Fresno State Athletics
No. 25 Bulldogs Begin 10-Game Homestand This Week
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 6, 2006
FRESNO, Calif. -
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Fresno State Begins 10-Game Homestand
The 2006 Fresno State softball team, which is ranked 23rd in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Poll and 25th in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll, begins its longest homestand of the season this week. The Bulldogs will host St. Francis College on Wed., March 8, 6:00 p.m., and Southern Utah on Tue., March 14, 6:00 p.m. Sandwiched in between those doubleheaders is Fresno State's own Bulldog Classic presented by Bingham Toyota, which runs Thu.-Sun., March 9-12. After opening the season by playing 17 of its first 20 games on the road, the 'Dogs are home and look to build upon a 4-0 home mark.
Ticket Information
For information on Fresno State softball tickets for the 2006 season, please contact the Fresno State Athletics Ticket Office at (559) 278-3647. Single-game and season tickets may be purchased on line at www.gobulldogs.com or through the Bulldog Ticket Office. Single game and special packages are available during the season.
Double Play Special
Fresno State will showcase "Double Play" promotions during the weeknight games of the 2006 softball season. With weeknight doubleheaders against St. Francis and Southern Utah in the upcoming week, fans can download a 2-for-1 coupon off the school's official athletic web site, www.gobulldogs.com, and present the coupon on game night at the portable ticket office located outside the gates of Bulldog Diamond. The coupon can be found under the ticket link on www.gobulldogs.com.
The Margie Wright Show
The Margie Wright Show will get underway on Wed., March 8, 12:30 - 1:00 p.m. on ESPN 1430 AM. Emceed by Paul Swearengin, Wright will discuss the team, what's coming up and what's going on in collegiate softball. The show is scheduled to run every Tuesday during the season after its initial debut.
Mackin Delivering in the Circle
Lowering her ERA to 1.59 on the season, freshman right-handed pitcher Robin Mackin (Newmarket, Ontario, Canada) pitched her first career no-hitter over host San Diego State. Walking four and striking out seven, she just missed out on a perfect game while going the distance against the Aztecs as the Bulldogs won 11-0 in six innings. Mackin also pitched a one-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the opening 2-1 loss to Loyola Marymount. She avenged that loss by posting a victory in the tournament finale. She threw a three-hitter, walked one and struck out nine to improve to 10-5 on the season. Mackin, who is averaging 10.53 strikeouts per 7/innings pitched this season, has seven 10-strikeout games on the season.
Perkins Dealing at the Plate
Freshman third baseman Haley Perkins (Fresno, Calif.) led the team offensively last week as she was the only Bulldog to hit .400 last week. She had a team-high six hits and nine total bases while collecting a double, a triple and sharing team-high honors in RBI (4). Owning a season-high 10-game hit streak, Perkins hit safely in three of the four games over the weekend and now has collected at least one hit in every game played but three (17 of 20). With two multiple hit games, she went 2-4 with a run, a double, a triple and three RBI in the road win over host San Diego State. Perkins wrapped up tournament play going 3-4 with two runs and a RBI over Loyola Marymount. In her last 14 games, she is batting nearly .400 (.392) with a team-best 20 hits, two double, two triples, a home run and a team-high 13 RBI as the `Dogs No. 1/2 hitter. Currently batting a team-high .362 (25-69), Perkins has six multiple hit games on the season and three multiple RBI games as she leads the team in hits and RBI (15).
