Coach speak

College of Southern Idaho redshirt freshmen Aziz N’diaye and Josten Thomas signed with four-year programs this week, with N’diaye inking with Washington on Wednesday, while Thomas signed with Hawaii and former CSI head coach Gib Arnold.
On Friday, Arnold issued his first public statements on Thomas. Here are his thoughts, issued in a university release: “Josten has great size and strength. He was the leading scorer and rebounder on a very good team and is not afraid to mix it up. He’s extremely versatile and can play multiple positions. He has a great blend of athleticism, size and skill and should be a match-up problem for our opponents. We’re thrilled to have him join the team.”
Thomas averaged a team-best 15.3 points and 8.2 rebounds for CSI.
N’diaye, who sat out the 2009-10 season after offseason surgery to repair his right ACL, joins Lorenzo Romar’s squad at UW. Here are Romar’s comments released by the university: “We’re really excited to have Aziz. When you play in the NCAA Tournament and continue to advance, the one thing you see more and more of is size. Aziz is a 7-footer and definitely fills a need there. At the same time, he is very athletic and can get up-and-down the court.”
The other Golden Eagle to commit this week is sophomore Byago Diouf, who is headed to Carroll College in Montana.
Carrick Felix committed to Duke last month and plays to sign with the Blue Devils in the next week or two. Sophomore guard Chuck Odum visited Creighton this weekend, while center Romario Souza took a recruiting trip to TCU.

CSI softball extra

By Bradley Guire – Times-News writer

Here’s a look at the Southern Nevada Coyotes softball team, as well as links to CSI’s season statistics, the SWAC standings and the NJCAA poll.

Southern Nevada leaders
Batting — Average: Jesslyn Bley .500. Hits: Shelbie Medrano 38. 2B: Rayna Bradshaw 11. 3B: Evelyn Terrazas 2. HR: Bradshaw 9. RBI: Bradshaw 36. Runs: Tiffini Lucero 27. BB: Lucero 14. SB: Berlynn Bagley 9-10.
Pitching — Record: Medrano 7-2, Samantha Powell 7-2. SV: Lavinia Holschuh 1. ERA: Medrano 2.95. Innings pitched: Medrano 66.1. Shutouts: Three with 1. Opponents’ average: Medrano .262.

CSI season statistics, through March 14

SWAC Standings, through March 14

NJCAA Division I softball poll, as of March 17

CSI softball extra

By Bradley Guire – Times-News writer

I won’t lie: retyping the highlights of the weekly CSI statistics takes a lot of time. From here on, I’ll post the link to CSI’s site.

As usual, the NJCAA Division I softball poll has not been updated since January.

CSI softball extra

By Bradley Guire – Times-News

A few more notable stats from the College of Southern Idaho softball team’s doubleheader against North Idaho College on Friday.

Game 1
Cheslea Nix (c) 13 putouts

Game 2
Mikkel Griffin (2b) 4-for-4, 3 RBI, 2 runs, 4 putouts
Brittany Gonzales (1b) 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 5 putouts
Jessica Albertson (lf) 2-for-3
Kayla Powell (c) 7 putouts

CSI softball extra

By Bradley Guire – Times-News writer

More stats from both the College of Southern Idaho and North Idaho College softball teams, who meet this weekend at Eagle Field in Twin Falls.

The Golden Eagles stand at third in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, just behind the Cardinals, which makes this weekend’s series a pivotal one for CSI.

(Note: The NJCAA Division I Softball poll is still as of Jan. 29. CSI remains at No. 20.)

NIC season leaders
Batting Average (minimums apply): Amanda Krier .500. Hits: Krier 36. 2B: Krier 10. 3B: Five with 1. HR: Lauren Maloney 5. RBI: Krier 29. Runs: Maloney 30. BB: Krier 16. SB: Alyssa Hawley 17-20.
Pitching
Record: Alyssa Erickson 7-3. SV: Jessica Ross 2, Kathy Comack 2. ERA: Erickson 1.99. Innings pitched: Erickson 67.0. CG: Erickson 8. Shutouts: Erickson 2/1. SO: Erickson 26. Opponents’ average: Erickson .269.