCLA is 8-3; Oregon 0-12. Keira Goerl struck out 10 for her 21^st victory. The Bruins scored in the 1^st; Natasha Watley singled, stole second, advanced to third and scored on Stacey Nuveman’s single. Alyssa Laux tied the game with an rbi single, but UCLA’s Claire Sua hit a monster HR (her 9^th) in the 3^rd. Erin Rahn and Amanda Freed singled, the run scoring on a wild throw.

#4 Nebraska split its double-header with #24 Texas A&M, losing the first game 2-0, then winning the second 6-0 on a 3-hitter by Peaches James. The Huskers are now 8-4 in the Big 12, behind Texas and Oklahoma. Lindsey Wilhelmson shutout the Huskers on 3 hits in the first game; Leigh Ann Walker took the loss. Adrian Gregory scored on a sac fly, then Selena Collins led off the 6^th with her 12^th HR. Nebraska scored all 6 runs in the 3^rd. Nicole Trimboli doubled in 1 run and Peaches singled in two. Amber Burgess doubled; Peaches scored on an rbi by Amanda Buchholz who also scored. Lisa Wangler drove in Burgess. Jessica Slataper took the loss. Trimboli was 3-4 with two doubles.

#5 LSU was pushed hard by Kentucky before prevailing 4-2 in 8 innings. Britni Sneed struck out 15 Wildcats and gave up just 3 hits, but one was a 7^th inning HR by Lyndsey Angus which tied the game at 1-all. The Tigers are 20-3 in the SEC, the ‘Cats 3-15. Jennifer Howland pitched an excellent game and her 7^th inning line drive, just before the HR, could have led to victory – but Tiger April Janzen made a spectacular over the shoulder catch. Three UK errors and rbi singles by Christy Connor, Erin Johnson, and Tessa Lynam in the 8^th led to a 4-1 LSU margin. Rachel Friberg singled and scored the last KU run on a wild pitch. Kentucky is now 0-12 against LSU.

#6 Arizona State defeated #3 Stanford, for the second game in a row, 1-0, improving to 7-4 in Pac 10 and dropping the Cardinal to 4-8. Kara Brun singled in the 6^th to score Missy Hixon with the run. Stanford has scored one run in its last 21 innings. Erica Beach shut down the Cardinal on 2 hits. Tori Nyberg took the loss.

#7 CS Fullerton lost the game and first place in the Big West to #18 Pacific, 1-0, in a heartbreaker for Gina Oaks who had a perfect game until the 8^th inning when Cindy Ball singled. Pinch runner Krystle Peterson came home on Boni Kading’s double, beating the tag after Julie Watson made a great throw from center field. Pacific is 16-2, CSF 13-2. Ball struck out 7 enroute to her 22^nd win. This was CSF’s second loss to Pacific.

#9 Washington edged #14 Oregon State 1-0. The Huskies scored their run in the 3^rd when Kristen Rivera hit a bases-loaded single to score Steph Nicholson who had walked. Ashley Boek pitched the first 4 innings and got the win; Leslie Scott pitched one inning and Tia Bollinger closed out the game. Monica Hoffman was the loser. UW improved to 6-5 Pac 10 while the Beavers fell to 5-7.

#10 Florida Atlantic scored on a Callie Piper squeeze bunt in the 5^th to edge Florida International 1-0, and improve to 52-8 on the year.

#11 Oklahoma kept pace in the Big 12, beating Kansas 2-0, on Player of the Week Heather Scaglione’s 2-run HR in the 6^th. OU’s Jennifer Stewart and KU’s Kirsten Milhoan each threw a 3-hitter. The win marked the Sooner’s fifth sweep of a Big 12 foe, and their record is now 11-2; Kansas is 5-9. Oklahoma loaded the bases in the 1^st but two runners were nailed at home.

#12 Michigan got a must-win 3-1 victory Sunday over #21 Iowa. The win gives the Wolverines a 10-3 record in the Big Ten, while the Hawkeyes drop to 9-4. Stephanie Volpe put Michigan up 1-0 with her 7^th HR. Then, Monica Schock was hit by a pitch from Iowa’s Kristi Hanks and Marissa Young walked; Melinda Moulden drove in Schock for a 2-0 lead. Christina Schmaltz put Iowa on the board with her 7^th HR but Young, who got the win while striking out 8, held after that for her 19^th win.

#13 Fresno State lost to Hawaii 5-1on Sunday, after winning 4-1 on Saturday. The Bulldogs scored 4 runs on 11 hits in the first game, giving Jamie Southern her 28^th victory. Hawaii’s run came on a HR by Kate Judd in the bottom of the 7^th. Pam Perez was 3-4; Southern 2-3; and Julie Selbicky and Pam West were 2-4. The Rainbow Wahine waited out a 22-hour rain delay before Game 4 of the weekend series (the game started Saturday), but it was worth it, as Hawaii, which gave up only 1 run when Fresno State loaded the bases in the 3^rd (just prior to the rain), scored 4 runs in the 6^th to break a 1-1 tie.. Judd hit an rbi single, and Stacey Porter drove in two more., followed by doubles by Denise Dahlberg and April Crowell. Shannon Tabion got the win over Leslie Poole. Fresno State is in command in the WAC at 12-2; Hawaii 11-5.

#15 Alabama has won 12 straight from Mississippi State, the latest and 8-2 win on Sunday to improve to 20-4 in the SEC; the Bulldogs are 10-13. Ashley Courtney’s rbi double in the 3^rd gave ‘Bama a 1-0 lead. Jackie Wilkins’ two-out single drove in Angela Johnson for a 2-0 lead. MSU scored one run and had the bases loaded in the 4^th but Shelley Laird relieved Jennifer Wright and put out the threat. The Tide expanded its lead to 6-1 in the 5^th; Courtney drove in another run and, after a double steal, scored two runs on squeeze bunts. Laird got the win, her 23^rd, in relief; her 114^th career victory tied her with former national champion Shawn Andaya of Texas A&M for 8^th on the NCAA list.

#16 Texas was scheduled to play a third game Sunday against Iowa State, but, at 1230am, SPY’s hoped-for press time, there was no report.

#17 DePaul vs South Florida was cancelled by rain.

#19 Louisiana-Lafayette completed its mastery of New Mexico State, winning the third and fourth games this weekend by scores of 9-5 and 6-0. The Cajuns outscored NMS 43-15. The Aggies had some bright moments: in the first game, Heather Nobbe and Shayne Gibson each hit a 2-run homer. But, it was not enough to offset two innings in which the Cajuns scored 4 runs each.

#20 Florida State is idle until 4/28 when it plays Jacksonville State.

#22 Ohio State banged out 12 hits but had to fend off a late Illinois rally to win 5-2 in Game Two on Sunday. The win gives the Buckeyes a 13-3 conference record and in contention for the Big Ten championship; Michigan is a half-game behind at 10-3 and Iowa a full game behind at 9-4. The victory was OSU’s 12^th in a row. The Buckeyes led 5-0 into the 7^th when the Illini got consecutive singles to score two runs. Chrissy Fowler, Kristine Himes and Jennifer Link were all 2-4. Katie Chain scattered 8 hits for the win. Game One was even more contentious. Ohio State was down five runs but won in the 8^th on a HR by Fowler to lead off the final inning. Boosted by 4 Buckeye errors, Illinois led 5-0 after 3 innings. Wendy Allen hit a 2-run double, followed by Stacy Roth’s 12^th HR of the year, to get within a run, then tied the game in the 6^th on Himes’ double. Fowler’s game-winning HR was OSU’s 48^th in 52 games. Allen was the winning pitcher.

