|
Related Material
|
Final Softbal Release
|
CALIFORNIA ENDS FRESNO STATES POSTSEASON RUN The No. 15 Fresno State softball team fell short in its bid to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals as the Bulldogs dropped a 1-0 decision to second-ranked California in the NCAA Region 2 title game. A solo home run in the first inning by third baseman Vicky Galindo was all the Golden Bears needed as the lead off batter hit a solo shot to right field in the first inning. Cal pitcher Kelly Anderson threw a no-hitter, walked two and struck out four to improve to 27-7 on the season. Senior All-America pitcher Jamie Southern took the loss and finished the season with a 28-5 mark after scattering seven hits while allowing one run with three strikeouts. Fresno State finishes its season with a 43-12.
SOUTHERN EARNS ALL-AMERICAN HONORS Announced live on ESPN2 this afternoon, Fresno State softball had one player garner Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-America accolades.
With 52 All-Americans in the program and 50 coming under head coach Margie Wright, the Fresno State softball program now has had at least one All-American in 16 of the 20 years since All-America awards were first handed out in 1982.
With her sixth All-America accolade in hand, senior pitcher Jamie Southern (Clovis, Calif.) picked up her fourth straight All-America honor on the field just hours after garnering her second consecutive Academic All-America accolade.
Southern, who is the fifth softball player to garner All-America honors both on and off the field in the same year, is now just the fourth Bulldog to be a four-time All-American as she joined Laura Berg, Amanda Scott and Robyn Yorke.
As the first WAC hurler to be a four-time league pitcher of the year as well as being just the third Fresno State student-athlete, male or female, to be a No. 1 draft pick by a professional organization, Southern also is just the third Bulldog to be a three-time first team All-American. A 2005 first-team All-American at-Large selection at pitcher, she was a first team selection at pitcher her freshman year, a second-team pick at utility her sophomore season and a first-team honoree at utility last spring.
FRESNO STATE IN NCAA REGIONALS Fresno State is 48-26 (.649) in NCAA Regionals. The Bulldogs have a NCAA postseason record of 78-48 (.619). This season, Fresno State ended the postseason with a 2-2 record. The Bulldogs captured wins over Long Beach State and BYU before falling twice to California. The Bulldogs fell one win shy of reaching the first ever Super Regional. California went on to reach the World Series. In 2004, the Bulldogs went 1-2 at the No. 7 Regional in Stanford, Calif. On May 20, Fresno State lost its first game to Southern Illinois, 2-0. Later that day, the Bulldogs fought back with a 3-1 10 inning win over Auburn. Pacific eliminated Fresno State, 6-1 on May 21. The Bulldogs last hosted in 2003, when Fresno State went 3-2. Fresno State also hosted in 2002 when California swept through regionals en route to a World Series win.
FIVE EARN REGIONAL HONORS Five WAC Softball Players were named to the 2005 Louisville Slugger/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) all-West region team. Fresno State named three to the team, including three-time senior All-America pitcher Jamie Southern, two-time junior All-America shortstop Christina Clark and two-time all-WAC catcher Nichole Willis were selected by voting coaches of the West Region. Also honored were all-WAC selections, Elisa Barrios from San Jose State and Hawaiis Tara Harbert.
Southern, a four-time first-team all-West Region pick at pitcher/utility, was also just the fourth Bulldog to be a four-time All-American. She joined an elite list that showcases three-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Berg, Robyn Yorke and Amanda Scott.
Barrios led the Spartans in hitting this season with a .390 batting average, the second-highest average in a season for a San Jose State player. She set the school record for doubles in a season with 16. Barrios was named an At Large selection for the 2005 WAC season. She finished her four-year career with a .295 batting average and fifth all-time in hits with 197. She had 29 doubles, seven home runs, 72 RBI and 35 stolen bases.
Harbert who was also named to first-team all-WAC, led the league with a .486 batting average in conference games and was second in the WAC in stolen bases (7-9). The junior from Longmont, Colo., had a breakout year, leading the Rainbow Wahine with an average of .423 in overall games while scoring 27 runs with 41 singles, one double, one triple and 14 stolen bases. The lefty slappers season was not without adversity.
Clark, who was a second-team All-American as a freshman and followed up by being a first- team All-American selection last year, is looking to become the ninth Bulldog to be a three-time All-American. As the first Bulldog freshman to be an All-American at shortstop, Clark repeated as the WAC Player of the Year to be just the second Bulldog to garner this award twice.
HEAVY HITTERS For the first time since the 2003 season, at least two hitters ended the WAC season hitting at least .400. Hawaiis Tara Harbert led the way hitting .486. Teammate and WAC Freshman of the Year Kaulana Gould hit .426. WAC Player of the Year, Christina Clark of Fresno State, ended the WAC season hitting .404, while Hawaiis Denise Dahlberg hit exactly .400. In 2003, Fresno States Clark (.421) and Jamie Southern (.400) both hit at least .400. In 2002, Hawaiis Ashley Judd and Loyola Marymounts Megan Julian both reached the .400 mark with Judd hitting .414 and Julian hitting .400.
