Wahine Playbook
AT NCAA REGIONAL III
Site: Seattle.
Teams: 1. Washington (44-17). 2. Hawaii (32-21). 3 Tennessee (44-25). 4. Cal State Fullerton (34-27). 5. Texas A&M (40-20). 6. Colgate (23-23).(PI)
About the Wahine: This is Hawaii's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, all under coach Bob Coolen (eighth season, 307-189-1). ... Hawaii finished third in the WAC, both during the regular season and at last week's conference tournament ... Second baseman Melissa McGie leads the team with a .437 average, 36 hits and 18 runs scored. First baseman Joyce Lum is batting .390 and catcher Dana Degan .388 ... Senior right-hander Kelly Gentle is 14-4 with a 1.86 ERA, 120.1 IP and 103 Ks.
About the Huskies: Washington's strength is its pitching staff, headed by juniors Jamie Graves (24-9, 0.84 ERA, 190.2 IP, 128 Ks) and Jennifer Spediacci (19-8, 0.98 ERA, 193.1 IP, 215 Ks). Spediacci one-hit top-ranked UCLA last weekend in UW's 1-0 victory ... Senior right fielder Becky Newbry is hitting .459 with 48 RBIs and is 23 of 28 in steal attempts
About the Lady Vols: Tennessee is batting .327 as a team, led by Lisa Warren's .403 average. Warren is also 18 of 20 in steal attempts ... The staff ace is Jackie Beavers (24-11, 1.72 ERA, 219.1 IP, 83 Ks) ...The Wahine defeated Tennessee, 5-2, at the Arizona Wildcat Classic on Feb. 26.
About the Titans: CSF's ace is Jana Oetgen (20-10, 2.41 ERA, 192 IP, 118 Ks). She is 1-1 against the Wahine this season ... Three players are batting over .300 - Sephanie Little (.378, 22 HR, 55 RBIs), Nikki Hart (.353) and Yasmin Mosadeghi (.314) ... The Wahine won 2 of 3 meetings this season, winning, 2-1, in Honolulu and splitting a doubleheader at Fullerton, 4-2 and 8-0.
About the Aggies: Freshman Lisa Klam is leading Texas A&M with a .356 batting average, 15 homers and 27 RBIs ... On the mound, Amy Vining has been a fixture (21-15, 1.01 ERA, 235.2 IP, 217 Ks) ... The teams were scheduled to meet in March but the last three days of the Bank of Hawaii Invitational were rained out.
About the Red Raiders: Outfielder Lisa Belcher leads the Patriot Conference representative with a .315 batting average. Speedster freshman third baseman Amanda Paolucci is 20 of 23 in steal attempts. Colgate's ace is senior Tara McGoff (19-14, 1.73 ERA, 219 IP, 148 Ks).
First pitch: The Wahine open the double-elimination event tomorrow against Texas A&M at 9:30 a.m. On the mound will be senior Kelly Gentle (14-4, 1.86 ERA, 120.1 IP, 103 Ks).
On the air: KCCN radio (1420 AM) will broadcast all Hawaii games live.
