Aldrich voted Athlete of the Week for Feb. 28, 2008

ASHLEY ALDRICH - SOFTBALL
Junior • Centerfielder
5'7" • Elgin, Ill.  Sahuarita HS/Pima CC
VOTED PLAYER OF THE WEEK!!!

Ashley Aldrich helped power the ThunderWolves offense as they turned around a slow 1-5 start by taking four out of five at the Mile High Invitational, held Feb. 23 and 24 in Denver.

Aldrich went 5-for-12 over the five games, smashing three home runs and driving in 10 runs.  She quickly forced opposing pitchers to respect her, as she was pitched around to the tune of six walks over the five games. 

Aldrich, who is in her first season after being a member on the NJCAA National Championship team at Pima Community College in '07, where she was an all-tourney selection as a centerfielder, has quickly established herself as the Pack's top offensive threat. Through 11 games, she is boasting a .400 BA, a slugging percentage of 1.067, and the RMAC lead in homers with five.

Lindsay Black helped to lead the ThunderWolves in two wins in an emotional and exciting return to Massari Arena Feb. 22 & 23, averaging 15.0 points per game 10 rebounds per game in wins over New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico.

For the first time in her career, Black recorded double-doubles in back-to-back games, getting 20 points and 10 boards against Highlands, and following that up with a 15-point, 10-rebound performance against Western New Mexico.

Her performance helped the Pack to break a four-game skid and enter the RMAC playoffs on a winning note.  Black and the ThunderWolves will travel to Mesa State College in Grand Junction Friday at 7 p.m. as the five-seed.  With a win over the fourth-seeded Mavericks, the Pack will come back to Pueblo for the RMAC Shootout at the State Fair Events Center.

Chris Childress ended his CSU-Pueblo hoops career in style, putting together back-to-back double-doubles as the ThunderWolves split the weekend games in the team's return to Massari Arena Feb. 22 and 23.

Childress set a career high in points against Highlands with 20 on Feb. 22, and came back Feb. 23 with a just-as-dominant 17 point performance against Western New Mexico.  Both nights, Childress took down 12 boards.

On average, Childress scored 18.5 points per game and 12 rebounds per game on the weekend.  Childress' performance came on senior night, when he and fellow seniors Brian Sewald and Julien Franklin were honored in their last games as ThunderWolves.

Rome Smith did his best to will the Pack to two wins last weekend against New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico, averaging 23.5 points per game, including a 27-point performance in a 72-69 loss to Western New Mexico Feb. 23, which was just one away from his career high.

Smith, who put up 20 Feb. 22 against Highlands, becomes the first ThunderWolf to put up at least 20 in consecutive games since Bret Cloepfil did it in Dec. 2006. 

Overall, Smith went 18-for-34 from the field for a .529 shot percentage, nailing seven threes.

Smith finishes the season as the Pack's leading scorer, logging 13.2 points per game.

Kelsey Swanberg quelled all questions about her ability to be the team's number-one pitcher this weekend, throwing solidly for two games as the ThunderWolves won four out of five at the Mile High Invitational in Denver Feb. 23 and 24.

In two starts, Swanberg allowed a grand total of just nine hits in 15-2/3 innings of work, striking out 18 in the process.  She earned two wins on the weekend, driving the Pack to victories over Regis and Colorado Mines.  Additionally, she provided 1-2/3 innings of stellar relief in the Pack's lone loss of the weekend, a 7-2 decision to UCCS.

Offensively, Swanberg was also strong.  From the clean-up spot, she went 6-for-12 with 7 RBIs, scoring twice.  Against Metro State, she was particularly stellar, going 2-for-4 and driving in three.