PLAYER OF THE WEEK Fresno State's Lindsay Fossatti, a junior third baseman from Tustin, Calif. (Tustin HS), led all Bulldog players last week with a .667 average. In four games she went 8-for-12, scored two runs, stole one base, walked once and drove in two. In a doubleheader against UC Riverside, Fossatti went 6-for-7 with two runs and an RBI. She also stole her first collegiate base against UC Riverside. Against No 8 CS Fullerton, she went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a walk.
Other player of the week nominees included: Natalie Gonzales, Hawaii; Christy Cerecedes, Loyola Marymount; and Kiauna Anderson, Portland State.
PITCHER OF THE WEEK Fresno States Leslie Poole, a sophomore from Akron, Ohio (St. Mary's/St. Vincent's HS), went 2-0 in three appearances, including two shutouts. In 17.0 innings pitched, she allowed nine hits, struck out eight and walked two. In a 1-0 victory over CS Fullerton, Poole limited the Titans to six hits and struck out three. Against UC Riverside, Poole came in for relief in game one and pitched 4.0 innings. She gave up no hits, walked one and struck out four. In the nightcap, Poole pitched 6.0 innings and threw a three-hitter while striking out
one.
Other pitcher of the week nominees included: Jennifer Heliotes, Loyola Marymount; and Sabrina Quintero, San Jose State.
WAC HEADLINERS Other nominees for player of the week: Hawai`is Natalie Gonzales, a junior second baseman, hit .421 (8-for-19), scoring two runs, driving in one, recording one double, one triple and stealing one base. Gonzales opened the week by posting back-to-back 2-for-4 performances in Hawai`is doubleheader split to CS Northridge. She posted her third-straight 2-for-4 performance in the Wahines 10-0 win over UC Riverside. Against Loyola Marymount, Gonzales went 2-for-3 with a double to post her team-leading 14th multiple-hit game of the season. Loyola Marymounts Christy Cerecedes, a junior outfielder, hit .529 (9-for-17), including three runs, three RBI, one double and one home run. Her top games of the week came in the second game of a doubleheader against Brown where she was 3-for-4, including one run and one RBI. Cerecedes was also 4-for-5 in a doubleheader against Hawai`i, including one run, one RBI, one homer and one double. Portland States Kiauna Anderson, a senior outfielder, hit .438 (14-for-32) in 10 games. She also scored three runs, drove in two, stole two bases and hit five doubles. Andersons topperformances of the week came in game two of a doubleheader against Saint Marys and game one of a doubleheader against Pacific. In both contests, Anderson went 3-for-4 and hit a double.
ON THE MOUND Other nominees for pitcher of the week: Loyola Marymounts Jennifer Heliotes, a junior righthander, went 3-0 in three appearances, including two shutouts. In 18.0 innings, she allowed 12 hits, struck out three, walked three and allowed three earned runs for a 1.17 ERA. In a 3-0 win over San Jose State, Heliotes allowed four hits and struck out three. In a 3-0 victory over Hawai`i, she gave up five hits. San Jose States Sabrina Quintero, a senior righthander, went 1-1, including one shutout. In 13.0 innings, she allowed eight hits, struck out 10, walked three and allowed no earned runs. In a 3-0 loss to Loyola Marymount, Quintero allowed seven hits and struck out five. All three of the Lions runs were unearned. In a 1-0 victory over UC Riverside, Quintero allowed only one hit and struck out five.
IN THE POLLS Fresno State is the only WAC team ranked in last weeks USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. The Bulldogs are ranked 13th with 393 points. Hawai`i also received 11 votes to rank 36th.
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC Five of the six WAC teams will be in action this week. Portland State is at home against Oregon and Loyola Marymount travels to San Diego on Tuesday, April 3. After 10 days off, Tulsa resumes action against Wichita State on Wednesday, April 4. WAC plays continues as Fresno State is at Portland State on Thursday, April 5 and San Jose State on Friday, April 6. Loyola Marymount is also at Portland State on April 7 and San Jose State on Sunday, April 8.
