FRESNO STATE AND HAWAI`I ELIMINATED IN REGIONALS Fresno State and Hawai`i were both eliminated from Regional play as the Bulldogs compiled a 1-2 mark and the Rainbow Wahine went 0-2. Making its 20th-straight NCAA appearance, Fresno State opened play as the No. 2 seed in Los Angeles. In first round action, the Bulldogs lost a 3-1 contest to Wisconsin in nine innings. Both teams scored one run in the sixth inning but the Badgers tallied two runs in the top of the ninth to secure the win. Centerfielder Becky Witt and outfielder Tiffany Whipple each went 2-for-4 in the contest. Falling into the losers bracket, the Bulldogs came back that evening to defeat Coastal Carolina, 6-4. The Bulldogs scored their six runs on 10 hits, while Coastal Carolina had four runs on five hits with two errors. Fresno States offense was sparked by third baseman Lindsay Fossatti, who went 3-for-3 with a run and two RBI while hitting her fourth home run of the season. Fresno State was eliminated from regionals after No. 3 seed CS Northridge handed the Bulldogs a 3-1 loss. The Bulldogs jumped out quickly after scoring a run in the bottom of the first. CS Northridge came back with a run in the fourth, one in the fifth and one in the seventh to secure the victory. Lori Hoffman took the loss for Fresno State and finished her season with an 11-10 record.
Hawai`i fell to Southwest Texas State, 2-1in first round action. The fourth-seeded Bobcats got on the board first in the top of the second when Jennie Tomme belted a home run. Third-seeded Hawai`i answered and tied the game in the bottom of the fourth when senior Tyree Woodruff led off with an infield single. After a sacrifice bunt by Sheri Oronoz and a single by Stacey Porter, Wahine shortstop Kate Judd popped a shallow fly ball to second baseman Haley Gaddis who made the catch but lost her footing to allow Wahine pinch runner Kimi Kaneshiro to score. The Bobcats reclaimed the lead for good in the fifth when Kristen Zaleski scored from first base on a double by Stephanie Hughes. In second round action, Texas Tech's Andrea Joachims blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning and that was all the Red Raiders needed to eliminate Hawai`i with a 4-2 victory. Hawai`i senior Janelle Gonzales started for the injured Felicity Witt and gave up four runs on three hits, struckout one and walked four in 3.1 innings. The Wahine had several chances to take control, but stranded a total of 11 runners, six in scoring position. Hawaii scored its first run of the game on a leadoff home run by Porter in the top of the second. The Wahine loaded the bases with one away, but could not capitalize, due to the arm of Texas Tech ace Amanda Renfro, who scattered 10 hits, two runs, three walks, and four strikeouts in six innings of work.
REGIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM Fresno States Lindsay Fossatti was selected to the 12-member NCAA Tournament all-regional team in Los Angeles. She batted .444 (4-for-9) with a run, four RBI, a walk, sacrifice fly and seven total bases for a .778 slugging percentage.
ALL-WEST REGIONAL TEAM Of the 12-player 2001 All-West Region team, three hail from the WAC. Hawai`is Natalie Gonzales, junior second baseman was a first-team selection, while Fresno State senior center fielder Becky Witt and Hawai`i senior pitcher Desiree Duran were second-team honorees.
EASTON ALL-AMERICAN TEAM Three WAC players were named to the 2001 Easton Sports All-American teams. Hawai`i pitcher Desiree Duran and Fresno State centerfielder Becky Witt were second team selections, while Hawai`is Natalie Gonzales was a third team honoree.
NCAA HISTORY In 11 seasons of NCAA Tournament play, the WAC owns a 51-48 (.515) all-time record. Current WAC members have compiled a 35-23 (.603) record. Fresno State owns an all-time record of 68-41 (.6342), 31-17 (.646) as a WAC member in NCAA Tournament play. Hawai`i is 8-10 (.444) overall, 4-6 (.400) as a WAC member, while San Jose State is 0-4 overall. The WAC was represented by Utah in 1991 and 1992; by CS Northridge, CS Sacramento and Fresno State in 1993; by CS Northridge, Fresno State and Utah in 1994; by CS Northridge and Fresno State in 1995; by CS Northridge and Fresno State in 1995; by CS Northridge and Fresno State in 1996; by Colorado State, Fresno State and and Utah in 1997; and by Fresno State and Hawai`i in both 1998 and 1999. Last season, Fresno State represented the WAC.
CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES Fresno State made its 20th-straight appearance. The Bulldogs are the only program in the nation to have qualified for each of the 20 NCAA Division I womens softball championships. Hawai`i made its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including its third in the past four seasons.
FRESNO STATE WINS WAC TITLE For the fourth-straight season and the fifth time in the past six years, Fresno State clinched the WAC regular-season title. Since joining the WAC in 1993, Fresno State has compiled a 161-41 (.797) record in conference play.
GTE ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS ANNOUNCED Fresno States Lindsay Fossatti and Becky Witt were named to the 2001 GTE Academic All-American Team. Fossatti, a three-time All WAC pick boasts a 3.93 GPA and is majoring in kinesiology-exercise science. The five-time Deans List member is a three-time Presidents List honoree (4.00 GPA a semester). Witt, a two-time All-American, owns a 3.60 GPA and is majoring in kinesiology-sports medicine. The five-time Deans List selection is the schools 2001 NCAA Postgraduate and WAC Stan Bates nominee.
GTE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT VIII TEAM ANNOUNCED Fossatti (Kinesioloy - 3.93 GPA) and Witt (Kinesiology - 3.60 GPA) were also selected to the 2001 GTE Academic All-District VIII Team. It is the third-straight season that Witt has earned the honor and it is the first for Fossatti. To be eligible for the team, a player must have at least a 3.20 GPA, be a starter or an important reserve and have completed at least one academic year at the same institution.
