May 6, 2008

HONOLULU - Seventh-seeded Utah State is set to battle sixth-seeded San Jose State in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament here on Wednesday at 6 p.m. (MT) at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Aggie fans can follow all the action through the Utah State web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com. Fans can also watch live streaming of the entire tournament through the WAC's web site at WAC.tv.

The Aggies are 14-32 overall and finished regular-season WAC action with a 2-15 record after getting swept at Hawai'i last weekend, 5-2 and 3-0 on Saturday, and 5-0 on Sunday. USU is led by freshman SS Kelley Kaneshiro's .372 average to rank sixth in the conference, while junior P Lindsey Benson leads the team with a 4.49 ERA.

The Spartans are 25-33 overall and finished WAC play with a 5-13 ledger after getting swept by WAC regular season champion Nevada, 4-1, on Friday and 3-2 and 5-4 on Saturday. SJSU is led offensively by junior C/OF Brittany McConnell's .326 average, while San Jose State is led defensively by senior P Roxanne Bejarona who has a 3.42 ERA.

Utah State holds a 23-21 all-time advantage against San Jose State, which includes a 2-1 record against the Spartans this season in Logan as USU lost the first of three games, 15-8, before picking up two come-from-behind wins, 8-6 and 11-10. USU also paired up with SJSU in the second game of the 2007 WAC Tournament falling, 9-1, after five innings due to the run-rule, eliminating USU from the tournament.

The winner of the USU-SJSU game will advance in the tournament and play top-seeded and 19th ranked Nevada at 2 p.m. (MT) Thursday. The loser of the Aggies-Spartans matchup with face the loser of the second-seed and 10th-ranked Fresno State and fifth-seed New Mexico State in a loser-out contest on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. (MT).

The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. (MT), with the WAC champion earning the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.