Last Week in Review
Fresno State is 11-9 on the season and has won seven of its last 11 games ... Of the nine losses, seven have come to higher ranked teams and one to a team that received votes ... At the Aztec Classic, Fresno State hit nearly .300 (.290) as it outscored its opponents 18-8 ... The Bulldogs tied their season-high mark in runs (11) for the third time on the season after scoring 11 against San Diego State ... The `Dogs also collected a season-high 21 total bases versus SDSU while being walked a season-high eight times against Loyola Marymount in the tournament finale ... Defensively, Fresno State had a season-best 14 assists in the loss to No. 23 Oregon ... Individually, sophomore second baseman Jenna Cervantez (Clovis, Calif.) notched a game-high four RBI against San Diego State ... Perkins boasts the longest hitting streak on the season with 10 games ... In this stretch she batted .389 (14-36) with nine runs, nine RBI, a double, a triple, a home run and 20 total bases for a .556 slugging percentage ... Sophomore first baseman Kristin Sylvester (Big Bear City, Calif.) has a current six-game hitting streak and is batting a team-high .450 (9-20) with two runs, two doubles, a home run and 14 total bases for a .700 slugging percentage ... Freshman designated player Merryann Barr (Fresno, Calif.) has been hot of last as well ... In her last six she is batting .368 (7-19) with a run, two walks and two RBI ... Junior outfielder Shannon Garvin (Fresno, Calif.) has a current three-game hitting streak and in this stretch she is batting .429 (3-7) with two runs, a walk and a sacrifice ... Senior shortstop Christina Clark (Santa Ana, Calif.) surpassed Nina Lindenberg in the school's career annals in total bases ... Clark moved up to No. 2 all-time with 474 and is 27 shy of surpassing the school's career recordholder in current assistant coach and three-time Olympic softball gold medalist Laura Berg (500, 1994-95, 97-98) ... Clark also surpassed Lindenberg in the WAC annals as well in total bases by moving up to No. 2 and ranked behind Berg ... Nine different Bulldogs have collected at lease one multiple hit game and one multiple RBI game.
About St. Francis
Fresno State is meeting St. Francis for the first time in school history. St. Francis opens its season this week with a California road swing. After being rained out at Pacific, the Terriers at Cal Poly on Tuesday before coming into town. St. Francis returns 11 letterwinners, including seven starters, from a 3-48 team that went 1-19 in the Northeast Conference. Top returnees for the Terriers include senior outfielder Janine Valentin (.300 BA, 3 HR, 25 RBI), junior outfielder Amanda Pileggi (.252 BA, 8 RBI, 5 doubles) and junior pitcher Sarah Purtle (2-19, 12 complete games, 7.45 ERA).
Bulldog Classic presented by Bingham Toyota
Fresno State will host the Bulldog Classic presented by Bingham Toyota this week. The four-day seven-team tournament field gets underway on Thursday and runs through Sunday, March 9-12. The tournament will showcase three Top 25 programs in No. 9 Oregon State, No. 15 Washington and No. 22 DePaul. Ball State, Central Florida and San Diego rounds out the tournament field.
Ball State (3-3) - Went 1-1 last week with a 4-2 win over IUPU-Indianapolis and a 1-0 loss at Bellarmine ... Leading the team offensively is senior pitcher/utility Amanda Pick, who is batting .571 (8-14) with three runs, a double and five RBI ... In the circle, she is 2-0 with nine strikeouts in 15.1 innings for a 0.00 ERA.
Central Florida (11-10) - Coming off a 3-3 week in its own UCF Invitational ... hosts St. John's and Boston College on Tuesday before coming into town ... Offensively, junior third baseman Cici Alvarez leads the team with a .354 batting average with 23 hits, 14 runs and nine walks ... In the circle, sophomore right-handed pitcher Allison Kime is 7-3 with 83 strikeouts in 75.2 innings for a 1.48 ERA.
No. 22 DePaul (7-2) - Coming off a 4-0 weekend at the Florida Invitational ... Recorded wins over Penn State (1-0, 1-0), Longwood (3-0) and Florida (7-4) ... Leading the squad offensively is freshman infielder Amber Patton, who is hitting .364 (8-22) with three runs and two RBI ... In the circle, sophomore right hander Tracie Adix is 4-0 with 19 strikeouts in 26.1 innings for a 0.00 ERA.
San Diego (9-6) - Coming off a 1-0 loss at San Diego State last week ... Offensively, junior catcher/third baseman Sara Mason is batting a team-high .391 (18-46) with 13 runs, four doubles, three triples and eight RBI ... In the circle, junior right-handed pitcher Erin Harmonson is 5-3 with a shutout and 28 strikeouts in 43.2 innings for a 2.89 ERA.
