May 13, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - San Diego State's Christina Ross (Santa Clarita, Calif.) has been named the Mountain West Conference Co-Pitcher of the Week, Commissioner Craig Thompson announced Tuesday. It is Ross' ninth selection this season, the most in the league's nine-year history, and 12th of her career. The weekly honor comes a day after Ross earned her second career MWC Pitcher of the Year accolade and a place on her third consecutive all-conference team.

Ross has won the weekly award nine of the 13 possible opportunities this season (SDSU was off from March 25-April 1). Ross, who shared this week's award with Brigham Young's Paige Affleck, is tops in school history with both her 12 career selections and nine picks this season.

Ross helped SDSU clinch its fourth Mountain West Conference title in the past seven seasons with two shutout victories at UNLV. Ross went 2-0 without giving up a run over 12 innings. She struck out 11 and walked two, while limiting the Rebels to just three hits and a .079 batting average.

Over the two games, Ross retired 87.8 percent (36-of-41) of the batters she faced. She allowed just seven balls to the outfield - three hits and four flies to SDSU outfielders - en route to picking up her 29th and 30th victories of the season.

On Friday, Ross struck out five with two walks in a complete game shutout and a 9-0 Aztec win in five innings. She gave up one hit, a two-out triple in the third inning, as only one UNLV batter advanced past first base.

Ross came back on Saturday to toss her third consecutive shutout as San Diego State clinched the MWC crown with a 6-0 triumph over the Rebels. On this day, only one UNLV player made it to third base as Ross struck out six Rebels without issuing a walk.

This season, Ross is 30-12 and leads the league in ERA (0.95), innings pitched (272.2), strikeouts (262), wins and appearances (49), and is tied for the lead with 35 games started. Ross, the school's all-time leader in strikeouts, has set single-season records in appearances, shutouts (14) and strikeouts, and is tied with Sandra Durazo (2001) with 30 victories.

The Aztecs (43-15), who are ranked No. 19 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 21 by USA Today/NFCA, will play California (40-24) Friday (May 16) on the campus of Fresno State at 5 p.m. in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Softball Regional Championship. SDSU earned the No. 2 seed in the regional, while the Bears, a team San Diego State defeated, 7-0, earlier in the year, are the No. 3 seed. The host Bulldogs (51-11) earned the No. 16 overall seed and first seed in the region and will face fourth-seeded Sacramento State (32-19) in the other region's pairing at approximately 7:30 p.m.