Fresno State Athletics
Duty of Honor
4/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 10, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Stand at home plate and look out into the infield and you'll see a familiar face. For the past three years, junior Vanessa Czarnecki has been there, looming as a solid defensive player in right field and now first base for the first time in her Bulldog career. She has played strong at her dual positions, robbing hitters of that almost assuredly hit or tracking them down at second or third as they unsuccessfully try to take an extra base.
Czarnecki worked her way into the starting lineup her freshman year with timely hits and solid defense. And no more of a true example was her clutch hit in the NCAA Regionals last year against CS Fullerton when Czarnecki got the game-winning hit and the Bulldogs a 4-3 win to advance to the championship game.
"I just try to put the ball in play and make things happen," Czarnecki said. "I have to consistently move my teammates over when they get on base. I want to hit the ball on the ground and either beat out the throw or force the other team to commit an error."
Czarnecki sees her place on the team as a duty of honor. She loves the game, but would be the last person to give herself praise. She loves to play but the 5-foot-5 Bulldog always wants to improve her play.
"I can do better, so I'm going to keep trying and do my job, which is get on base and play solid defense," Czarnecki said. "So I'm working harder to get on base more and being a sound contributor to the team."
Putting on that Bulldog uniform was in itself a great accomplishment for Czarnecki. One of the biggest surprises in her career caught her in her freshman year. In the third and final game of the Bulldogs' 1999 season-opening home game against 17th-ranked Hawai'i, Czarnecki got her first real taste of Bulldog softball. A crowd of 2,138 fans showed up for the doubleheader that night.
"It was really exciting seeing all the fans in the stadium that night, it gave me goose bumps," she said. "I enjoy every minute of this game. It's your time to have fun and just go out there, relax and do what you know how to do."
Czarnecki is one of many Bulldogs who did not taste the sweetness of the national title that Fresno State captured in 1998. But that pride of being a Bulldog the following year has made Czarnecki focused on bringing a second national title to the university before her playing days are over.
"I know with all my heart that we can beat anyone," Czarnecki added. "I know that playing at Fresno State is an honor and that my duty is to be the best I can be as a player and a person."
