FRESNO STATE ELIMINATED FROM NCAA REGIONALS Fresno State softball lost to No. 1 seed Cal State Fullerton to end its run at the NCAA Regionals. Fullerton scored a run in the first inning and needed no more offense, defeating the Bulldogs 1-0, eliminating Fresno State from the NCAA Region IV Championships.
The first inning produced the only offense of the game. With two outs and the bases empty, catcher Jenny Topping was walked. Monica Lucatero singled to advance Topping. Yasmin Mossadeghi followed with another single, scoring Topping.
Jodie Cox and Mossadeghi each finished with two hits on the night. Fresno State managed to stifle any of Fullerton's scoring threats after the first inning, leaving nine base runners stranded.
The Bulldogs wound up with five hits, but never managed to put three runners on base at any time. Second baseman Pam Perez recorded two hits to lead the team.
Fresno State finishes its season 50-20. Cal State Fullerton advances to play California Saturday in Game 8 at 2:30 p.m. Both the top-seeded Titans and No. 3-seeded Bears are 2-0 in the Regional.
The Bulldogs reached the elimination game when third-seeded California defeated fourth-seed Fresno State in 10 innings for a, 2-1, win. The Bulldogs then defeated Pacific, 1-0, in eight innings when Pam West drove in Mitzi Ing with one out, giving the Bulldogs the victory.
SEVEN NAMED TO ALL-REGION TEAMS Seven WAC softball players were named to Louisville Slugger West, Pacific and Midwest Region Teams. From the West Region, Fresno State's Jamie Southern and Lindsay Fossatti as well as Hawai`i's Kate Judd and Stacey Porter earned first team honors. Loyola Marymount's Christy Cerecedes earned first team honors in the Pacific Region. From the Midwest Region, Tulsa's Jessie Smith and Danielle Olsen earned second team honors.
Fresno State's Southern and Fossatti both earned first team honors. Southern, the WAC Pitcher and Freshman of the Year, leads the nation in ERA. Fossatti and Southern both also earned first team all-WAC honors. Both helped the Bulldogs advance to the NCAA Regionals.
Kate Judd was also named WAC Player of the Year, earlier this week. Judd, a junior shortstop, led the Rainbow Wahine and the WAC in batting posting a .354 overall average while collecting 13 doubles, 11 home runs, and 35 RBI. Porter, a sophomore first baseman, finished the season with a .322 overall batting average leading the WAC with 15 home runs.
Senior centerfielder Jessie Smith and junior second baseman Danielle Olsen earned spots on the 2002 Midwest All-Region second team. Smith led the Golden Hurricane in batting average (.347) and stolen bases (29). This is the third consecutive season that Tulsa has had a player selected to the first team. Olsen led the team in hits with 61, the second most in school history. Starting every game at second, she hit .300 on the season with nine doubles, two triples and six home runs for a .453 slugging percentage.
LMU outfielder Christy Cerecedes achieved the tough feat of earning first team honors in the Pacific Region which is the region shared by the always-tough Pac-10. Cerecedes is the only member of the Pacific Region not from the Pac-10.
The teams are sponsored by Louisville Slugger, Speedline and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and voted on by the head coaches of the region.
CAREER RECORDS Several WAC players etched their names into the WAC career recordbook.
Fresno States Lindsay Fossatti moved into first in WAC career walks, passing teammate Angela Cervantez who had 97 walks. Fossatti ended the season with 111 walks. Bulldog freshman pitcher Jamie Southern moved into eighth on the all-time strikeout list. She has 418 career strikeouts. Southern moves into a tie with for eighth place with Lindsay Parker (Fresno State, 1996-99). With a career-high 27 sacrifices this the season after notching one this past weekend, senior first baseman/second baseman Vanessa Czarnecki became the WACs career record holder in sacrifices with 72. The previous record was 65 by Tyree Woodruff, Hawaii (1997-01).
Portland State junior Morgan Seibert moved into fifth in career strikeouts with 585. She passed Colorado States Nikki Johnson (1995-97). She is also fifth in strikeouts per seven innings with 6.45 strikeouts per game. Southern is second in that category with 7.97 strikeouts per seven innings.
FOUR EARN ACADEMIC HONORS Four WAC softball players earned 2002 Verizon Academic District honors. Fresno State's Lindsay Fossatti and Tiffany Whipple were named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America District VIII Softball team. Hawaii's Kate Judd and Stacie Hirano were also named to the District VIII first team.
Fossatti and Whipple were both selected to the 10-member first team. This is the second consecutive honor for Fossatti, who was a Third Team Verizon Academic All-American last year, and a first for Whipple.
Hirano, a senior, carries a cumulative 3.65 grade point average while majoring in business. The native of Hilo has started every game for UH in 2002 in left field. Judd, a junior, has a 3.22 cumulative grade point average majoring in Health Education.
The 2002 Verizon Academic All-District VIII softball team was selected by CoSIDA (College of Sports Information Directors of America). Ten student-athletes representing seven different NCAA Division I schools were honored. Each member of the team will now represent the district, which is comprised of schools in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and British Columbia, on the national ballot. The 10 first-team student-athletes will now be placed on the national ballot where a first, second and third team Verizon Academic All-America selections will be announced on June 6.