FRESNO STATE CAPTURES WAC TITLE After being picked to capture the WAC title for the ninth time in 10 years in the coaches preseason poll, Fresno State did just that when it won its second-straight and eighth in the last 10 years. The Bulldogs claimed the crown and the leagues NCAA automatic bid. Fresno Stat made its 24th-straight NCAA Softball Championship appearance. The program is the only school in the country to have qualified for all 24 NCAA tournaments.
TULSA TIES WAC RECORD Tulsas 11 runs in the first inning against Louisiana Tech on May 7 was a school record for runs in an inning, as well as the 12 hits the Hurricane posted. The 11 runs ties a WAC record. Hawaii also scored 11 against UNLV in 1997.
SOUTHERN NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN TEAM While her four-year career is finished on the diamond and in the classroom, the postseason awards are coming in for Jamie Southern (Clovis, Calif.), who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal studies with a cumulative 3.53 grade point average.
For her efforts as a student-athlete, Southern added a fifth All-America accolade to her resume when she was named 2005 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America University Division Second Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).
As the universitys 35th Academic All-American since 1985, she is the seventh softball player to be a multiple Academic All-American. With back-to-back Academic All-America honors, Southern also is the fourth pitcher to be a multiple Academic All-American.
In the classroom, Southern repeated as an Academic All-American after being a third team selection a year ago. She also has been a four-time Fresno State and WAC Scholar-Athlete as well as a three-time WAC All-Academic selection. She was also a two-time Academic All-District VIII and Presidents List (4.0) honoree.
IN THE TOP 10 There are several WAC players who finished the season ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA statistics. All-America Jamie Southern was second in the nation in ERA (0.46) behind fellow All-America Cat Osterman of Texas (0.36). Tulsas Stacey Walkingstick was fourth in sacrifice hits per game (0.41) Walkingstick had 69 career sacrifice just three behind WAC all-time leader Vanessa Czarnecki of Fresno State. Fresno States Christina Clark was fourth in runs per game (1.00 rpg).
SOUTHERN BECOMES WAC CAREER LEADER IN WINS On April 23, Southern made WAC history. While helping Fresno State to a sweep over WAC opponent Tulsa, she became the leagues and the schools all-time career win leader on the same day. Coming into the week with 106 career victories, Southern opened the three-game series against the Golden Hurricane with a two-hit shutout. While walking one and striking out 13, she posted her 17th win of the year to become the WACs all-time career win leader with 107 wins, surpassing former Bulldog All-American Amanda Scott (1997-2000). In the second game, she made her third relief appearance of the season and picked up her second win in as many games. After becoming the WACs outright win leader, Southern came right back on the same day to become Fresno States all-time career win leader with victory No. 108. Breaking a 13-year old record, she surpassed former Bulldog All-American Terry Carpenter (1989-92).
SAN JOSE STATE HAS WINNING SEASON Winning one of three games to end the year, the Spartans ended the season 36-25 overall and 10-8 in the WAC. San Jose State had its first winning season since 1992 when that team finished 33-24 and made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 36 wins were the most for a Spartan team since 1994 when that team won 32 games. It was just the sixth time in school history that a Spartan softball team has won 30 or more games in a season.
WAC CAREER LEADERS Fresno State All-American Jamie Southern is the career WAC leader in several categories. Southern is first in career wins with 118. Southern holds the lead in ERA (0.51) and innings pitched (1088.2). She is also the WAC leader in strikeouts (1321) and strikeouts per seven innings (8.50). Teammate Christina Clark is the leader in home runs with 54. Tulsas Stacey Walkingstick is second in sacrifice hits with 69. In saves, Southern is first with 11. Tulsas Maren Genow is third in saves with nine.
IN THE POLLS For the first time since 2003, a team outside of the Pac 10 Conference finished No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. Michigan, with an incredible run to the World Series, ended the season on the top of the polls
Fresno State softball has been no stranger to the national polls. Owning the longest streak for consecutive weeks (179) ranked in NCAA Division I softball history, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the Top 25 for 208 of the 219 weeks since the NCAAs first Top 15 poll in 1983. In addition, Fresno State has been in the nations official Top 25 polls for 23-straight years. Fresno State ended the season No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN.com poll and No. 22 in the USA Softball poll.
AGAINST THE BEST WAC schools are 6-36 (.143) against ranked teams this season. Hawaii is one of three teams to defeat a ranked team when it defeated then-No. 9 Washington. Fresno State earned another win over a ranked team with a win over No. 5 Stanford. Fresno State also defeated No. 10 LSU and No. 14 Washington. Tulsa has two wins over No. 10 Oklahoma. It was the highest team a Golden Hurricane squad had ever defeated. No. 2 Arizona is 4-0 against the WAC with wins against Fresno State, Tulsa and UTEP this season.