Fresno State's Jamie Southern earned her fourth-straight WAC Pitcher of the Year honor

DENVER The Western Athletic Conference today released its 2005 all-WAC softball team and individual awards as selected by the leagues head coaches. Senior All-American Jamie Southern earned her fourth-straight WAC Pitcher of the Year honor. She is the first WAC pitcher to achieve this feat. Fresno State junior Christina Clark captured her second-straight WAC Player of the Year honor, while Freshman of the Year honors went to Hawaii outfielder Kaulana Gould. Fresno State head coach Margie Wright earned her fifth WAC Coach of the Year honor, her first since 2001.

Clark, a junior from Santa Ana, Calif., was third in hitting with a .404 average. In WAC games, she was also first in runs scored (21), RBI (18) and total bases (48). The WACs Preseason Player of the Year was one of three players to repeat on the all-WAC first team along with teammate Jamie Southern and Nevadas Candice Rainwater.

Southern is the first pitcher in WAC history to win the Pitcher of the Year honor four times. Fresno State All-American Amanda Scott (1998-2000) was honored three times. The senior right-hander from Clovis, Calif., led the WAC with a 0.16 ERA in league games. She allowed just two earned runs in 85 innings. She ended WAC play with a 13-1 record, winning 13 of Fresno States 17 WAC victories. She enters postseason play with 118 strikeouts this season and is the WACs career leader in strikeouts.

Wright earned her fifth WAC Coach of the Year honor after leading Fresno State to a 17-1 WAC record. The Bulldogs won their second-straight WAC title and eighth in 10 years. Fresno State earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament and is the only team in the nation to have advanced to all 24 Championships.

Fresno State and Hawaii both had six total players on the teams with the Rainbow Wahine, placing a WAC-high four players on the first team. There were six players on the first team that were either first or second team honorees in 2004. There was a tie for first team at second base.

Fresno State had three players on the second team. Tulsa and Louisiana Tech had two players on the second team, while Nevada, Hawaii, San Jose State and UTEP all placed one on the second team. All seven teams had at least one player on the all-WAC team.

2005 ALL-WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TEAM

First Team
Name	                Team	Yr.	Pos.
Denise Dahlberg!~%	UH	Sr.	C
Tyleen Tausaga%	        UH	So.	1B
Angela Osbon	        Tulsa	So.	2B
Rochelle Sandberg	La Tech	Fr.	2B
Leticia Pacheco	        FS	Sr.	3B
Christina Clark^$	FS	Jr.	SS
Kaulana Gould	        UH	Fr.	OF
Tara Harbert	        UH	Jr.	OF	
Lindsey Tower	        Tulsa	Fr.	OF
Candice Rainwater$	Nevada	Jr.	UT
Sara Dyer	        Tulsa	Fr.	DP
Jamie Southern!^$	FS	Sr.	P

Second Team
Name	                Team	Yr.	Pos.
Nichole Willis$  	FS	So.	C
Katie Torres~$	        Tulsa	Jr.	1B
Kristin Stith	        Nevada	So.	2B
Ashley Bennett	        UTEP	So.	3B
Ashley Ruff 	        UH	Jr.	SS
Amber Miles$	        La Tech	Sr.	OF
Julie Shafer%	        Tulsa	Jr.	OF
Brittany Stanley^%	La Tech	Sr.	OF
Kristin Sylvester	FS	Fr.     UT
Jamie Southern!^$	FS	Sr.	DP
Carol Forbes	        SJSU	Sr.	P

At-Large
Name	                Team	Yr.	Pos.
Elisa Barrios	        SJSU	Sr.	OF
Melissa Coogan~^	UH	Sr.	P

2005 WAC Player of the Year: Christina Clark, Fresno State
2005 WAC Pitcher of the Year: Jamie Southern, Fresno State
2005 WAC Freshman of the Year: Kaulana Gould, Hawaii
2005 WAC Coach of the Year: Margie Wright, Fresno State

$2004 First Team all-WAC
%2004 Second Team all-WAC
^2003 First Team all-WAC
~2003 Second Team all-WAC
!2002 First Team all-WAC