Fresno State Athletics
Two Former Bulldog Softball Standouts Drafted
12/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Dec. 8, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Former Fresno State softball standouts Randi Berg (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) and Leslie Poole (Rootstown, Ohio) were selected in the 32-player National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) Elite Draft, which was held in Montgomery, Texas, this past weekend.
Berg was the 13th pick in the second round by Colorado while Poole was the 24th selection overall in the third round by Akron.
This is Berg's second professional draft. She was the No. 9 pick overall (second round) at shortstop by the Georgia Pride in 1997. Berg went on to be the 1999 Women's Professional Softball League (WPSL) Defensive Player of the Year at second base before winning a WPSL crown with the Florida Wahoos in 2000 as a second baseman.
Fresno State softball head coach Margie Wright, who enters her 19th season with the Bulldogs next spring, now has had 16 former players drafted by a professional fastpitch organization, including the WPSL's 2002 No. 1 overall pick in Amanda Scott (Ohio Pride).
Other former Bulldogs drafted since 1996 include Laura Berg, Jennifer Clark, Nina Lindenberg, Kim Maher, Jaime Maxey, Martha Noffsinger, Lindsay Parker, Kim Peck, Scott, Julie Smith, Shelly Stokes Carolyn Wilson, Christa Yorke and Robyn Yorke.
The NPF, which formerly operated under the names of Women's Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and WPSL, is a revamped league that will showcase eight teams: Akron Racers (Akron, Ohio), Arizona Heat (Tucson, Ariz.), Colorado Altitude (Denver, Colo.), New England Riptide (Lowell, Mass.), New York/New Jersey Juggernaut (Little Falls, N.J.), Sacramento Sunbirds (Sacramento, Calif.), San Antonio Armadillo (San Antonio, Texas) and Texas (Houston). Akron is the only franchise that remains from the WPSL inception in 1997.
The NPF will kick off the season next spring. Running from June 1 through August 31, the teams will play a 56 regular-season schedule, an all-star game, divisional playoffs (best of three) and championship series (best of five).
The NPF, which is headquartered in Denver, is the only professional women's fastpitch softball league in the United States.
For more information, visit www.profastpitch.com.