#23 Baylor was upset by Oklahoma State, 2-1 in 12 innings. After holding Baylor scoreless in the top of the 12th, OSU scored a second run on an error by Baylor. Jade Lindly started the inning on second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Megan Carey. Baylor sent in its third pitcher of the day, Cristin Vitek who walked the first batter she faced, Calli Behmer. With two outs, Lindly attempted to steal home and scored the winning run on a muffed throw by catcher, Danelle Arnold. Left-hander Lauren Bay (18-10) threw over 170 pitches en route to picking up the win over the Lady Bears. In 12 innings, Bay scattered six hits, walked three and struck out 12 batters.

#25 Georgia lost the finale of its 3-game set against Ole Miss, 6-3, in eight innings. The Bulldogs are now 15-12 in SEC; Ole Miss 7-17. Georgia led 2-0 after five, on rbi by Julie Milner and Michelle Tyree, but DeDe Justice tied the game in the 6^th with a 2-run homer. In the 8^th, Brooke Turner hit a 3-run triple, and she scored on Dfesiree Layman’s single. Kim Wendland drove home Nicole Barber for another Bulldog run. Leslie Day won in relief of Lindsay Price. Rachael Hawkins took the loss in relief of Lacey Gardner.

Other Colleges

Virginia edged Maryland Sunday 3-2. An observer might call it a pitchers duel; another might call it a home-run derby; another might talk about how many runners the Cavaliers stranded in a game that should not have been so close – and all would be right. This was UVA’s first ACC win (1-4) and Maryland is 0-3. Winner Kristen Dennis and loser Amanda Bettker each gave up 4 hits, Dennis notching 12 Ks, Bettker 5. But, Bettker gave up 7 walks; indeed Virginia had 13 base-runners including 6 in the first 3 innings, none of whom scored, thanks in part to a leaping, back-turned grab by Malissa Moczulski of a bases-loaded, two-out liner by Tracey Sherman. Heather Field got the first hit of the game, a double in the 5^th; a batter later, Ruby Rojas jacked a pitch over the left field wall for a 2-0 lead. The Terps issued intentional walks to Dennis, UVA’s leading home-run hitter, in the 3^rd and 5^th innings, but, in the 7^th, coach Gina LaMandre decided to let Bettker pitch to her – and Dennis slammed the ball over the fence for a 3-0 lead. With two out in the 7^th, Moczulski doubled to left center, the second Terp hit of the game, and Monica Cyphert, who had gone deep with a fly ball in the 5^th, jacked a pitch over the fence in straight-away CF. Terp hopes soared when Lauren Pollock followed with a single to left, by Dennis retired Jill Callaway on a line drive to right field. The Terps had an earlier scoring opportunity with two on in the 6^th but Casey Leiter struck out looking on a 3-2 count. UVA lets its catchers call the game, and we were impressed with Brit Gore’s pitch calls; the umpire was giving Dennis the outside corner and she worked it to perfection. The game was played in a steady drizzle, which emptied the stands, and the second game was called – but not before Maryland threw a scare into Virginia. The Cavaliers sent eight batters to the plate in the 1^st against Cyphert, and got two runs. But, Joanna Barstad walked 4 of the first 6 batters she faced, and Maryland was down 2-1 with the bases loaded and two out when the game was called.

South Carolina improved to 16-8 on Megan Matthews second no-hitter, downing Florida 1-0. Samantha Jennings walked with two out in the 5^th, and scored on an rbi double by Danielle Quinones. Amanda Knowles took the loss. Florida is in 8^th place, the final spot for a berth in the SEC tournament.

Minnesota has a winning Big Ten record of 7-5 after sweeping Indiana, including a 4-0 win on Saturday. The Wisconsin v Indiana games Sunday were rained out and will not be rescheduled. Northwestern swept Michigan State on Sunday, 8-0 and 7-3, to move the 9-5 Wildcats into fourth place in the Big Ten. Gretchen Barnes, who was 5-5 with 6 rbi on the day, homered in Game One for a 3-0 advantage.

Notre Dame is firmly in the Big East lead; the Irish were idle Sunday but face a tough opponent Tuesday in a double-header at Lincoln with Nebraska.

Auburn pushed Tennessee further away from the SEC tournament, winning 8-0 on Sunday.

Massachusetts extended its win streak to 24 games, after sweeping three games from St. Bonaventure, the last a 10-0 victory on Sunday, in which the Minutewomen got 4 hits. The Bonnies hit 15 U Mass batters in the 3 games. U Mass scored 4 runs in the 1^st, including a 3-run, two-out homer by Jamie Cahalan.

We are indebted to Linda Town for this submission:

MY DAILY WORKOUT
Physical exercise is good for you. I know that I should do
it daily but my body doesn't want me to do to much, so I
have worked out this program of strenuous activities that do not require
physical exercise. You are invited to use my program without charge.

01) Beating around the bush
02) Jumping to conclusions
03) Climbing the walls
04) Swallowing my pride
05) Passing the buck
06) Throwing my weight around
07) Dragging my heels
08) Pushing my luck
09) Making mountains out of molehills
10) Hitting the nail on the head
11) Wading through paperwork
12) Bending over backwards
13) Jumping on the bandwagon
14) Balancing the books
15) Running around in circles
16) Eating crow
17) Tooting my own horn
18) Climbing the ladder of success
19) Pulling out the stops
20) Adding fuel to the fire
21) Opening a can of worms
22) Putting my foot in my mouth
23) Starting the ball rolling
24) Going over the edge
25) Picking up the pieces

Whew! What a workout! I think I'll exercise my caution now,
and sit down.

End April 21 Update

#1 Arizona and ace Jenny Finch were upset Saturday by #8 California, 5-2. Jessica Pamanian struck the first big blow with a 2-run homer in the 2^nd. AU’s Jackie Coburn matched with a 2-run HR in the 5^th, following a single by Mackenzie Vandergeest. But the Bears scored 3 more in the bottom of that inning: Kristen Morley singled and advanced to second on an out; Veronica Nelson was intentionally walked; Courtney Scott doubled to left, scoring Morley, then Chelsea Spencer doubled, scoring two more. The Bears got 8 hits off Finch, now 24-2. Jenny had won 64 of her last 65 decisions. Kelly Anderson got the win, giving up only those two hits in the 5^th. Arizona is now 41-6, 8-2 in Pac 10. They meet again on Sunday.

#2 UCLA got a 3-run HR from Claire Sua in the 5^th and a 4-hit shutout from Amanda Freed as the Bruins downed Oregon on Saturday, 7-0. UCLA is now 7-3, a game behind Arizona. Oregon is 0-11 in Pac 10 play. Stephanie Ramos and Crissy Buck started the rout with rbi singles in the 4^th. Natasha Watley was on with a bunt single, and stole her 30^th base before coming home on Tairia Mims’ single. Mims and Ramos, who walked, scored ahead of Sua on her two-out HR. Freed struck out 11.

#3 Stanford lost to #6 Arizona State 4-0 on Saturday, lifting the Sun Devils to a 6-4 record in Pac 10 while the Cardinal fall to 4-7. Stanford loaded the bases in the 1^st and 7^th but couldn’t score, while ASU was building a lead from the get-go, scoring 3 runs in the 1^st on hits by Phelan Wright and Nichole Thompson. Erica Beach won on a 2-hitter and is now 23-8. Maureen LeCoq took the loss (14-5). They play again on Sunday.

#4 Nebraska and #24 Texas A&M were rained out Saturday and will play a DH Sunday.