IN THE POLLS - Fresno State is the only WAC team ranked in the final USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll. The Bulldogs are ranked 22nd with 106 points. Hawaii also received seven votes to rank 29th.
40 WINS - Hawaii, which finished with a 46-18 overall record, reached the 40-win plateau for the first time since the 1998 season, when it finished with a 46-15 mark. That season, the Wahine were ranked seventh in the nation and advanced to the NCAA Regionals.
IMPROVEMENTS - Hawaii finished the 2001 campaign with a 46-16 overall record. Last season, the Wahine finished with a 25-24 record. San Jose State owns a 26-39 record, also surpassing last years win total (19-37). The Spartans 26 victories are their most since the 1998 season. Portland State, which finished with 25 victories won three more contests compared to last season.
FRESNO STATES WITT LEAPS INTO NCAA RECORD BOOKS - Fresno States Becky Witt, a senior centerfielder, concluded her stellar career ranked in three Top 10 NCAA all-time marks: career runs (No. 8, 224), career hits (No. 9, 331) and career at bats (No. 10, 866). With eight games rained out this season, Witt just missed ranking in NCAA's Top 25 in career games played. She played in 261 games as a Bulldog, and the No. 25 spot was 263.
20 VICTORIES FROM THE MOUND - For the third-straight year, the WAC produced two pitchers that notched at least 20 victories in a season. Hawaiis Felicity Witt, a freshman righthander had a WAC-high 22 victories (22-10). She is the first Wahine freshman to win 20 games since fellow Australian and former All-American Brooke Wilkins won 29 contests in 1994. Fresno States Leslie Poole, a sophomore righthander owned a 20-7 mark in her first season as a Bulldog. The last time the WAC had more than two pitchers record at least 20 wins in a season was in 1997 when four pitchers did so.
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS - The NCAA Division I Softball Committee released its fourth set of regional rankings on May 10. The first three rankings (March 29, April 19 and April 26) were listed in alphabetical order, while the final ranking ( May 10) were in rank order. The rankings in the West Region which consists of the WAC and the Big West were as follows: 1. CS Fullerton, 2. Pacific, 3. Fresno State, 4. Hawaii, 5. CS Northridge and 6. Loyola Marymount.
FINAL NCAA TRENDS - The NCAA released its final season trends and the WAC ranked second among 27 conferences in fielding percentage (.962).
WAC TIDBITS - Hawaii finished the regular season with three starters batting more than .300, including Natalie Gonzales (.338), Stacey Porter (.320) and Tyree Woodruff (.312) ... Hawaiis Desiree Duran was a perfect 9-0 in WAC contests with a 0.62 ERA ... Fresno State sophomore catcher Pam West threw out 18 runners for 72 percent of would-be basestealers (7-25) ... she led all catchers nationally behind the plate in percentage of runners thrown out.
AFFILIATE MEMBERS - Loyola Marymount and Portland State 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 completed its second season of Division I softball competition. In 2000, 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 was 123-114 (.519). The WACs best non-conference record was in 1994, when conference teams were a combined 137-85-1 (.617).
CAREER LEADERS - Fresno State senior outfielder Becky Witt moved into second place on the WACs all-time runs list with 224 and third place in career hits with 327. Witt also ranks among the all-time WAC leaders in games played with 258 (4th-T), hitting percentage at .382 (6th) and at bats with 866 (2nd). San Jose States Sabrina Quintero moved into a third-place tie with six saves and is seventh in strikeouts with 444. Loyola Marymounts Jennifer Heliotes is in a fifth-place tie with four saves and Portland States Morgan Seibert moved into a tie for 10th place with three saves.
SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS Two players broke into the single season top 10 list for all games, including Portland States Kiauna Anderson who ranks tied for ninth with 16 doubles and Loyola Marymounts Anna Trauernicht, who ranks 10th with 29 steals.
ON THE RUN - Loyola Marymounts Anna Trauernicht, a senior outfielder led the WAC in stolen bases for the second-straight season. In 2000, Trauernicht led the WAC with 32 stolen bases on 36 attempts. This season, she was 31-for-37. Fresno States Becky Witt was a perfect 18-for-18 in stolen bases. Several teams surpassed last years total, including San Jose State, Hawaii and Fresno State. San Jose State led the WAC with 60 stolen bases on 85 attempts. In 2000, the Spartans were 16-for-33. Hawaii had 37 this season compared to 22 last season, while Fresno State had 47 this season, compared to 26 last year.
PITCHING NOTES - Hawaiis Felicity Witt owned a league-high 22 wins, while Fresno States Leslie Poole ranked second in wins with 20 and third with a 1.35 ERA. San Jose States pitching staff finished with a 1.89 ERA, the lowest since the 1992 season when the team finished with a 1.08 ERA. The pitching staff set a school record for saves in a season with six. Of the six top pitchers in the WAC, four were underclassmen, including three freshmen. They included Fresno States Lori Hoffman (So. - 1.17 ERA - 1st), Witt (Fr. 1-25 ERA - 2nd), Poole (So. - 1.35 ERA - 3rdd), and Loyola Marymounts Sami Strinz (Fr. - 1.60 ERA - 5th).
FRESNO STATES WRIGHT NCAA ALL-TIME WINNINGEST ACTIVE COACH - Fresno State head coach Margie Wright, who finished her 22nd season, is the all-time winningest coach by victories in NCAA history with a 980-323-3 (.752) record. 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 831-243-1 (.774) mark in 16 years at Fresno State.
WAC EXPANDS IN 2002 - Next year, the WAC will have seven softball teams as Louisiana Tech joins the conference. The teams will continue to play each other a total of four times for a 28-game schedule.