Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Highlight Women's Pro Softball's All-Star Team
8/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Aug. 16, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - 1996 Olympic gold medalists Julie Smith and Kim Maher along with Fresno state's 1998 national champion team member Nina Lindenberg highlight the 16-member Women's Pro Softball League's all-star team that will battle the USA Softball Women's National Team next month in Honolulu, Hawaii.
USA national team member and 1996 Olympic gold medalist Laura Berg will also represent Fresno State, which has the most representatives by a university on the WPSL all-star team, in Honolulu.
As the final stop on its 31-city "Central Park to Sydney" tour across the country, the three-game season-ending series will take place Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 2-3. ESPN2 will run a tape delay from game one of the series on Tuesday, Sept. 5, 10:00 p.m. (EST). The network will rebroadcast the game again on Monday, Sept. 11, 1:00 p.m. (EST).
Preparing Team USA for the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia next month, USA Softball has won all eight games from the four WPSL teams it has played. This time around, however, the national team will have to contend with the best that the WPSL has to offer.
The selections for the WPSL all-star team was based upon the player's performances during the regular season and in the "Central Park to Sydney" competition. Cindy Bristow, head coach of the first-place Florida Wahoos, will be the head coach for the all-stars. She will be joined by seven players from the Wahoos, including the league's leading hitter, Patti Benedict (.347 BA) and top pitcher, Steph Klaviter (0.27 ERA, 9-2 W-L).
In the WPSL, Smith is batting .274 (23-84) with nine runs and seven stolen bases while making just two errors in 26 games. Maher, who collected seven hits, including a home run and seven runs en route to the gold medal in Atlanta, is ranked 13th in the league in hitting with just one error in 27 games.
For the complete roster of the 2000 WPSL "All-Star" Team go to www.prosoftball.com.