#5 LSU continued its record of never losing to Kentucky, winning 1-0 and 4-1 on Saturday. The Tigers have won 19 of their last 20 games. Britni Sneed hurled a 2-hitter with 15K in the first game, her 15^th shutout, and is 21-5 on the season. Megann Streege singled and scored on Jennie Reeves’ rbi single. Kristin Schmidt won the second game, which featured two rbi doubles by Christy Connor. KU catcher Lyndsey Angus broke a string of 32 scoreless innings when she scored with two outs on an error. LSU is now 19-3 in the SEC, Kentucky 3-14. The teams meet again on Sunday.

#7 Cal State Fullerton’s nation-leading win streak stopped at 32 on Saturday after the Titans split a twin-bill with #18 Pacific. Fullerton won the first game 1-0, then fell 3-2, also ending an 18-game Big West winning streak. CSF is now 13-1, Pacific 14-2. Jodie Cox threw her second no-hitter to win the first game; Jodie set down 15 in a row leading into the 7^th. The Titans run was scored by Gina Oaks, who singled and, after stealing 3^rd, came home on Monica Lucatero’s single. Cindy Ball took the loss. The Titans led in the second game, 2-0, the second run scored by Lucatero who drew a bases-loaded walk from Tiger starter Jennifer Dacre. Pacific scored all 3 runs in the 6^th. Barbara Moody drove in 2 runs with a single, followed by Estee Okumura’s rbi double. Ball shut down the Titans in the 7^th and got the save. Gina Oaks, in relief of Christy Robitaille, walked the bases loaded but got a K and a ground-out to prevent further Tiger scoring. These top-ranked Big West teams meet again on Sunday with the conference lead on the line.

#9 Washington won its 4^th straight Saturday with a 3-1 win over #14 Oregon State. Kristen Rivera hit her 5^th HR in the last 4 games. The win evens the Huskies Pac 10 record at 5-5, while the Beavers are 5-6. Megan Owen’s two-strike single in the 4^th plated the first Husky run. Jaime Clark doubled to lead the 5^th, in front of Rivera’s homer. Rivera and Clark are tied for UW’s home run lead with 15 each. Tia Bollinger limited the Beavers to 3 hits while fanning 7. Jessica King doubled and scored on a fielder’s choice in the 7^th to prevent the shutout. Becky Simpson was 4-4.

#10 Florida Atlantic split with Georgia State on Friday and plays Florida International on Sunday, and a DH Tuesday with Stetson. FAU is 14-2 in Atlantic Sun.

#11 Oklahoma shook off its Farm Belt tournament blues with a 6-3 win Saturday over Big 12 rival Kansas. The Sooners are 10-2 in conference. Leah Gulla drove in 3 runs, on 2-3 hitting, and hit her 12th HR. Freshman Kami Keiter started and got the win (10-6). The Jayhawks scored first; Leah Tabb’s HR followed a walk to Shelly Musser. Matching, Gulla’s HR plated Jennifer Stump, who had walked to lead off the second. OU scored 3 in the 3^rd on rbi singles by Gulla and Keiter, the third run scoring when Kelli Braitsch walked and pickled, Gulla scoring on the run-down. Christy Ring drove in Tiffany Weight, who had doubled to lead off the 6^th. Before Kansas scored a run in the 7^th, Keiter had retired 17 of the 19 batters she faced after Tabb’s homer. The Sooners and Jayhawks meet again on Sunday.

#12 Michigan’s Stefanie Volpe hit two grand slams, driving in a school record 8 runs, as the Wolverines avenged Friday’s loss by beating Northwestern 11-1. With a double header coming up Sunday with Iowa (which lost to Michigan State on Saturday), Michigan is now 9-3 Big Ten, Northwestern 7-5. Volpe is the first Wolverine to his two grand slams in a game. Kelsey Kollen drove in 3 runs on 3-4 hitting. Freshman Nicole Motycka allowed just 3 Wildcat hits, improving to 16-2.

#13 Fresno State won two WAC games against Hawaii, 6-4 and 3-2 (8). In game one, the teams scored 10 runs on 21 hits – including 3 Bulldog homers, one by Lindsay Fossatti who also set a school record for walks. Jamie Southern won the first game, but was tagged for two 2-run HRs, including one by Kate Judd in the bottom of the first to give Hawaii a 2-0 lead. Fossatti tied the score with a 2-run HR in the 3^rd, and FSU went in front when Lori Hoffman singled in Southern, who had beaten out an infield single. But, Stacey Porter put the Rainbow Wahine up 4-3 with her 2-run homer, scoring Judd also who had walked. FSU scored two in the 5^th and one in the 6^th. Fossatti’s walk in the 5^th was her 107^th. Southern is three Ks shy of a new school record, with 312. The teams battled for 8 innings in game two, which was decided by Hoffman’s solo HR. Leslie Poole limited Hawaii to 4 hits. Fresno State held a 1-0 lead on Fossatti’s second HR of the day, and got another run on Fossatti’s double in the 5^th. But, Hawaii had scored one run on an illegal pitch, and Porter hit her second HR of the day, to tie the game.

#15 Alabama swept SEC rival Mississippi State on Saturday, 10-4 and 8-4. The Tide scored 18 runs on 23 hits to improve to 19-4 SEC. The Bulldogs are 10-12. "Bama held a 3-1 lead when it scored 4 runs in the 5^th. Up 7-1, the margin was pushed to 9-1 on Jackie Wilkins’ 2-run HR. Bulldog Lindsay Nelson hit a 3-run double in the 5^th to narrow the margin to 9-4. Shelley Laird (22-7) got the first game win. Erin Wright won the second game. The teams play again on Sunday.

#16 Texas got 30 strikeouts from Catherine Osterman, the winner of both games Saturday against Iowa State, 5-1 and 1-0. Erica Martinez lost both games. Texas is 14-1 in the Big 12, a game ahead of Oklahoma. Osterman (27-7) gave up 3 hits while fanning 14 in the first game, and two hits while striking out 16 in the second game.

#17 DePaul is 30-8 and dominating Conference USA after sweeping South Florida. Christina Douglas’s two-out 3-run HR in the 6^th inning was the big blow in a 4-0 win in the first game, won by Lindsay Chouinard. With 2 rbi from Sarah Martz, April Valdez (with Chouinard getting a save) won the second game 5-3.

#19 Louisiana-Lafayette blew out New Mexico State 17-7 and 11-3.

#20 Florida State has the ACC in a strangle-hold after defeating North Carolina twice on Saturday, 7-6 in eight innings and a come-from-behind 9-5 victory. The Seminoles are 4-0 in conference. Talk about holding grudges: every Seminole press release reminds that North Carolina is the defending ACC champ by virtue of having knocked off Florida State in last year’s tournament. But, for a while, it looked like the Tar Heels continued to have a hex on the Seminoles; they led 3-0 and 5-2 in Game One, before Monique Marier’s game-winning rbi in the bottom of the 8^th. Shandra Colzie was 3-4, and Brandi Stuart, Kimmy Carter, and Marier each had 2 rbi. Leslie Malerich (23-10) was the winner. The Seminoles also fell behind 5-4 in Game Two but Marier again came to the rescue with a HR and 3 rbi on 3-4 hitting. Marier also got the final out of the game, when the Heels had the bases loaded. Malerich picked up the win in relief of Jessica Van Der Linden.

#21 Iowa was upset by Michigan State, 5-3, as Becky Gray won her 12^th. Iowa drops to 9-3 in the Big Ten. The Spartans were down 3 runs and took a 4-3 lead on a Tiffany Wallace rbi single in the 4^th. The final run came on Brittany Green’s 6^th rbi in two days. Iowa had beaten MSU 6-5 in eight innings in the previous game.

