Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Wisconsin <BR>(Fiesta Bowl Tournament)
No. 16 Softball Blanks Wisconsin
2/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 9, 2002
PHOENIX, Ariz. - Fresno State (2-1) took charge of its destiny this morning as the Bulldogs recorded a 4-0 win over Wisconsin this morning at the ASU Fiesta Bowl Tournament.
Avenging a nine-inning loss to the Badgers in the NCAA Regional last year was not at the forefront for the 16th-ranked Fresno State softball team. Instead, the Bulldogs were looking for a taste of victory after stubbing their toe in a 4-3 loss to tenth-ranked CS Fullerton less than 24 hours ago.
Totalling eight hits, Fresno State scored two runs in the bottom of the third and fourth innings while Wisconsin was held to two hits and committed three errors.
Freshman right-hander Jamie Southern pitched the two-hit shutout and struck out five for her second straight win on the season. Dating back to last year, Southern has tossed 28.2 scoreless innings with 28 strikeouts for a 4-0 mark.
In the third inning with one out, sophomore second baseman Pam Perez singled to center field. Senior center fielder Tiffany Whipple reached first base safely on a fielding error by Wisconsin pitcher Andrea Kirchberg, who defeated Fresno State 3-1 in nine innings last year in the postseason action. After Kirchberg got senior first baseman Vanessa Czarnecki to pop up to the third baseman, Southern drilled a 0-2 pitch to center field to score Perez and Whipple.
In the fourth inning, sophomore designated player Lori Hoffman led off with a single to right field. Sophomore right fielder Mitzi Ing came in to pinch run before freshman left fielder Julie Selbicky reached safely on another Kirchberg error. Junior catcher Pam West hit a shot up the middle to score Ing. However, the ball got past the Wisconsin center fielder and Selbicky advanced to third. After junior outfielder Sha Oliver came in to pinch run for West, Wisconsin brought in freshman right-hander Katy Layne. On the third pitch delivered, Layne hit freshman shortstop Leticia Pacheco to load the bases. Layne, who got Perez to line out to the shortstop and Whipple to pop out to the shortstop, saw Selbicky cross home plate on a passed ball while Czarnecki was at the plate.
Top hitters for the Bulldogs were Hoffman (3-3), Perez (2-3, run), Southern (1-3, double, 2 RBI)and West (2-3, RBI).
"This morning's game was a good 'pick me up,'" said head coach Margie Wright, who is 20 wins shy of being the first NCAA Division I coach to record 1,000 Division I wins. "We had a bad taste left in our mouth from last night. It was good to see the players respond the way they did. Jamie looked great. Our hitting and defense was solid."
Fresno State, which has recorded two shutout wins in three games played, meets No. 8 Arizona State this evening (5:30 p.m., MST).