FRESNO STATE SWEEPS NO. 8 CS FULLERTON Then eleventh-ranked Fresno State swept eighth-ranked CS Fullerton 6-3 and 1-0 on March 27. In game one of the doubleheader, the Titans took a 3-0 lead in the top of the third but the Bulldogs answered right back with three of their own in the third and tacked on three more in the sixth to upset the Titans. Lori Hoffman, who tossed a two-hitter and struck out five, improved to 8-4. Hoffman was also 1-for-2 at the plate, including two RBI. In game two of the doubleheader, the game was scoreless going into the bottom of the sixth inning when Fresno State took advantage of two CSUF errors after getting one run on one hit. With runners on the corners for the Bulldogs, sophomore catcher Pam West reached first base safely on an error by the Titan shortstop Brittany Ziegler that allowed Pam Perez to score and give the Bulldogs the lone run they needed to capture a 1-0 victory. Bulldog starting pitcher and sophomore righthander Leslie Poole picked up her seventh shutout on the year and improved to 11-5 overall on a six-hitter. Centerfielder Becky Witt picked up her 300th career hit in the nightcap. After going 4-for-6 with two runs, two walks and two stolen bases, Witt became just the fourth Bulldog to reach the 300-career hit plateau.
PORTLAND STATE SWEEPS SAINT MARYS Portland State pounded 19 hits and scored 10 runs in taking a doubleheader sweep at Saint Mary's on March 26, 4-1 and 6-4. Sophomore Nicole Ivie had the key hit in game one with a two-run single in the third inning which gave the Vikings a 3-0 lead over the Gaels. From there, pitcher Morgan Seibert shut down Saint Mary's, tossing a three-hitter and striking out eight for the win. In game two, Ivie had a two-run double which highlighted a three-run, fifth inning for the Vikings. PSU led 6-2 at that point and went on to a 6-4 victory. Ivie also started the game on the mound and held Saint Mary's to just three hits through six innings. After giving up a leadoff single in the seventh, Ivie yielded the mound to Morgan Seibert who got the final three outs to save the win. Courtney Crowe had a two-run single in the first to give the Vikings an early lead, while Kiauna Anderson went 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.
HAWAI`I GOES 4-2 ON THE WEEK Hawai`i recorded a 4-2 mark last week on the road, sweeping UC Riverside and splitting its doubleheaders with CS Northridge and Loyola Marymount. Against UC Riverside, Trisha Ramos led the Wahine by going 2-for-3, with two runs scored in the opener. Freshman pitcher Felicity Witt spun a three-hit shutout in the contest, including seven strikeouts. Junior second baseman Natalie Gonzales posted her third consecutive multiple-hit game, going 2-for-4, with a run and an RBI at the lead-off spot. The second game saw Wahine senior Janelle Gonzales pitch a complete-game, one-hitter as Hawai`i edged the host Highlanders, 2-1. Ramos went 2-for-4, and senior centerfielder Kristin Anderson batted 2-for-3, with a run and an RBI to spark the attack. In the opener against CS Northridge, Gonzales went 2-for-4, with a run scored and added a stolen base to pace the Wahine to a 2-1 victory. Witt meanwhile, improved to 16-5 on the season by spacing four hits against the Matadors, who were ranked 25th in the country last week. The second game saw the Matadors edge the Wahine, 2-0, despite a stellar pitching performance from senior Desiree Duran. The lefthander absorbed the loss, despite allowing just one earned run, and striking out eight while walking none. Gonzales again went 2-for-4, including a triple in her first at bat of the game. Against Loyola Marymount, Hawai`i sluggers Kate Judd and Stacey Porter each blasted two-run home runs and Duran pitched a six-hit, complete-game shutout to lead the Wahine to the 4-0 victory in game two of the doubleheader. In the opener, Loyola Marymount defeated the Wahine, 3-0 behind the five-hit shutout pitching of Jennifer Heliotes and a solo homer by Christy Cerecedes. Gonzales and Porter slammed two-hits apiece in the loss.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT SWEEPS BROWN Loyola Marymount swept a doubleheader against Brown University, 4-0 and 6-5, on March 31. In her first games back from a shoulder injury, Christy Cerecedes led the Lions with a 4-for-7 effort which included two RBI and two runs scored. In game one, the game was scoreless through five innings before LMU scored all four runs with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Lions starting pitcher Sami Strinz threw her second shutout of the season giving up just four hits through seven innings. In game two, UC Riverside scored first in the first inning, but LMU quickly answered with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Brown regained the lead, scoring four runs in the fourth to take a 5-3 lead. The Lions cut the lead to one run in the sixth and scored two additional runs in the bottom of the seventh to win the game.
