April 4, 2012
Weekly Release 
SEATTLE - The Huskies return home where they are 7-0 this season trying to rebound from a tough trip at No. 1/1 Cal by hosting No. 17/16 Arizona Thursday and Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at noon. UW dropped just one spot in both polls this week and is now No. 4.
Series Coverage
Live stats, video and audio provided by Mike Brown will be available for all three games at www.gohuskies.com for free.
Scouting No. 17/16 Arizona
The Wildcats rank No. 17 by the NFCA this week and No. 16 by ESPN/USA Softball. They are 23-9 overall and 0-3 in road games. They are 2-4 in the Pac-12, getting swept by ASU on opening weekend and then taking two of three from Stanford last week. They also won a mid-week doubleheader vs. San Diego State. Brigette Del Ponte is the team leader batting .351 with 34 hits and a .753 slugging percentage. Shelby Pendley is the home run leader with 12 and Karissa Buchanan is 13-13 on the base paths. In the circle, both Shelby Babcock and Kenzie Fowler return. Babcock is 12-6 with a 2.22 ERA in 104.0 innings. Fowler is 9-3 with a 2.87 ERA and 115 strikeouts in 87.2 innings. Arizona leads the overall series 63-22 and won two of three last year in Arizona.
New Parking/Gate Information For Home Games
Due to construction at Husky Stadium, fans attending 2012 UW softball games will have a different entrance for the outfield GA seating. For opening weekend Saturday and Sunday of the Husky Softball Classic, fans wishing to sit in the outfield bleachers must purchase tickets at the make ticket box near the main gate and enter through the East Field Entrance out past center field. In the future, the Husky Ticket Office hopes to have tickets for purchase at the new entrance as well. The rates for parking this year during games has also changed. For weekday games the cost is $7 after 5 p.m. Before 5 p.m. the cost in E12 is $15 and $10 in E1. For weekend games, they cost will be $7 in all lots. For more information visit the transportation page: http://www.gohuskies.com/transportation/index.html.
Become A Husky Fan On Social Media
Fans can follow the Husky softball team and receive updates throughout the off-season on the UW Softball Twitter page by logging on to www.twitter.com/UWSoftball. Head coach Heather Tarr has her own account, follow her at www.twitter.com/CoachTarr. The Huskies can also be found on Facebook via the Washington Softball fan page at www.facebook.com/UWHuskySoftball.
Vote For Niki For Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Washington senior outfielder Nikia Williams was among 30 elite Division I softball student-athletes named to the 2012 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award watch list at the beginning of the season and on April 4 was selected as one of 10 finalists. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, Division I head coaches and fans who will select one finalist who best exemplifies excellence in the four Cs of community, classroom, character and competition. For more information on all the candidates, visit seniorCLASSaward.com. Fans can vote ONCE PER DAY until May 14 at: http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/softball_2012/. Williams, a two-time All-American, is the fifth Washington player in softball history to be selected and is one of only four candidates from the Pac-12 this season. Jenn Salling was a top-10 finalist and a Second-Team Lowe's Senior CLASS Award All-American in 2011. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native has been a big contributing factor in each of her three seasons at UW. She is a two-time All-Pac-10 Conference and All-Pacific region selection, two-time NFCA All-American, and was a member of the 2009 National Championship team, where she was named to the Women's College World Series All-Tournament team after setting WCWS records for RBI in a game and series, and was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman team. She also was named to the "Watch List" for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School (CLASS), it focuses on the complete student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - community, classroom, character and competition. Lowe's, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the Senior CLASS Award winner during the 2012 NCAA Women's College World Series, which will be held May 31-June 6 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