#22 Ohio State was down 4 runs before rallying to beat Purdue 6-5 and improve to 11-3 in the Big Ten, just one game behind Michigan. The Boilermakers owned an early 3-0 lead, thanks to a 2-run triple by Jesse Jones, and led 5-1 in the 5^th. The Buckeyes scored 5 runs in the 6^th to take the game, but needed a double-play to get out of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the 6^th.

#23 Baylor beat Oklahoma State 7-0.

#25 Georgia swept Mississippi, 4-1 and 6-4.

Texas’ Catherine Osterman and Fresno State’s Jamie Southern were named Co-Players of the Week on Wednesday by NFCA.

Having lost much of our immune system to a snake in the jungles of Indonesia, we caught pneumonia – everybody else was just cold – at the Worth Cup in San Diego in January (31 degrees). Never more! Today we received an absolutely stunning knitted blue wool scarf and cap, both emblazoned with SPY.COM, from a reader in Anaheim – who did not provide her name on the mailing label or on the very kind card inside the box. We look forward to thanking her in person – when we learn the identity.

#1 Arizona and # 3 Stanford were scheduled to play at 7pm (Pacific time). SPY will post the results if time permits. The Wildcats play California Saturday and Sunday, while Stanford plays Arizona State.  (SPY had not received results at 1230am)

Late Report:  #1 Arizona snatched victory away from Cardinal Tori Nyberg with a 7th inning HR by Mackenzie Vandergeest, one of only two hits by the Wildcats, who won 2-1.  Stanford scored off Jenny Finch in the 4th: Jessica Mendoza doubled and scored on Sarah Beeson's single.  That lone run seemed to be enough, with Nyberg apparently in control of AU's big hitters, until Mackenzie's blast, which elevated Arizona to 8-1 in Pac 10, while Stanford fell to 4-6.  Finch gave up 3 hits.

#2 UCLA’s Keira Goerl had a no-hitter for 6+ innings before Kelly Petersen singled but all the other offense was Bruin in a 7-0 victory Friday over #14 Oregon State. UCLA (6-3 Pac 10) scored 3 runs in the 1^st, on two hits, a hit batsman and two errors. Two runs scored on Stacey Nuveman’s single. OSU’s Kristen Hunter threw 14 pitches at Crissy Buck, then hit her with the bases loaded for the 3^rd run. In the second, Amanda Freed doubled and Tairia Mims homered. Stacey’s 2-run HR in the 4^th closed out the scoring.

#4 Nebraska hosts #24 Texas A&M Saturday and Sunday. The Huskers are 7-3 in the Big 12 and need the wins to stay in the hunt with Texas and Oklahoma.

#5 LSU has never lost to Kentucky; they play 3 games starting Saturday.

#6 Arizona State surrendered 3 unearned runs in the first two innings and fell to #8 California, 3-2 on Friday. The Bears improve to 6-4 Pac 10; the Sun Devils are 5-4. Candace Harper doubled in the first Cal run – Kaleo Eldredge who reached on an error. In the second, Jessica Vernaglia reached on an error and scored on a single by Eldredge, who advanced on one error, and scored on the error following Kristen Morley’s bunt single. ASU’s Kara Brun hit a solo HR in the 4^th (her 7^th) and scored another on Nichole Thompson’s double driving in Amber Turner, running for Erica Beach who walked. Beach took the loss (22-8). Jen Deering pitched 4 innings and got the win; Kelly Anderson relieved and worked out of a bases-loaded situation in the 6^th.

#7 Cal State Fullerton puts its 31-game winning streak and undefeated record in the Big West to a road test this weekend against #18 Pacific. The Titans defeated Loyola Marymount twice on Thursday, 9-0 (5) and 5-2. Gina Oaks, Yasmin Mossadeghi, and Amanda Hockett all homered in the first game, Oaks pitched 4 innings for the win, Christy Robitaille the 5^th. Yasmin also homered in the second game, won by Robitaille with Jodie Cox relieving the last two innings. The Titans led 4-0 after 5.

#9 Washington shut out Oregon 6-0, the Huskies 3^rd straight Pac 10 win, a 3-hitter by Ashley Boek. Washington (4-5 Pac 10) scored 2 runs in the 1^st on Kristen Rivera’s HR, her 14^th and 4^th in the last 3 games. Amanda Oleson, Courtney Jeffries and Kathy Fiske also had rbi hits. Lindsay Kontra took the loss.

#10 Florida Atlantic is now 14-2 in Atlantic Sun play after splitting Friday with Georgia State, 0-2 and 6-0. The Owls were scoreless for 12 innings, finally scoring all 6 runs in the 6^th inning of the second game. Nikki Myers pitched her 15^th shutout of the season while striking out 11 to win the second game.

#11 Oklahoma is 9-2 in the Big 12, second to Texas who administered both defeats. The Sooners face a good conference test this weekend against the visiting Kansas Jayhawks.

#16 Texas, first in the Big 12 with a 12-1 record, swept Texas Tech on Wednesday 3-2 and 2-0. Winners of 14 of their last 15 games, the Longhorns fell behind the Red Raiders 2-0 early, but, after tying the game, got the victory in the 8^th inning on Tamara Poppe’s two-out homer. The Raiders got 3 hits off Catherine Osterman in the first, but she came back with 12 Ks, becoming just the 12^th player in NCAA history, and only the second freshman, to record 400 Ks in a season, and is now 25-7. Amy Bradford got the save. Reversing roles, Bradford won the second game, Osterman in relief. Texas travels to Ames for two games against Iowa State this weekend. The Cyclones defeated Western Illinois 6-5 on Thursday; Erica Martinez hit her 9^th and 10^th HRs of the year.

#17 DePaul, winners of 10 straight in Conference USA, found the going tougher against the Big Ten’s Northwestern on Wednesday, winning the first game 9-1 but losing the second 6-1. They play conference foe South Florida on Saturday and Sunday.

#19 Louisiana-Lafayette, which defeated Nicholls State twice on Wednesday, 6-0 and 7-1, returns to Sun Belt competition this weekend with 4 games against New Mexico State. The Ragin’ Cajuns, who have hit 11 HRs in their last 3 games and have 53 on the season, belted 7 HRs against Nicholls State, including 4 in the first game by Tiffany Grayson, Missy Martin, Jill Robertson, and Crystal George. Brooke Mitchell threw a 3-hitter. Becky McMurty hit 2 homers in the second game, one was a 3-run shot, as she went 3-4. Joy Webre hit a 2-run homer. Michael Parrott got the second win.

#20 Florida State had its way in the ACC in 2001, only to lose to North Carolina in the tournament. Entering this weekend, the Seminoles are undefeated in conference, the Tar Heels are 2-2.

#21 Iowa hosts Michigan State this weekend.

#22 Ohio State won its 9^th in a row, defeating Purdue 7-1 on Friday, and is now 10-3 in the Big Ten. Eight Buckeyes combined for 12 hits; Anna Smith, Wendy Allen, Chrissy Fowler, and Rogeanna Hottinger had two hits each. Purdue lost its 3^rd in a row and stands 2-7. Allen was the winner with Katie Chain in relief; Lindsey Crouse the loser.

#23 Baylor, ahead of Oklahoma State in Big 12 standings – 9-5 vs 5-6 -- goes to Stillwater this weekend to face the Cowgirls. The Bears swept Sam Houston State on Thursday, 8-2 and 8-0.

#25 Georgia is 8-6 in recent SEC competition and faces Mississippi for 3 games.