IMPROVEMENTS Hawai`i owns a 31-11 overall record this season. Last season, the Wahine finished the year with a 25-24 record. San Jose State owns a 19-22 record, already tying last years win total (19-37).
WITT RECORDS 300TH CAREER HIT Fresno States Becky Witt, a senior centerfielder, became just the fourth Bulldog and just the third WAC player to reach the 300-career hit plateau against CS Fullerton on March 27. For her career Witt now has 304 career hits, a total that ranks third all-time in the WAC.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS The NCAA Division I softball Committee released its first set of regional rankings on March 29. The first two rankings (March 29 and April 19) will be listed in alphabetical order, while the final two rankings (April 26 and May 10 will be in rank order. The rankings in the West Region which consists of the WAC and the Big West were as follows: Cal Poly, CS Fullerton, CS Northridge, CS Sacramento, Fresno State, Hawai`i, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Pacific and San Jose State.
AFFILIATE MEMBERS Loyola Marymount and Portland State have joined the WAC as affiliate members in 2001 for the second-straight season. LMU, which competed in the Western Intercollegiate Softball League in the past, finished last season with a 43-28 overall record, the second-best mark in school history. Portland State enters its second season of Division I softball competition. Last season, the Vikings finished with a 12-37 mark, as 21 of their 49 games came against ranked opponents.
NON-CONFERENCE COMPETITION In all non-conference games, the WAC is 110-91 (.547). The WACs best non-conference record was in 1994, when conference teams were a combined 137-85-1 (.617).
BASEHITS Fresno State has shut out an opponent 18 times this season ... with a 4-2 mark on the road last week, Hawai`i improved to 9-3 in away games, and 9-5 in neutral contests ... San Jose State, which finished with a 3.81 ERA last season to rank last in the WAC, has cut its ERA to 1.51 this season to rank second in the league.
CAREER LEADERS Fresno State senior outfielder Becky Witt has moved into second place on the WACs all-time runs list with 207. She needs 39 more runs to become the all-time leader, surpassing Fresno States Laura Bergs 245 runs (1994-95, 97-98). Witt has also moved into third place in career hits with 304. She needs 54 more hits to move into second place ahead of Fresno States Robyn Yorkes 357 (1994-97). Witt also ranks among the all-time WAC leaders in games played with 240 (T-7th) and at bats with 795 (4th). San Jose States Sabrina Quintero has moved into a third place tie with six saves, while Loyola Marymounts Jennifer Heliotes and Portland States Morgan Seibert have moved into a tie for 10th place with three saves.
ON THE RUN Loyola Marymounts Anna Trauernicht, a senior outfielder is continuing from where she left off last season in stolen bases. In 2000, Trauernicht led the WAC with 32 stolen bases on 36 attempts. In 32 games this season, she is 24-for-26 in stolen bases to lead the league. Fresno States Becky Witt is also a perfect 13-for-13 in stolen bases. Several teams have already surpassed last years total in stolen bases, including San Jose State, Hawai`i and Fresno State. San Jose State ranks second in the WAC with 38 stolen bases on 48 attempts. Last season, the Spartans were 16-for-33 in stolen bases. Hawai`i has 32 stolen bases this season compared to 22 last season, while Fresno State has totaled 35 stolen bases this season, compared to 26 last year.
TOP PITCHING For the past two seasons, Fresno State has owned the top pitching staff in the nation. In 1999, the Bulldogs allowed 0.51 runs per game, while allowing 0.62 runs per outing in 2000. This season, Fresno State owns a 1.08 ERA through its first 37 games to lead the WAC. Leslie Poole is off to a 12-5 start (1.18 ERA), while Lori Hoffman is 8-5 (1.27 ERA). Jamie Southern in 2-0. Poole transferred to Fresno State from Tennessee where she compiled a 10-10 record with a 3.55 ERA during her freshman campaign. Hawai`is Felicity Witt owns a league-high 17 wins and 1.10 ERA.
FRESNO STATES WRIGHT NCAA ALL-TIME WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACH Fresno State head coach Margie Wright, who is in her 22nd season, is the all-time winningest coach by victories in NCAA history with a 967-315-3 (.754) record in 22 years. Having led the Bulldogs to a national title (1998) and three runner-up finishes (1988-89-90), Wright has led Fresno State to the NCAA Womens College World Series in 10 of the last 14 years. She also owns an 818-235-1 (.777) mark in 16 years at Fresno State.