Fresno State Athletics
Good as Gold
1/12/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jan. 12, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Since 1994, Laura Berg has played in five major international competitions ranging from the ISF Women's World Championships to Pan Am Games to Olympic Games. And all five times the USA has come away with a gold medal.
But before her Midas touch paid dividends for her country, it also all began in 1994 as a freshman outfielder at Fresno State. Coming in as one of the top outfielders in the country, Berg saw something at Fresno State she saw no where else -- an opportunity to have something special.
"I wanted to play at Fresno State because of the program and coach Wright," said Berg, who is in her second year as an assistant coach to Wright with the Bulldogs. "It [Fresno State] was a family. Atmosphere. The team worked strong together and came together as a family. Fresno State also had the best coaching staff.
"I wanted to contribute to a program and be able to grow as an individual and student-athlete," Berg added. "In some small way I felt I did make a difference but I was given much more in my experience at Fresno State."
Regardless of wearing the Bulldog or USA uniform, Berg has made watching the game of softball exciting. Fresno State will remember Berg as part of the 1998 NCAA national championship team -- giving the university its first NCAA Division 1 national title. Poking fun at herself, Berg remembers the championship game against Arizona vividly.
"Besides being picked off third base, it was great," Berg beamed. "No, really, it was a set part of the plan (chuckling). Nina [Lindenberg] had a 0-2 count on her and then, well, I created some excitement in the fifth inning. Amanda [Scott] pitched like a champion the top half of the sixth after I was caught at third base. And then Nina came up to bat again and blasted the first pitch over the left field fence in the bottom of the sixth. With Arizona's heart of the line up being up the final two innings, Amanda shut the Wildcats out. I was undoubtedly one of the most relieved and most thankful person out there that day. If it hadn't gone our way, I would still be living a solace life up in the Colorado mountains some where."
Turn around is fair play in the life of softball. It was Berg who was able to propel the United States to its second straight gold medal after hitting in the winning run at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. With the game tied at 1-1 with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Berg hit a liner over the left fielder's head who had to back peddle and try to make a stab catch. USA 2, Japan 1.
It was Berg who gave the United States its first run in the championship game and Team USA the inaugural gold medal in softball at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. Standing on first base, Berg crossed home plate first on Dot Richardson's home run in the third and USA would go on to score all three of its runs in that inning for a 3-1 win over China.
Still wearing #44 since her sophomore year in high school, Berg has made her mark in more than a small way.