Villanova benefitted from two HRs by shortstop Ricci Lugo on Thursday, sweeping Pennsylvania 5-0 and 11-0, partially compensating for the 2-1 loss to Temple on Wednesday. The Wildcats, 34-9 after Thursday’s sweep, also got a triple from Lugo to lead-off game one; her solo HR came in the 5^th. Shannon Williams hurled a 2-hitter. Lugo’s HR to lead-off the game tied a single-season Wildcat record. Kristen Haynes was the winner. Sara Carlson was 3-6, 4rbi on the day; Kari Koller had 2 rbi in game two. The Wildcats play Seton Hall on Saturday and St. John’s on Sunday.

Saturday’s ACC showdown between Maryland (0-2) and Virginia (0-4) has been postponed to Sunday. Virginia beat Elon twice on Thursday, 7-1 and 8-2.

Notre Dame hopes to expand its Big East lead against Virginia Tech on Saturday in South Bend. The Irish beat Bowling Green 8-5 on Thursday.

Only 8 SEC teams will make the tournament, and Tennessee (7-12) holds that 8^th spot, but Auburn (7-11) is a notch ahead in 7^th, and Florida (7-14) is in 9^th. The Volunteers play both in a span of 7 days.

ISF FORMS ATHLETES COMMISSION

ISF President Don Porter announced Thursday that an Athletes Commission has been
Formed which will be charged with gaining input and reviewing issues raised by
athletes, formulating procedures or rules that enhance and advance athletes'
participation and representation in the development and administration of the
sport.

Porter named Ms. Pat Lillian of the USA as the commission's Chairperson.

The commission will consist of: FEMALES - Michelle Granger (USA), Laurie Sipple
(Canada), Daniela Castiliani (Italy), Sarka Koprivova (Czech Republic), Joyce
Lester (Australia), Yen-Feng (China), Reika Utsugi (Japan), Jessica Vanderlinden
Davila (Puerto Rico), and Gisela Murai (Zimbabwe).  MALES - Mark Sorenson (New
Zealand), Jan Pribyl (Czech Republic), Todd King (Canada), and Avon Meacham
(USA).

MORE BUCA DI BEPPO

Mike Kelly informs us there is now a Buca only 10 minutes from the ballfields 

used for the Plantation FL tournaments.  Thanked SPY for the tip.

LAKE CITY WINS FLORIDA CONFERENCE
Two Virginia pitchers, Lesley Palmer and Katie Fricke,

combined to lead Lake City CC to its 25th championship in the Mid Florida conference.  Palmer, who spent her freshman year at Texas, advises that she has verbally committed to Florida State for 2003.

#1 Arizona defeated #11 Oklahoma but when the smoke cleared after 9 innings, the Wildcats had the game 1-0 but they knew they had been in a battle. Jenny Finch struck out the first 9 Sooners, 19 Ks total, but Kami Keiter was pitching a great game for OU to stifle AU’s big bats. Finally, in the top of the 9^th, Arizona’s Crystal Farley hit back to the pitcher, but Keiter couldn’t make the play; after the hit, Lovie Jung (who else?) doubled for the only run of the game, which closed out the Farm Bureau Classic. This marked the 4^th loss in a row for the Sooners, but, defensively, it had to be a confidence builder. Also, Oklahoma freshman sensation Heather Scaglione was named Big 12 player of the week.

#3 Stanford got back on the winning track Tuesday (the report was posted today) defeating Santa Barbara twice 7-2 and 8-3. The Cardinal went up 1-0 in the first game on a single by Robin Walker and a double by Jessica Mendoza. Walker singled again in the 4^th; this time, Mendoza hit a HR (#12). Stanford was up 7-0 after Leah Nelson’s 3-run HR in the 6^th. Tori Nyberg was the winner, Elizabeth Bendig got the save. Santa Barbara took a 1-0 lead in game two before Nelson, Bendig and Jessica Draemel scored. The Gauchos tied the game but the Cardinal then scored 5 runs on six singles in the 6^th to put the game away. Maureen LeCoq was the winner.

#4 Nebraska wasted little time in scoring on Iowa State, Kim Ogee leading off the 1^st with a home run. The Huskers won the Big 12 contest, 8-3. Cyclone Lindsey Herrin hit a bases-loaded single to put Iowa State up 2-1, adding another run in the 3^rd. Nebraska took control, scoring 2 in the 3^rd and 3 in the 4^th for a 6-3 lead.

#13 Fresno State was 2-0 in the Farm Bureau Classic in Oklahoma City after defeating Oklahoma State on Wednesday, 3-1The Bulldogs went up 1-0 in the 1^st on an rbi single by Jamie Southern. Ryan Realmuto tied the game for the Cowgirls. Lindsay Fossatti hit the game winner, driving in Tiffany Whipple and Pam Perez in the 3^rd. Southern is now 26-6; Cami Carter was the loser, with Lauren Bay putting the Bulldogs down for 4+.

#17 DePaul split a double-header Wednesday with Northwestern, losing 6-1 after winning 9-1. In the latter game, the Blue Demons scored 7 runs in the 1^st, with Christina Douglas, Katy Kuman, and Sarah Douglas getting key hits. Lindsay Chouinard struck out 8 while giving up two hits. Gretchen Barnes became the all-time Northwestern HR hitter in the second game, a solo shot to left field. Pitchers Brie Brown and Stephanie Elliott combined to hold the Blue Demons to one run, a solo HR by Molly Sircher. Sarah Martz struck out eight in a losing cause.

#20 Florida State and Florida split their double-header Wednesday in what has become one of college softball’s better rivalries. The Gators started the day by ending the Seminole’s 12-game winning streak, 7-1. FSU rebounded to win 6-1; getting even was how the Seminole scribes reported it. Gator Amanda Knowles shut down the Seminoles on 4 hits, but one was a HR by Monique Marier. Leslie Malerich was the loser; freshman Casey Hunter worked 5 innings in relief. The Gators scored 3 runs in the 1^st and 4 more in the 3^rd, the latter unearned. Mylin Prieto had 3 rbi, Jenilee Garner and Katy Berger had two each. FSU had 10 hits in the second game, which marked the 5^th time these teams have split a double-header. Jessica Van Der Linden won her 14^th, a career high, and also drove in 2 runs. She struck out 8. Shandra Colzie, Beth Wade, Elisa Velasco, and Jackie Hirschfield also had rbi’s.

#23 Baylor defeated #24 Texas A&M 3-0, scoring all of its runs in the 6^th. The Bears are now 9-5 in the Big 12; the Aggies drop to 6-7. Aggie P Lindsey Wilhelmson held Baylor hitless for 5 innings, but, loaded the bases in the 6^th when two runs scored on a wild pitch and errant throw, and finally a double by Kristen Lancaster. Cristin Vitek and Joni Miller combined for the win, Miller retiring 12 of the 13 batters she faced.

Notre Dame pounded out 25 hits to sweep Indiana State twice, in five innings each game, 14-1 and 11-2. Carrie Wisen picked up her 9^th and 10^th victories as every Irish starter had at least one hit. Andrea Loman homered in both games.

Minnesota started the season strongly but is now 20-13 after splitting with Northern Iowa, winning 7-0 and losing 6-3.

Virginia Tech won the cross-border battle with Tennessee 6-0, on a no-hitter by Ashlee Dobbe.

