Utah State Places Two on Preseason All-WAC Softball Team

Two Utah State [University] softball players garnered preseason honors for all-Western Athletic Conference Team honors Tuesday [Jan. 29]. The WAC office announced the 2013 Preseason all-WAC team, as selected by leagues eight coaches, including USU's senior infielder Christine Thomsen as well as sophomore outfielder Hailey Froton.

Thomsen, who proved to be one of the biggest offensive threats in the WAC her junior season posted a league-leading .418 batting average to go along with only seven strikeouts last season. The senior will continue to pack the punch for the middle of the Aggie offense in 2013. Thomsen led her squad in hits, runs and total bases.

Froton came on strong late last season for Utah State, as she put together a head-turning freshman campaign. Froton registered a .274 batting average last season, which was the third-highest by a USU player. The outfielder will look to continue to progress and help her squad offensively. Froton also crushed the second-most long balls for the Aggie offense, finishing the season with six.

Utah State was picked to finished sixth in the preseason coaches poll. In a preseason vote of the Western Athletic Conference softball coaches, league newcomer Texas State edged out San Jose State by one point to win the 2013 WAC regular-season crown.

The Bobcats took the top spot in the preseason poll with 43 points and five first-place votes, just ahead of the Spartans in second place with 42 points and two first-place votes. New Mexico State was third with 39 points and one first-place vote. UTSA came in fourth place with 30 points, followed by Louisiana Tech in fifth with 22 points and USU in sixth with 20 points. UT Arlington and Seattle U rounded out the poll with 15 and 13 points, respectively.

2013 Preseason Softball Coaches Poll

Rank	Teams (1st-Place Votes)	Points
1	Texas State (5)	43
2	San Jose State (2)	42
3	New Mexico State (1)	39
4	UTSA	30
5	Louisiana Tech	22
6	Utah State	20
7	UT Arlington	15
8	Seattle U	13

2013 Preseason Softball All-WAC Team

Player	School	Year	Position
Teresa Conrad	New Mexico St.	Sr.	UT
Michelle Cox	San Jose State	Soph.	OF
Hailey Froton	Utah State	Soph.	OF
Melanie Goff	Louisiana Tech	Sr.	P/UT
Anna Hernandez	Texas State	Sr.	2B
Michelle Jones	Louisiana Tech	Sr.	P/UT
Megan Low	UTSA	Soph.	C
Teri Lyles	UT Arlington	Sr.	P
Bubba Morrow	Seattle U	Soph.	C
Amber Olive	New Mexico St.	Sr.	OF
Sarah Petosa	Seattle U	Jr.	OF
Amanda Pridmore	San Jose State	Sr.	P
Haylee Staton	UTSA	Sr.	P
Anne Marie Taylor	Texas State	Sr.	P
Christine Thomsen	Utah State	Sr.	IF
Nina Villanueva	UT Arlington	Soph.	1B

The Aggies will open their 2013 campaign at the Red Desert Classic on Feb. 8, 2013 in St. George, Utah. Utah State opens the classic with a bout against Southeastern Conference foe Tennessee, who is currently ranked sixth in the preseason USA Today/NFCA Softball Top 25. The Lady Volunteers finished last season with a 52-14 record.

Additional Aggie sports news is available at the Athletics website.