FRESNO STATE WINS WAC TITLE For the fifth-straight season and the sixth time in the past seven years, Fresno State clinched the WAC regular-season title with its win over San Jose State on May 11. With the victory, the Bulldogs received the WACs automatic bid. It marks the 17th title in school history. Since joining the WAC in 1993, Fresno State has compiled a record of 199-47 (.808).
AROUND THE HORN (NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE) FRESNO STATE advanced to its 21st consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division I Softball Championship Tournament. The Bulldog softball program is the only program in the country to have appeared in each of the NCAA Tournaments sponsored since 1982 ... HAWAII ended the season leading the WAC in hitting with a batting average of .271. Junior Kate Judd led the league with a .354 average with teammate Denise Dahlberg ending her first season with a .324 average, good for fifth in the league ... LOUISIANA TECH closed out its first season in the WAC, losing its last six games. The Lady Techsters closed out the season with a 21-27 record, 3-21 in WAC. Louisiana Tech earned its WAC wins against Hawaii (4-1), San Jose State (4-1) and Portland State (2-1) ... LOYOLA MARYMOUNT finished strong at the WISL Tournament. Senior Jennifer Heliotes made four starts and was dominate in helping the Lions post a 5-1 record on the week. She finished the week with a 3-1 record and posted a one-hit complete game shutout against Saint Mary's and a two-hit complete game shutout against San Diego to advance to the championship game of the WISL ... portland state finished the 2002 season with a conference record of 11-13, good for fifth place in the seven-team league. The Vikings ended the season with an upset win over Fresno State before being swept by fellow affiliate LMU ... SAN JOSE STATE ended the season on a high note, earning splits against No. 17 Pacific, No. 8 Stanford and No. 14 Fresno State. The Spartans finished the season with a 25-44 record, one win shy of their 2001 finish of 26-41. With eight WAC wins, San Jose State did top 2001s five league wins ... TULSA finished its turnaround season with a 48-16. The Hurricanes 90 stolen bases this season are a school record, by 47 steals. Tulsa had 67 steals in the first four years of the program combined.
HURRICANE ROUND OUT STRONG SEASON Tulsas 48 wins eclipses the number of wins the Hurricane had for the previous two seasons combined. Tulsa highlighted the season with a 19-game win streak that was the sixth best in the country this season.
The teams 1.42 ERA is the lowest in the programs history. No Tulsa pitching staff has ever had an ERA under 2.00. The pitching staff was strong with 24 of the Hurricanes 48 wins being shutouts.
Offensively, the teams 30 home runs are a school record for most in a single season. The 1996 squad previously held the record for the most with 21 homers.
Tulsa was also regionally ranked for the first time and defeated perennial power Fresno State for the first time in the programs history.
COACHING RECORDS Portland State head coach Teri Mariani reached yet another milestone in her 26-year career as the Vikings' head coach, earned her 600th career win in game one of her team's doubleheader sweep of Louisiana Tech on April 18.
She now joins Fresno State head coach Margie Wright and Louisiana Tech head coach Bill Galloway as WAC coaches with at least 600 career wins. Both Wright and Galloway have over 800 Division I career wins. Wright reached the 1,000 win mark earlier this season. Galloway is nearing the 900 plateau in Division I wins.
Hawaii head coach Bob Coolen also reached a milestone this season. He passed the 400 win mark during a WAC doubleheader sweep of Loyola Marymount March 12.
NON-CONFERENCE MARK WAC teams are 156-117 (.571) in non-conference games. The WAC is 18-59 against teams that have been ranked in the NFCA poll. San Jose State is 4-13 with losses to No. 2 UCLA, No. 9 Washington, No. 23 San Diego State and No. 3 Arizona. The Spartans have upset No. 7 Arizona State, but fell to Oregon State on March 25. In the final two weeks, San Jose split doubleheaders No. 17 Pacific, No. 8 Stanford and No. 14 Fresno State.
Fresno State is 9-12 with wins over No. 5 California and No. 23 San Diego State and losses to No. 1 UCLA, No. 8 Arizona State and No. 10 Cal State Fullerton. At the NFCA Classic, the Bulldogs went 2-2 against ranked teams with wins over No. 24 Mississippi State and No. 6 Washington. Fresno State fell to No. 2 Stanford and No. 5 LSU. Fresno State also added wins over No. 10 Pacific and No. 18 Louisiana Lafayette. The Bulldogs captured a 4-0 win against No. 11 Oklahoma in Oklahoma City on April 16.
Hawaii is 4-8 with two wins over No. 23 San Diego State and a win over No. 14 Oregon State. Last week, the Wahine went 1-3 against Fresno State. Portland State is 1-12 against ranked teams. The Vikings got their first win over a Fresno State. Loyola Marymount is 2-8, capturing two wins over No. 13 Fresno State. Tulsa is 1-5 against ranked teams. The Hurricane played their first ranked team with a 14-6 loss to No. 9 Oklahoma. TU gathered its first win against a ranked team with a 4-1 win over No. 13 Fresno State. The Lady Techsters are also 0-4 with four losses to Fresno State. (Ranking on date played).