Maryland, which has tough ACC battles coming up with Virginia and Florida State, tuned up its bats and warmed its gloves in 5-0 and 4-0 shutouts of George Mason on Wednesday. (Virginia also played out of conference, defeating UMBC 6-1). Amanda Bettker and Monica Cyphert each pitched a 2-hit shutout for the Terrapins, and were never seriously threatened. Cyphert had a no-hitter for 5+ innings. Keisha Pickeral’s 1^st inning double opened the scoring; rbi hits by Jen Peel, Samantha Sweeney (triple) and Casey Leiter (sac fly) had Maryland up 4-0 after two, with a later insurance run. Cyphert struck out six. Peel had 2 rbi. In the other game, Sweeney was 3-4. Leiter had 2 rbi and C Beth Radford had one, as Maryland banged out 10 hits, and left 8 on base.

The first time I saw Beth Radford, the genial slugger/catcher swatted two home runs to help her father’s team rout a 12-U team I was coaching. Today, I watched Beth batting cleanup and catching for the Maryland Terrapins, a senior leader on a team which includes a number of other players whom I have known through the years. Several George Mason players were similarly well known to us. So the Maryland-George Mason doubleheader was like a sentimental journey – Maryland winning both games 5-0 and 4-0. There were former Chesapeake Chargers, Maryland Dynasty, Bayside Blues and from Virginia, former Shamrocks, Firebirds, Flash, Fire & Ice – girls who had won highschool and travel ball honors in Maryland and Virginia – even two members of the PA Blazing Angels national champions. Their parents and I had some good moments, remembering games when the Dynasty defeated the CA Firecrackers for a regional crown, and the Shamrocks and Chargers split games with the CA Athletics, and all the times we beat each other and always looked forward, as friends, to the next game. A good day, especially visiting with players you’ve known for so many years. End

At 12:31am, none of the four resource sites used by SPY had a score on #1 Arizona versus Oklahoma State in the Farm Bureau Classic. SPY will republish this report early Wednesday to include that game.

LATE UPDATE: #1 ARIZONA defeated Oklahoma State, 4-2. Jenny Gladding had 12 Ks. The Cats started things off quickly scoring two runs in the first inning. Leadoff hitter junior Lovie Jung walked and advanced to second on a passed ball. Freshman Courtney Fossatti walked and senior Jenny Finch singled to right center, moving Fossatti to third and scoring Jung. Fossatti scored the last run on a passed ball. Oklahoma State earned their first run in the second inning when Jade Lindly homered over the right fence.

#9 Oklahoma lost its third game in a row, this time a loss Tuesday night to #12 Fresno State, 4-0, the Farm Bureau Classic in Oklahoma City. Bulldog ace Jamie Southern, who leads the nation in ERA, shutout the Sooners on 4 hits. OU starter Jennifer Stewart gave up all 4 runs, as Oklahoma chalked up its longest losing streak since 1999, when OU lost 4 in a row. Southern also went 2-3, including a 6^th inning double, and scored the final Bulldog run. Southern had 2 rbi; Lindsay Fossatti and Lashme Gomez each had an rbi.

The Sooners were down 3-0 in the 5^th when they put runners on second and third with one out but failed to score. Oklahoma faces Arizona on Wednesday. Southern was named WAC pitcher of the week; CF Tiffany Whipple was player of the week. Oklahoma plays Arizona on Wednesday; Fresno State plays Oklahoma State.

#10 Washington’s Kristen Rivera was rewarded for hitting HRs in three consecutive plate appearances against Stanford, by being named Pac 10 Player of the Week.

#20 Iowa got homeruns from Christina Schmaltz and Jessica Bashor as the Hawkeyes won the intra-state contest with Iowa State’s Cyclones on Tuesday, 10-4. Iowa had a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the second, when Cyclone Kelly Wardein got the first HR of her career, scoring Katie Ruby ahead of her. But Iowa scored two runs and then five runs in consecutive innings for a 10-2 lead. Iowa State avoided the mercy rule with two more runs in the 5^th on doubles by Martinez and Julie Lindsey (3-4) but could get no closer. Hawkeye Kristi Hanks (15-9) got the win. Martinez took the loss.

#25 Ohio State did play Sunday (SPY published before the scores were posted). The surging Buckeyes won a HR hitting contest over Northwestern in the first game to win 12-4, then won a second game 3-1. Sarah West hit a grand slam in the 7^th; Kristine Himes and Wendy Allen (who has just been named Big Ten player of the week) had solo shots. Katie Chain was the winning pitcher, in relief of Kristi DeVries who gave up HRs to Erin Jancic and Carrie Leto which put the Wildcats up 2-0. Northwestern added 2 runs in the 6^th but they were more than offset by West’s slam. Wendy Allen got the 3-1 win in game two; she and Stacy Roth were both 2-3 in the game. Winning two games in Evanston for the first time since 1994, the Buckeyes are now 9-3 in the Big Ten.

An item unintentionally dropped from our April 14 review: once-ranked Massachusetts is on an 18-game winning streak. The Minutewomen took two from Harvard, ending the Crimson’s 10-game winning streak, and then took three from Rhode Island, the last a 6-0 victory powered by Scooter Wheeler’s 2 homeruns and Kaila Holtz’ third career no-hitter. Massachusetts is 12-0 in Atlantic 10 action.

Once-ranked Wisconsin run-ruled Loyola-Chicago on Monday, 9-1. Kerry Hagen had 3 rbi to lead the Badgers. Freshman Katie Layne fanned 7 batters in 5 innings for the win.

Notre Dame’s streak was ended at 14 games but Steffany Stenglein was named Big East pitcher of the week for her 3 wins.

The TAAC has changed its name to Atlantic Sun Conference. By any name, it is being dominated by Florida Atlantic.

Among conferences SPY did not report earlier: UMKC (11-1) and Western Illinois (10-2) contending for the lead in the Mid Continent conference. Four of the six Big South teams have better overall records than Radford, but, with conference play just getting under way, Radford at 3-1 is atop the board as shown on the conference web site; however, Elon is off to its first ever 2-0 start after Amanda Zentner hurled back-back victories – over Radford – 3-0 and 5-4; so that board will change. As of April 15, Chattanooga (12-1) and Georgia Southern (13-2) are vying for the lead in the Southern Conference. Lehigh and Army are tied for the lead (9-3) in the Patriot League. Three schools are bunched close in the MAAC Conference: Iona, Fairfield and Saint Peters. SPY could not find standings report for the MEAC Conference, and gave up trying a team-by-team analysis when confronted by the need for a password to open Bethune-Cookman’s web site. SPY also had problems downloading the home page for the Southland Conference, but we know that Louisiana-Monroe’s Lori Tande is leading the conference with 13 HRs. Long Island is 16-0 in the Northeast Conference and has secured a berth in the NEC tournament. UMBC is second, 15-3.

#10 Washington handed #3 Stanford its third straight loss on Monday, 3-0, on a Kristen Rivera 3-run homer in the 1^st inning. The Cardinal loaded the bases in the 3^rd, but UW starter Ashley Boek got two outs to end that inning, and loaded the bases again in 7^th, but reliever Tia Bollinger got the two outs needed to end the game. Rivera now has 13 HRs on the season, including 3 in this series against the Cardinal, which the Huskies won, 2 straight games. Stanford is now 4-5 in the Pac 10, Washington 3-5.

The Farm Bureau Softball Challenge this coming Tuesday and Wednesday at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City will include #1 Arizona, #9 Oklahoma, #12 Fresno State and Oklahoma State.

#11 Florida Atlantic’s excellent campaign this season has drawn heavily on senior pitcher Nikki Myers, who was rewarded by being named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week.

