Wahine head to
regional in TexasThey have already beaten the
top seed, Texas, once this year» Hawaii puts 4 on WAC’s first team » 2003 All-WAC Softball
It was one of the best double plays the Hawaii softball team had turned all season.
First, the Wahine celebrated not being in the same NCAA regional with top-seeded Arizona. Hawaii is an ugly 1-4 in two previous regionals at Tucson, Ariz., having wilted in the dry desert heat at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Second, the Wahine didn't have to wait long to learn of their postseason fate during yesterday's Selection Show on ESPNEWS. Hawaii's name popped up on the TV screens at Eastside Grill in the third bracket as the fifth seed in the regional at Austin, Texas.
"We're pretty excited about it," said sophomore Melissa Coogan, named yesterday as the Co-Pitcher of the Year in the Western Athletic Conference. "I have family there and I hope they'll come down and watch us.
"We've practiced hard all week and got done what we needed to. I think we can win this (the regional) if we play like we know we can. If we play hard all the time, we definitely have a good chance."
WAC champion Hawaii (37-18) opens Thursday against 12th-ranked LSU in the first game of the regional (4 a.m. Hawaii time). The Tigers (48-15) finished second in the Southeastern Conference tournament yesterday, losing to No. 16 Alabama 3-1.
Host Texas (43-7), the Big 12 champion, is seeded first and will face Big South winner Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (31-22) in the second game Thursday. In other opening-day games, Arizona State (30-23) takes on Southwest Texas State (43-16-1) and Northwestern (35-17) meets Ohio Valley champion Tennessee Tech (41-14).
The double-elimination continues through Sunday's championship. The winner advances to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., May 22-26.
The only other WAC team to make the 64-team field was Fresno State (33-20). The Bulldogs are seeded fourth in the regional that they host, with UCLA No. 1.
The Wahine were schedule to leave tonight for Denver, where they will make the connection to Austin and arrive tomorrow afternoon. This is the fourth trip to the mainland for Hawaii, which has already logged some 26,000 air miles.
Wahine coach Bob Coolen had just one word for his team's sixth postseason appearance: tough.
"We played Texas and we know what they're all about," said Coolen, referring to Hawaii's 5-3 win over the Longhorns on March 14. "As for LSU, we know they like to run, like the short game, and have some power.
"It's going to be a tough regional. The ideal would have been to be a No. 2 or 3 seed so we could avoid that upper bracket (with top seed Texas). But we got what we wanted by not going to Arizona, and getting to go to someplace new is exciting. As I said when I was on the regional call, we'd like to have what they call the 'total student-athlete experience' by going somewhere we hadn't been. And we got Texas."
About the only Wahine player who had hoped for a trip to Arizona was sophomore Denise Dahlberg, who is from Chandler, Ariz.
"We're excited to be going," she said. "I think we can beat any team as long as we're doing what we're supposed to do.
"Last year was not fun (watching the selection show). The exciting part today was we knew our name would be somewhere."
"We've got a tough bracket, but we'll have to beat good teams to win the World Series," said junior first baseman Stacey Porter. "You have to beat them either now or later.
"It didn't matter where we went. We've traveled a lot of miles already. Wherever we go, we'll be ready. We'll take the same attitude that we've had all year."
The other top seeds in the tournament are Oklahoma, Washington, Cal State Fullerton, DePaul and Alabama.
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Hawaii puts 4 on
WAC’s first team2003 All-WAC Softball
The Hawaii softball team dominated the Western Athletic Conference this season, winning the championship with a 17-3 record.
It came as little surprise that the Wahine dominated the All-WAC team selections announced yesterday.
Hawaii had four players named to the first team and three others to the second team, the most in UH's seven years in the conference. The Wahine also shared in three of the league's top four awards.
Wahine coach Bob Coolen, who earned his 500th career win earlier this season, was named Coach of the Year for the first time in his 12 seasons at UH.
For the fourth year in a row, the Player of the Year wore a Hawaii uniform. Junior first baseman Stacey Porter kept going a string that began in 2000 with Dana Degan and continued with Kate Judd the past two years.
And sophomore Melissa Coogan shared Pitcher of the Year with Fresno State All-American Jamie Southern. It was the first time the league had split the pitching award.
"I was pretty surprised," said Coogan, who tied the UH record for most wins in a season with 29. "I thought it would go to Jamie because she is Jamie."
The All-American Southern, who won the award outright last year, led the WAC with a 0.49 ERA in league games and strikeouts (106). Coogan led the WAC in league wins with 14.
Porter led the WAC in hitting in league games with a .458 average. She was also first in runs scored (22), home runs (nine) and total bases (60), and her nine home runs in WAC play broke the single-season record.
"I didn't think about player of the year, I don't worry about awards," said Porter. "It's something that comes at the end of the season.
"It means nothing now. Nobody's going to know who I am in Texas (where the Wahine open NCAA regional play Thursday). I'm flattered, and hopefully we can win our first game and go on from there."
Coolen said he has never had two dominating players at the same time on the mound (Coogan) and at the plate (Porter).
"We've had a go-to pitcher (Brooke Wilkins 1994-95), but no one at the plate," said Coolen. "No one has figured out Porter. They may figure her out early, but she'll make the adjustment and hurt them. When you hit .464 (overall), you have to be doing something right."
Porter is one of five players to repeat as an All-WAC selection The others are Fresno State's Pam West and Southern. UH's Denise Dahlberg and Judd, first-team picks last year, were named to the second team.
Wahine senior third baseman Trisha Ramos and sophomore outfielder Tracie Uchima were honored for the first time, both making the first team. Also on the second team was junior utility player April Crowell.
"I'm happy for all of my players," said Coolen. "You never know what's going to happen in the voting. It's nice to see a player like Trisha get recognition. She's one of those players who is valuable to a team but is often overlooked.
"I'm not really surprised about who got on the team. I am surprised about me. You don't think about that stuff. It's not automatic that it's the coach who wins the title."
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2003 All-WAC Softball
First Team
PLAYER SCHOOL POS. YR. Pam West Fresno St C Sr. Stacey Porter Hawaii 1B Jr. Mary Cohn LaTech 2B Fr. Danielle Olsen Tulsa 2B Sr. Trisha Ramos Hawaii 3B Sr. Christina Clark Fresno St SS Fr. Nicole Shan Fresno St OF Fr. Brittany Stanley LaTech OF So. Tracie Uchima Hawaii OF So. Lori Hoffman Fresno St UT Jr. Melissa Coogan Hawaii P So. Jamie Southern Fresno St P So.
Second Team
PLAYER SCHOOL POS. YR. Denise Dahlberg Hawaii C So. Katie Torres Tulsa 1B Fr. Jamie Waldron Nevada 2B Jr. Angelina Diaz Fresno 3B Fr. Kate Judd Hawaii SS Sr. Becca Baldridge San Jose OF Jr. Heather Hiar Tulsa OF Jr. Stacy Mueller Nevada OF Jr. April Crowell Hawaii UT Jr. Maren Genow Tulsa P Fr.
Player of the Year: Stacey Porter, Hawaii
Co-Pitchers of the Year: Melissa Coogan, Hawaii; Jamie Southern, Fresno State
Freshman of the Year: Christina Clark, Fresno State
Coach of the Year: Bob Coolen, Hawaii
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