No. 9 Oregon State (18-2) - Winners of 18 straight, OSU is coming off a 5-0 week at the CS Fullerton Worth Invitational ... Junior right hander/first baseman Brianne McGowan is tops offensively and in the circle ... At the plate she is hitting .421 (16-38) with 11 runs, four home runs and eight RBI ... In the circle she is 11-1 with 73 strikeouts in 83.0 innings for a 1.77 ERA.
No. 15 Washington (15-6) - Coming off a 3-3 weekend at Baylor's Compass Invitational ... The Huskies split with Mississippi State (L 3-0, W 8-1), No. 20 Baylor (L 6-5, W 2-0) and Bowling Green (W 4-3, L 3-1) ... Offensively, sophomore shortstop Ashley Charters is batting .478 (32-67) with 17 runs, three triples, 11 RBI and 13-14 in stolen bases ... In the circle, freshman right hander Danielle Lawrie is 9-3 with three shutouts and a save while recording 100 strikeouts in 77.1 innings for a 1.45 ERA.
Clark On Preseason Watch List; Drafted 18th
On Feb. 1, the Amateur Softball Association announced its initial watch list for the Fifth Annual USA Softball College Player of the Year Award this afternoon and senior All-America shortstop Christina Clark was among the 50 preseason picks. Selected to her third straight national preseason watch list, Clark was just tabbed as the preseason Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year for the third consecutive year. USA Softball will announce its Top 25 finalists on April 5. Just days before postseason gets underway, it will trim its list down to 10 on May 10 before selecting its final on May 31. The winner of the 2006 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced during the NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. In addition, Clark became the program's 18th professional draft selection when she was chosen No. 18 overall in the inaugural 2006 ProFastpitch X-Treme Tour draft.
Fresno State Selected WAC Preseason Favorites
For the 10th time in 11 years, Fresno State has been picked to capture the league title in 2006. The Bulldogs received five first place votes and one second for a total of 35 points. Hawai'i was tabbed second as it received the final two first place votes for a total of 30 points. Nevada collected 26 points for a third place showing while San Jose State was picked fourth with 19 points. League newcomers Utah State (16 points) and New Mexico State (15 points) were selected fifth and sixth, respectively, while La Tech rounded out the poll with six points.
Trio of 'Dogs Selected Preseason All-WAC; Sweep Preseason Honors
Fresno State also swept the 2006 WAC preseason awards as Clark and Mackin were selected as the Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. This is Clark's third consecutive preseason player of the year honor. Returning as the nation's top active Division I career home run leader (54), the two-time All-America shortstop has led the conference three straight seasons in RBI. She also has led the league in runs, home runs, slugging percentage and total bases the past two years. This is the second time in WAC history that a freshman has been honored as the preseason pitcher of the year. Willis also was honored as a preseason All-WAC selection as she received her second consecutive preseason accolade. In addition, Clark was picked at shortstop and Mackin at pitcher for preseason all-conference honors at their respective positions.
National Rankings
Fresno State softball has been no stranger to the national polls as the Bulldogs own the longest streak for consecutive nationally-ranked weeks (178) in NCAA Division I softball history. In their 29-year history, the Bulldogs have been nationally ranked in the Top 25 for 211 of the 224 weeks since the NCAA's first Top 15 poll in 1983. Fresno State has been in the nation's official Top 25 polls for 24 straight years. Appearing in the Top 10 for 151 weeks, the `Dogs achieved their first No. 1 national ranking on March 14, 1989. They 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. The program's five No. 1 rankings is the most ever by a Bulldogs' athletic team.
'Dogs Hosts WAC Tournament
Fresno State will host the 2006 Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament, May 11-13, at Bulldog Diamond. This is the second time that Bulldog Diamond will serve as host. Fresno State hosted the 1999 tournament and wrapped up the 1999 season as the regular-season and tournament champions.
Mackin on Canada National Team
After helping the Canada Elite Team to a third place finish at the 2005 Canada Cup and Team Canada qualify for the 2006 World Championship as well as the 2007 Pan American Games, Mackin was selected the Canada National Team. She was selected to the national team in January.