Howard, Meghan. P, CA Hot Styx Gold, to Butler University

Adams, Pilar. American Athletics-Bollinger, to Harvard

Allen, Carly. OF, Colorado Quicksilver, to Colorado State

Bass, Katie. VA Fire & Ice, to Virginia Tech

Tuggle, Courtney. CA Rebels (Stewart) to Louisiana-Monroe

Wigenton, Rocky. 3^rd, VA Firebirds, to Norfolk State

#5 LSU vs #19 Louisiana-Lafayette was rained out.

#7 Cal State Fullerton completed its two-game sweep of Loyola Marymount Thursday night, winning 9-0 and 4-2 – pushing their nation’s best winning streak to 31. Gina Oaks and Christy Robitaille were the winning pitchers. The Titans hit 4 homers, including two by Yasmin Mossadeghi. Fullerton is idle this weekend but faces its principal conference rival, Pacific, next weekend.

#16 DePaul swept a double-header from UIC. Katy Kukman’s solo shot off Alison Aguilar gave the Blue Demons and Lindsay Chouinard a 1-0 victory in game one. DePaul won the second game 5-2 behind Sarah Martz. Christina Douglas homered.

#23 Georgia defeated SEC foe South Carolina 2-1 in 10 innings.

U Mass sits atop its conference, but dropped out of the USA Today poll. Harvard thought this might be the year – the Crimson are 0-11-1 against U Mass lifetime – and took the Minutewomen into extra innings in the second game – they lost the first game 9-3 – but, alas, the outcome was the same. U Mass Hilary Puglia drove in the winning run in the 8^th.

#1 Arizona scored 3 runs in the 1^st enroute to defeating #14 Oregon State. Lovie Jung and Leneah Manuma drew walks from OSU’s Monica Hoffman; Jenny Finch drove in the first run with a double, and two runs scored on single to right by Mackenzie Vandergeest. The final run scored on a single by Jenny Gladding. Finch notched 8 Ks and her 12^th shutout.

#2 UCLA was down 2 runs to #3 Stanford but rallied to tie and won 3-2 on Amanda Freed’s sac fly in the bottom of the 7^th, scoring Monique Mejia, who had singled. The win evens UCLA’s Pac 10 record at 3-3. Stanford is 4-3. Stanford led 2-0 when Stacey Nuveman jacked a Tori Nyberg pitch over the CF fence, her 12^th this year, and third in three consecutive at-bats. Stacey is 4 HRs away from setting a new NCAA record. The Bruins tied the game on a Stephanie Ramos single. UCLA had bases-loaded in the 6^th before Maureen LeCoq came on in relief to end the threat. Keira Goerl got the win, which included 5 no-hit innings, in relief of Freed. LeCoq took the loss.

#4 Nebraska plays Big 12 opponent Missouri on Saturday.

#5 LSU did not play.

#6 Arizona State defeated Oregon 9-1, and is now 4-2 Pac 10. The Sun Devils shot out to a 3-0 lead in the 1^st, and scored 3 more in the 2^nd. The final two runs came on a HR by Erica Beach, who also pitched the victory. Beach and Kara Brun had 3 rbi apiece.

#7 Cal State Fullerton which beat Loyola Marymount twice on Thursday does not play again until April 20, when it plays 3 games against #17 Pacific, its principal rival.

#8 California defeated #10 Washington 4-1, the Huskies 4^th straight loss, which dropped UW to 1-5 in Pac 10 while Cal improved to 5-2. Jocelyn Forest was bidding for a no-hitter until the bottom of the 7^th when Jaime Clark hit her 15^th HR. The Bears were up 1-0 when Veronica Nelson hit a 2-run shot, her 9^th. The last run scored on a bases full walk to Kristen Bayless, by reliever Ashley Boek. Starter Tia Bollinger took the loss.

#9 Oklahoma takes on #18 Texas in Norman Saturday and Sunday. The Sooners are undefeated in Big 12 play and the Longhorns are a game behind, so this game has implications are beyond Red River bragging rights.

#11 Florida Atlantic tightened its grip on TAAC leadership with two wins Friday over Jacksonville State, 2-0 and 6-1.

#12 Fresno State play San Jose State twice on Saturday.

#12 Michigan (tie) run-ruled Minnesota 11-1. Melinda Moulden was 3-3 with 3 rbi and Jessica Merchant had a 3-run HR (4 rbi total). Naturally, Michigan scribes are writing about the M&M girls (shades of Mantle and Maris for those over 40). The Wolverines are now 6-1 in the Big Ten, Minnesota drops to 3-4. The Gophers had given up a total of 7 runs in the first two innings all season, but surrendered 5 to Michigan today. Marissa Young pitched the victory.

#15 Alabama begins a 3-game set against Ole Miss on Saturday.

#16 DePaul plays conference rival Louisville this weekend.

#19 Louisiana-Lafayette plays a double-header against Middle Tennessee.

#20 Iowa’s 12-game winning streak was snapped by #25 Ohio State, 2-0. Wendy Allen not only pitched the victory, she hit two solo HRs to account for both scores. This was the first Big Ten loss for the Hawkeyes (6-1) and improved OSU to 6-3.

#21 Florida State starts ACC action Saturday against Georgia Tech.

#22 Baylor hosts Big 12 foe Iowa State on Saturday.

#23 Georgia travels to Gainesville for 3 games against Florida.

#24 Texas A&M is in Stillwater for two games against Oklahoma State.

Conference USA Standings have been added; separate report

When SPY published its list of entries into the Gold sector tournaments earlier this week, there was no information available on registrations for the two tournaments in Sector 4, which will award a total of 10 berths to nationals, 5 each for Lancaster and Seattle. We are publishing these lists in our daily updates; we will also add them to our previous report on Gold sector tournament registrations.

Today, while the rest of the adult, educated world worried about peace in the Middle East, the managing partner of one of the nation’s largest, most sophisticated law firms sent an all-parties memo advising $500,000 a year attorneys and $35,000 a year clerks on the proper methods of bypassing, when necessary, the automatic flush system on the firm’s toilets (you push the black button).

Over-reaction? Not to anyone who has ever had this problem to resolve. I got so frustrated with the boys at Langley HS, who managed to render every bathroom in the main building a public health problem before noon, that, when I was the Board’s projects director, I had the architects modify the plans for the new outdoor pavilion to include automatic flushing toilets and urinals. Now, if we could just get them to throw their used paper towels in the trash.

ASA officials advised SPY informally on Monday that it would not enter a team in the proposed Junior World Qualifier tournament, which had been scheduled for May in Colombia. As requested, SPY deferred comment until the International Softball Federation and the Colombian hosts made their announcement. SPY is now advised that the qualifying tournament has been formally cancelled, for security reasons.

Concerns about security also prompted ASA officials, and, we are told, Canadian officials to decide not to send teams.

The delay in making the announcement was occasioned by the need to work out an arrangement for gaining a USA berth for the Junior World games, which will be held in China in 2003. ASA has not made an official announcement concerning agreements on the berth, but, it would be inconceivable to proceed without the United States. Also, the current expectation, based on conversations with ASA officials, is for ASA to conduct a try-out camp, probably at Chula Vista, toward the end of 2002 or early in 2003, at which a USA Junior Olympic team will be chosen.

SPY was getting many questions about who stands where, so we have included today a special report on conference standings. Note that not all conferences have updated their conference web sites; a number still have 2001 reports. Even one university’s site is mired in 2001 data, and another still focuses on last fall’s football season.

In a very real sense, these standings, with their implications for playoffs, regional berths and the WCWS, are more meaningful than the weekly poll, because they are a road map to 2002 success.

