Junior second baseman Shelley Schultz has been suspended indefinitely from the No. 2 Arizona softball team after being charged last month with abandoning her two dogs in her former home, coaches said yesterday.
Schultz did not join the Wildcats on their road trip to Oregon last weekend, and her status for the rest of the season is unclear, said Arizona softball assistant coach Larry Ray.
"As of right now, the official statement from the athletic department is that she is suspended until further notice," Ray said of Schultz.
Associate senior athletic director Rocky LaRose declined to say yesterday whether Schultz had been punished, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
Officers searched the house, 320 N. Warren Ave., April 7, a Tucson Police Department report stated.
The house appeared empty, and one officer found a dog hiding in a bedroom. No food or water was evident, except for a large bowl of dog food in one room, the report stated.
Two of Schultz's neighbors said she had moved away two to three months earlier, the report stated.
Officers found more than 30 piles of feces in the backyard and a shattered window on the home's south side, the report stated.
Schultz was charged with at least one count of cruelty and neglect under Tucson city code, said Sgt. Kerry Fuller, a spokeswoman with TPD.
Each charge carries a maximum fine of $2,500, six months in jail and three years' probation, according to the City of Tucson Web site.
Pima Animal Care Center officers who were at the scene guided Tucson police in deciding what the charges should have been, Fuller said.
Animal Care took the dogs, the report said.
Schultz batted .226 with three doubles and 11 RBIs in 39 games this season.
Her picture adorned some of the banners the Arizona athletic department attached before the fall semester to light poles located around campus.
LaRose said the athletes for those banners, including men's basketball's Channing Frye, volleyball's Bre Ladd and gymnastics' Monica Bisordi, were chosen by a mix of athletic department staff members and coaches.
Athletes picked for the banners showed the best mix of talent, intelligence and overall marketability, LaRose said.
"The ideal situation is getting the most well-rounded student we can find," she said.
The current banners will be taken down starting next week, LaRose said. New banners will be installed before classes start in August.
Freshman catcher Callista Balko replaced Schultz at second base this weekend against Oregon and No. 7 Oregon State.
"I hope everything works out for Shelley, because we'd love to have her back," Ray said.