Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State Softball -- A Winning Tradition
1/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
NCAA Women's College World Series: Fresno State has appeared in 12 of the 22 NCAA Women's College World Series, including 10 in the last 18 years. The Bulldogs have been a national runner-up four times (1990, '89, '88, '82), finished third three times (1997, '92 and '91) and tied for fifth four times (1999, '94, '87 and '84).
All-Americans: Fresno State softball boasts 49 NCAA All-Americans since 1982 and 15 Verizon Academic All-Americans since 1985. Head coach Margie Wright, who has coached 47 All-Americans and 13 Academic All-Americans, has produced four of the most successful Bulldogs to ever don the Bulldog Red and Blue in four-time first team All-America pitcher/outfielder Amanda Scott (1997-2000), four-time All-America outfielder and two-time USA Softball Olympic gold medalist Laura Berg (1994-95, 1997-98), three-time All-America pitcher Terry Carpenter (1989-92) and four-time All-America outfielder Robyn Yorke (1994-1997). Carpenter was the university's first-ever student-athlete to capture first team academic All-America accolades while Yorke became the university's first-ever three-time Academic All-American. Berg, Scott and Yorke ended their careers as the program's only four-time NCAA All-Americans. Scott concluded her stellar career as the university's only four-time first team All-American -- male or female. In addition, pitcher Carie Dever (1987-1990) was a three-time All-American as well as an academic All-American. Since taking over the reins in 1986, Wright had three Bulldogs capture First Team All-America honors in 1998 - first time in the program's history -- while having at least two Bulldogs capture First Team All-America accolades in the same year seven different times (1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1991, and 1990). In addition, Wright has had three groups of five Bulldogs capture All-America accolades at one time (1999, 1994 and 1990).
Championships: Winning championships has become routine in the history of Fresno State softball. Fresno State has captured conference championships 14 of the last 19 years (2002-01-00-1999-98-96-92-91-90-89-88-87-86-85), while winning a total of 17 conference titles since 1978. Fresno State, one of the most stable and consistent teams in the country, is the only school to have appeared in 22 straight NCAA Softball Championships while boasting 12 regional championship crowns.
Record Crowds: Bulldog Diamond, home to the country's largest fan following since 1987, has officially led the nation in average attendance in 11 of the last 13 seasons (unofficially in 16 of last 18) and in total attendance in nine of the last 13 seasons (unofficially in 14 of last 18). With an astonishing 597-133 (.818) home field record, Fresno State has established Top 25 single-date attendance marks the last eight seasons, including the all-time NCAA single-date regular-season attendance mark of 5,724 at Bulldog Diamond versus Arizona (March 14, 2000). In 1999, Fresno State drew its largest single-season attendance with 55,746 fans -- breaking its own NCAA single regular-season attendance record for the third time in five years. The 1997 Bulldogs shattered their own NCAA attendance marks set in 1996 in total (51,133) and average (2,557) after recording a previous total attendance (34,224) and average attendance (2,139). Having hosted 18 of the 22 NCAA Regional championships since 1982, Fresno State has averaged more than 6,000 fans in NCAA Regional postseason play five of the last six years it has hosted and is believed to have led all sites in total attendance the last seven NCAA Regionals. Overall, Fresno State has averaged more than 2,100 per home date the last eight seasons and has drawn 1,000 or more fans per season in 14 of the last 15.
NCAA Record-Setting Attendance: Four of the most exciting records that Fresno State softball set in school history happened in 1996 as the Bulldogs set four all-time NCAA attendance marks. In 1996, the Bulldogs not only recorded the most fans for a regular-season single-date and single-date overall with 5,427 fans against top-ranked UCLA on February 24, 1996, but Fresno State set a new total attendance record for a single-season with 34,224 fans and a new average attendance for a single-season with 2,139 (16 dates) -- shattering the records set by Arizona in 1995 with 25,261 fans for an average of 1,486 in 17 dates. But in 1997, Fresno State would go on to shatter its previous NCAA bests in total and average attendance marks while boasting all three NCAA top five all-time attendance marks. However, the 1999 Bulldogs bested the 1997 single season total with nearly 56,000 fans drawn (55,746) for a new NCAA regular-season attendance mark. And, in 2000, the Bulldogs broke their own NCAA single-date regular-season record when 5,724 fans came through the gates against Arizona on March 14, 2000. Now, Fresno State has set the NCAA single-date regular-season attendance mark three times in the last eight years. In addition, Fresno State has set the NCAA single-date regular-season record five different times (1996 with 5,427; `93 with 3,517; `89 with 3,357; and `88 with 2,583) -- all against UCLA -- and once versus Arizona.
National Rankings: Fresno State's softball team has been nationally ranked in the Top 20 polls the last 21 straight seasons. On March 14, 1989, the Bulldogs achieved their first-ever No. 1 national ranking and were ranked No. 1 for two straight weeks in 1997 before finishing as the No. 1 team in the final 1998 USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll. In 1999, Fresno State opened the year with a No. 1 preseason ranking after winning the national title in 1998. Since March 29, 1988, the 'Dogs have been the top-ranked team five times, No. 2 spot 35 times, No. 3 slot 32 times, and No. 4 spot 20 times. In addition, the Bulldogs have appeared in the nation's Top 25 for 178 consecutive weeks and have been in the Top 10 for 151 weeks since the NCAA released its very first poll in 1983.
National Exposure: Bulldog softball is no stranger to national or local attention, having appeared on such networks as ESPN, ESPN 2, Sports Channel, Prime Ticket, AT&T Broadband, MediaOne, Comcast and Continental Cablevision. Having appeared on national television 10 times, Fresno State home games can be heard live on local radio as well as select games being heard live on the world wide web at www.gobulldogs.com.
National and International Honors: Bulldog softball players have been no stranger to national and international play. The Bulldogs have represented Fresno State on two USA Softball Olympic teams, numerous U.S. Olympic Festival teams, USA National teams, Pan American teams, and World Championship teams. In 1996, Fresno State had six Bulldogs on the USA Olympic gold medal team and one Bulldog who represented Team Puerto Rico at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Ga. For the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Fresno State added three more on Team USA, which successfully defended its Olympic title and repeated as Olympic gold medalists in softball.
