While her collegiate softball career is officially over, former Bulldog shortstop Christina Clark continues to have postseason awards roll in while rookie hurler Robin Mackin is just beginning to reap the benefits of her hard work as both were honored as Easton All-Americans.
Given to those players and schools sponsored by Easton-Bell Sports, the 2006 Easton-Bell Sports All-America Teams were announced today as players from 29 schools were represented.
A first team selection, Clark garnered her fourth consecutive Easton-Bell Sports All-America honor and is the second Bulldog to accomplish that feat, joining Jamie Southern. Also a first team honoree in 2004, Clark picked up second team accolades as a freshman and in 2005.
Exactly one week ago today, Clark became the ninth Bulldog to be a three-time All-American. As the first player in Western Athletic Conference history to be a three-time WAC Player of the Year selection, she concluded her stellar career by ranking in five NCAA Division I all-time career marks, 12 Fresno State all-time records and 11 WAC career marks.
In the NCAA annals, Clark is No. 6 in total bases (563), No. 9 in slugging percentage (.756), No. 10 in home runs (62), No. 11 in intentional walks (14) and No. 12 in runs (228). Still further, she became just the 12th player in NCAA Division I history to score 225 or more career runs.
Having become the school's and the league's all-time career home run leader as a junior, this past season Clark picked up three more all-time Fresno Sate and WAC career records as she also is now the career leader in doubles (57), walks (114) and total bases.
The four-time First Team All-West Region and All-WAC honoree also tied the school's single-season walk mark (43) while batting a career-high .430 this year for the fifth-best single-season mark in school history.
Clark led the Bulldogs with 23 multiple hit and nine multiple RBI games. This past season also saw her become just the second Fresno State softball player to post four consecutive 100-total base seasons, joining Laura Berg.
While Clark also boasts four straight 60-hit, 50-run and 30-RBI seasons, she led the WAC the last three seasons in runs, total bases and slugging percentage. She also was the conference's season leader in home runs and RBI three different years as well.
Clark, who was nationally ranked this past season in hitting, walks, runs, doubles and slugging percentage, opened her senior campaign as the program's 18th professional draft selection while being named to the 2006 USA Softball Preseason Watch List.
Mackin was named to the Easton-Bell Sports Third Team. As a rookie in the circle, she set two new school and WAC single-season mark for strikeouts (402) and strikeouts per 7/IP (10.3).
In her collegiate debut, Mackin notched 19 10-strikeout games while breaking into seven Top 10 Fresno State single-season records: No. 1 in strikeouts (402) and strikeouts per 7/IP (10.3), No. T3 starts (41), No. 5 appearances (47), No. 7 complete games (36), No. 8 innings pitched (273.1) and No. T10 wins (28).
Having established a new school single-game record for strikeouts in a 7-inning game (17 vs. Kansas), she posted two no-hitters to go along with five one-hitters this past spring.
As just the second Bulldog hurler to have tallied 400 or more strikeouts in a season, the five-time WAC Pitcher of the Week also was nationally ranked every week in the NCAA statistics for victories, strikeouts per 7/IP and ERA.
Mackin also could hit as she led the team with 17 2-out RBI games while being honored once as the WAC Hitter of the Week. Owning a season-best nine-game hit streak in which she batted better than .560, she ended the year by hitting safely in her last five games (.400, 6-15, run, walk, hit by pitch, home run, three RBI, nine total bases, .600 slugging percentage). In her last 22 games, she hit safely in 19 of them and batted .429 (30-70, 12 runs, five doubles, two home runs, two walks, two sacrifice flies, 1-1 stolen base, 15 RBI, 41 total bases, .586 slugging pct.).
In addition to her Easton-Bell Sports All-America accolade, other season athletic awards bestowed upon Mackin was First Team All-West Region, WAC Pitcher of the Year, WAC Freshman of the Year, First Team All-WAC, WAC All-Tournament, Preseason WAC Pitcher of the Year and Preseason All-WAC.