Cougars to Inaugurate New Field

After playing two games at Utah State on Wednesday, the BYU softball team will resume conference play at home with doubleheaders against New Mexico, Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Colorado State Saturday at noon. Friday's games versus New Mexico will be the home opener for the Cougars in the newly-opened Gail Miller Field, the nation's fourth-largest college stadium (2,100 seats). Saturday will be the official grand opening celebration with the softball pre-game presentation beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Last Weekend

The Cougars defeated Southern Utah in both games of a doubleheader at UVSC field, 4-0 and 12-0. The two games against in-state rival Utah scheduled for Saturday were cancelled due to inclement weather. The teams will instead play the games at Ute Field on May 4 at 2 p.m.

BYU Probable Starters

•C -Angie Christiansen - R/R, Sr. (.200, 17 hits, 8 runs, 11 RBI)

•1B - Mindy Hanson - R/R, Sr. (.265, 26 hits, 11 runs, 16 RBI)

•2B - Jackie Ellis - R/R, Sr. (.207, 12 hits, 9 runs, 8 RBI)

•SS - Becca Erickson - R/R, Sr. (.225, 23 hits, 16 runs, 5 HR, 21 RBI)

•3B - Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston - R/R, Jr. (.309, 38 hits, 21 runs, 24 RBI)

•CF -Lindsey Hodgen-Kelly - R/R, Sr. (.280, 28 hits, 24 runs, 6 RBI)

•RF - Oli Keohohou- R/R, Fr. (.477, 51 hits, 46 runs, 16 HR, 52 RBI)

•LF - Liz Smith- L/R, Jr. (.269, 32 hits, 23 runs, 4 RBI)

•DH - Brooke Cadiente - R/L, So. (.306, 38 hits, 24 runs, 6 HR, 33 RBI)

•P - Maryon DeWitt-Wallentine - R/R, Sr. (11-12, 3.18 ERA, 127 SO)

Nation's Elite

After playing in 40 games, freshman Oli Keohohou is among the nation's elite in a variety of categories. She again leads the NCAA's with 16 home runs, averaging .40 homers per game. Keohohou also ranks first in average, batting .477 with 51 hits in 107 at-bats. She is second in runs batted in with 52, averaging 1.43 RBI a game. As a team, BYU is eighth in the nation in scoring with 216 runs in 41 games, an average of 5.27 a game.

Conference Leaders

Keohohou leads the MWC in batting average (.477), RBI (52), home runs (16), runs scored (45), total bases (111), slugging percentage (1.037) and on-base percentage (.592). As a team, BYU leads the conference in batting average (.284), slugging percentage (.455) and triples (15). Cougar pitchers have allowed the fewest hits (237) and runs (113) in the conference, while BYU opponents are batting .239, the lowest in the conference.

Team Leaders

After 41 games, Keohohou leads the team in batting average (.477), hits (51), home runs (16), RBI (52), runs scored (46), walks (33), triples (3) and slugging percentage (1.037). Brooke Cadiente leads the team in at-bats (124) while Elizabeth Pierce-Boydston leads the team in doubles (7). Lindsey Hodgen-Kelly leads the team with 13 stolen bases.

Scouting Utah State

The Aggies have a 6-31 record, including a 2-10 Big West Conference record. They beat Sacramento State April 13 to end a 10-game losing streak. BYU beat Utah St. 8-0 and 11-1 on March 21 at UVSC. Casey Smith is batting .287 with 31 hits and 7 RBI while teammate Shannon Acevedo is batting .240 with 23 hits, two home runs and 10 RBI. Lisa Spencer is 4-9 with a 4.17 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 95 innings of work. Kristin Hommel is 1-15 with a 6.05 ERA and 66 strikeouts.

Scouting New Mexico

The Lobos have a 32-17-1 record, including a 5-4-1 MWC record. They split games with San Diego State and UNLV last week and are currently in second place. BYU split with New Mexico, winning 4-1 and losing 4-3 on March 31 in Albuquerque. Kelly Glass has a .368 batting average with 43 hits and 12 RBI. Krissy Keene is batting .323 with 41 hits, four home runs and 27 RBI. Amy Dumas is 14-3 with a 0.89 ERA and 58 strikeouts while teammate Hayley Punter is 9-4 with a 2.89 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 106.2 innings of work.

Scouting Colorado State

The Rams have a 6-29 record, including a 3-6 MWC record. After losing 16 in a row, they have won three-of-four, beating UNLV once and San Diego State twice. BYU is 1-0 against CSU this season, winning 6-2 in Ft. Collins on March 29. Holly Schmillen is batting .380 with 38 hits, nine doubles and 12 RBI. Brooke Boyer has a .272 batting average with 28 hits and six home runs. Kyla Kiester is 5-12 with a 3.90 ERA and 42 strikeouts. She was recently named the MWC Pitcher of the Week.

Softball/Baseball Complex

The newly-opened Gail Miller Field at BYU's Miller Park has 2,100 chair seats all in the lower bowl, making it one of the top-10 seating softball facilities in the NCAA. The dimensions are 210 feet down the left and right field lines and 220 in center field. The field faces northwest and is located west of the BYU Marriott Center. The one-of-a-kind mirrored-image softball/baseball complex was made possible by primary donors Larry and Gail Miller, together with Sy and Betty Kimball. The tensile roof is constructed from a teflon fabric made by Japan's Birdair Corporation and is pulled taut by cables, similar to the design on the Denver International Airport.

Miller Park was built by Sahara construction with Salt Lake City

architect Valentiner/Crane. A shared press box houses radio and TV broadcasts and seating for print media and game-day operations. There are

separate locker rooms for visitors and Cougar clubhouses for both softball and baseball. The complex includes concession stands, a memorabilia mezzanine, handicapped seating, an elevator, an umpire room, a hosting facility, an equipment room, training room, indoor batting cages and coaches offices. Both fields are lighted. The softball scoreboard is located in right field and was manufactured by Daktronics of Brookings, South Dakota.

Coach Mary Kay Amicone

Mary Kay Amicone was named BYU's first-ever varsity softball coach on May 6, 1999, three months after the announcement was made to upgrade the softball team from club to varsity status. In her first season, she led the team to a 16-27 (.372) record, including a 7-13 conference record, good for fifth place. Prior to becoming the head coach at BYU, Amicone served as an assistant coach at the University of Utah (1991, '93-95, '98-99). During that time, the Utes finished fifth ('91) and seventh ('94) at the NCAA Women's College World Series and were regional participants in 1995. She is assisted by Gordon Eakin and Lisa Hall.

Coaches Quotes

"We are really excited to be home. We practiced on our field for the first time and it felt great. I think the enthusiasm of being at home will renew our energy to compete."--Mary Kay Amicone

Preseason Mountain West Conference Coaches' Poll

BYU was picked by the coaches in the Mountain West Conference to

finish fifth in the conference in the preseason poll released Jan. 25. In-state rival University of Utah, where BYU head coach Mary Kay Amicone played and was an assistant coach for seven years, was picked to finish first.

Mountain West Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

1. Utah (5) 25

2. New Mexico (1) 20

3. San Diego State 15

4. Colorado State 11

5. BYU 10

6. UNLV 9

Player/Coach Interviews

Practices are held daily at 1 p.m. at Gail Miller Field, west of the Marriott Center. Player or Coach Amicone interviews may be arranged in advance through Shane Bevell, BYU Athletic Media Relations, at (801) 378-8999. Additional information may be obtained through e-mailing Shane at amr-3@byu.edu or by fax at (801) 378-3520.