In the Pac 10, five teams are within a game of each other, and that doesn’t include UCLA. Four of those five plus UCLA are in the nation’s Top 10.. In the Big 12, which has 5 teams in the Top 25 and is probably the second most competitive conference, OU leads by a game over Texas which has a game lead over Nebraska. In the SEC, the third most competitive conference in our opinion, South Carolina’s record pales compared to LSU’s, but the Gamecocks have a 3-game lead in their division, while the Tigers could be in a dog fight, holding a 1-game edge over Alabama.

Cal State Fullerton’s on a 29-game streak and playing as well as any team, and hopes to host a regional tournament, but it has only a 1-game edge over Pacific. They’re not halfway through the Big 10 schedule, but Iowa, Michigan and now Ohio State are leading the pack at this point; the real battle is who else goes to the tournament.

Fresno State’s got the record and the reputation, but Hawaii is tied for the WAC lead.

Florida Atlantic and Stetson have both had surges; now they’re tied in the TAAC

Georgia Tech look comfortable on paper, but the ACC race is just starting and Florida State, which is nationally ranked, is just now starting conference games.

Notre Dame struggled early, as its coaches predicted, but the benefit of playing top-ranked teams before starting Big East play, is paying off. The Irish are up 3 games.

Playing with the big dogs early is also paying dividends for Boston University; it has a losing record against national competition but its well ahead in conference.

COLLEGE SCOREBOARD: TOP 25

#1 UCLA did more than defeat #2 Arizona, 6-5, on Sunday – the Bruins also snapped two of college softball’s pre-eminent records. Jenny Finch’s NCAA record streak of 60 victories stopped, as did the Wildcats’ record home winning streak at 70. Both teams scored 4 runs in the 1^st; the Bruins onslaught was enough to drive Jenny Gladding off the mound and bring on Finch. Keira Goerl gave up 8 hits and 5 runs (4 earned) but UCLA stayed with her and she got the win. A lot of players stepped up in this game before a record crowd of 3,161. In the 1^st, Natasha Watley walked; Amanda Freed singled; and Stacey Nuveman walked to load the bases with one out – Stephanie Ramos then hit a grand slam for a quick 4-0 lead. Answering, Lovie Jung and Courtney Fossatti singled, and the bases were loaded when all were safe on Leneah Manuma’s fielder’s choice. Gladding walked to force in one run; MacKenzie Vandergeest and Jackie Coburn drove in two more on singles, before Crystal Farley singled to tie the game at 4 all. Arizona took the lead when Jung walked and scored on Manuma’s single. It then became Stacey Nuveman’s game. She tied the game in the 5^th with her 80^th homer, then hit her 81^st in the top of the seventh. Goerl held AU hitless the last two innings.

#3 Stanford defeated #14 Oregon State, 7-2, but the score is deceiving. The Beavers’ Monica Hoffman blanked the Cardinal for six innings; they scored 7 runs on 7 hits in the 7^th inning. Oregon State scored a run in the second, Steph Adams singling and scoring on Jenni Jodoin’s sac fly, and scored again in the 5^th, when Brynnen Guthrie singled home Miranda Dellinger. In the 7^th, Sarah Beeson singled before Kira Ching belted a HR off the LF scoreboard. Jessica Allister, Cassi Branham and Jessica Dramel singled,, and Robin Walker hit a 3-run double for a 5-2 lead. Jessica Mendoza closed out the scoring with a 2-run HR (11^th). Tori Nyberg improved her record to 19-3.

#4 Nebraska was idle after splitting a double-header on Saturday with Texas. Correction: In the 4^th inning of the Huskers 4-3 win, Amber Burgess doubled and Peaches James hit the home run giving Nebraska a 3-2 lead.

#5 LSU won the rubber match of its three-game set against #15 Alabama, 7-0. Shelley Laird, pitching before the largest crowd in the history of Alabama softball (1,210) got her 970^th career strikeout, and the Tide threatened in three of the first four innings but this day belonged to the Tigers who scored 3 in the 5^th to take charge.

#6 California has now posted its best PAC 10 start in recent years (4-2), with a 7-0 defeat Sunday of Oregon. Jocelyn Forest got the win over Lindsay Kontra.

#7 Cal State Fullerton defeated Long Beach State 9-1 (6) for the third time this weekend, extending the Titans’ winning streak to 29 games, surpassing the 28-game skein by Stetson. Fullerton broke a 1-1 tie on a 2-rbi single by Jenny Topping in the 5^th. The Titans got 4 more runs off Meredith Cervenka, in relief of Lindsey Knoff, including a bases-loaded double by Brittany Ziegler. Jodie Cox went the distance for Fullerton.

#8 Arizona State defeated #10 Washington, 6-1, concluding a weekend in which the Sun Devils upset #1 UCLA and took two from the Huskies. Erica Beach and Kirsten Voak combined for the win, which included Beach’s 5^th HR in the second off Ashley Boek. ASU scored two more in the 5^th, and Leslie Scott relieved Boek. Nichole Thompson doubled in the 5^th, scoring Kristen Farley, and put the game away with two more in the 6^th. Courtney Jeffries rbi double in the 7^th prevented the shutout.

#9 Oklahoma was idle after sweeping Saturday’s double-header against Iowa State.

#11 Florida Atlantic took two games from Troy State on Sunday, 6-5 (11) and 3-0. Ginny Matthews had 6 hits and 3 rbi for the day. The Trojans had taken a 2-1 lead in the second on a HR by Kami Marrott. Owls’ starter Candace Freel tied the game with a HR with two out in the 6^th. Nikki Myers forced in a TSU run with a two-out bases loaded walk in the 7^th. Down 3-2, Matthews tied the score in regulation with a double. In the 10^th, TSU scored 2 but FAU answered with 2, setting up the 11^th inning dramatics – a two-out single by Pam Mazzarrella scoring Michelle Ryan. Myers got the win. Freel came back to throw the second game shutout.

#12 Fresno State was idle after defeating Louisiana Tech twice on Saturday.

#13 Michigan was idle after defeating Indiana Friday and Saturday.

#16 DePaul’s game Sunday against Illinois was rained out.

#17 Louisiana-Lafayette was idle after splitting this weekend with Western Kentucky. The Ragin’ Cajuns are now 26-9.

#18 Pacific was idle after a three-game sweep this weekend of Utah State.

#19 Iowa remains undefeated in the Big Ten after sweeping Purdue on Sunday.

#20 Texas was idle after the weekend split with Nebraska.

#21 Texas A&M, which we reported losing Saturday to Kansas 6-4, came back late Saturday to win 3-0 after a long rain delay on Jessica Slataper’s no-hitter, her 16^th complete game and 9^th shutout. Leah Tabb drove in 2 runs and Shelli Musser was 3-4 in that first game, aiding Kansas winner Kara Pierce.

#21 Florida State was idle after a weekend sweep of Florida A&M. Their ACC rivals were taking turns beating each other: North Carolina took two from Maryland, 7-3 and 8-3, while Virginia was beating Georgia Tech twice, 10-5 and 1-0.

#23 Georgia defeated Arkansas 3-1 on Sunday, completing a 3-game sweep on Nichole Urban’s 2-hitter. The Bulldogs, who started the season with 20 consecutive victories, are now 42-8, all of its losses in the SEC (10-8).

#24 Baylor completed its sweep of Missouri with a 4-1 decision Sunday. Joni Miller won, aided by 2-4 hitting by Kourtny Westerfield.

#25 Minnesota dropped both games of its Sunday double-header against Ohio State. The Buckeyes took one game 5-3 on Stacy Roth’s two-run HR off Piper Marten in the 7^th. offsetting a tying home by the Gophers Shelly Nichols. The Buckeyes won the opener 5-0, Wendy Allen winning with 9 Ks, Angie Recknor taking the loss.