The WAC's top two softball teams, Fresno State and Hawai`i have ended the season with a bang. The Bulldogs end the season this week at home against UTEP. Hawai`i has completed its regular season schedule. Both teams await the NCAA softball selections on Sunday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m ET. Fresno State has already clinched a bid into its record 24th-straight NCAA Tournament. Hawai`i looks to follow with an at-large bid.
Fresno State has advanced to every NCAA Tournament. Hawai`i last made the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and has made six appearances overall.
Hawaii is 31-21 overall and 12-6 in the WAC, placing them in second in the league standings. The Rainbow Wahine won 10-straight games, before a loss to San Jose State. They have lost one game since April 11. Hawaii has a win against then-No. 9 Washington. The Rainbow Wahine has faced California, Arizona, Stanford, Alabama and Oregon this season.
A key player loss was losing Tara Harbert, who broke two fingers in her left hand. At the time of the injury, Harbert was on an offensive tear, she was second on the team with a .382 average and led the team in runs scored (17) and stolen bases (8-9). The team went 4-6 without her in center (Hawaii is 25-14 when she starts in center). Since her return, Hawaii has won 10 of 11.
Fresno State is 38-10 overall, 14-1 in the WAC, good for first place. Fresno State clinched its second-straight WAC title and its eighth in 10 years.Fresno State has won 16 of its last 18 games, including winning 10-straight WAC games. Fresno State is a 8-1 at home in WAC games and has a 20-6 overall record at home. Senior Jamie Southern is second in the nation in ERA (0.51), as of May 8. Southern has a 24-3 record with 236 strikeouts. In WAC games, she leads the league with a 0.19 ERA.
The field of 64 teams for the 2005 NCAA Division I Softball Championship will be announced live between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., EDT on ESPNews, which is on DirecTV (ch. 207) and Dish Network (ch. 142). The regional pairings and sites will be announced. In addition, the ESPNews audio signal is available on the ESPNews channel on XM Radio and SIRIUS Radio. A printable bracket will be posted on www.NCAAsports.com immediately after the selection announcement. Fresno State will be looking to host its 19th NCAA regional championships since 1982. The format for this years postseason showcases 16 four-team regional sites before being paired down to eight super regional sites where the winner must win two of three games before advancing to the 2005 NCAA Womens College World Series in Oklahoma City.