Fresno State Athletics
Softball Opens NCAA Tournament Thursday Versus Stanford
5/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 15, 2007
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Up Next For the Bulldogs: Fresno State begins NCAA Tournament play for the 26th consecutive year when it travels to Stanford on Thursday, May 17. The Bulldogs open the Regional against Stanford at 6 p.m. at the Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium. Fresno State is the only team to have reached the NCAA Tournament in all 26 years. The Bulldogs are the No. 3 seed in the regional, with LSU earning the No. 1 seed, Stanford No. 2 and Cal State Northridge is No. 4.
2007 NCAA Tournament: The Bulldogs enter Thursday's regional as the No. 3 seed and open with a very familiar foe in Stanford. The No. 2 seeded Cardinal eliminated the Bulldogs from the 2006 NCAA Tournament held in Fresno. Fresno State was scheduled to face the Cardinal earlier this season, but the doubleheader scheduled at Bulldog Diamond was cancelled due to rain. No. 1 seed LSU will face No. 4 Cal State Northridge to open the regional at 3 p.m. on Thursday. Fresno State and Stanford follow at 6 p.m. On Friday, the first game of the day begins at 12 p.m. with the two winners facing each other. Friday night's games are at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday's championship game will be held at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. if necessary. The championship game will be aired live on ESPN2.
Follow the Tournament on 1430 ESPN: You can listen to every Bulldog game live on 1430 ESPN Radio with Guy Haberman calling the game action. Fresno State will open 2007 NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed and facing the No. 2 seed Stanford at 6 p.m. on Thursday night.
Championship Game on ESPN2: The championship game of the Stanford Regional will be aired live on ESPN2 on Saturday, May 19. The championship game will begin at 5:30 p.m. and if necessary the second game will also be aired live on ESPN2 at 8 p.m., following the first game. Pam Ward and Cheri Kempf will be covering the game for ESPN2.
Who's Hot: Fresno State sophomore pitcher Robin Mackin was on fire this past weekend in the WAC Tournament. Mackin went 4-0 with a 1.75 earned run average, leading the Bulldogs to the 2007 WAC Tournament Title. Mackin struck out 23 batters in 28 innings pitched over the four days. Mackin also drove in three runs, scored two runs and collected four hits, including a double. Mackin improved to 35-9 on the season.
Mackin Cheese: Robin Mackin, Fresno State's sophomore pitcher improved to 35-9 on the season with four wins in the WAC Tournament. Mackin ranks second in a single-season in wins, just one win shy of Maureen Brady's record of 36 wins set in 1994. Mackin has now won nine straight games for the Bulldogs. Mackin also tied Maureen Brady's record for most appearances in a season with 52.
350 Ks: Fresno State sophomore right hander Robin Mackin past the 350 strikeout mark for the second consecutive year. Mackin now has 350 this season in 293 innings pitched. Her 350 strikeouts already rank third all-time in a season at Fresno State. She has totaled 752 strikeouts in her first two seasons.
Back in the Rankings: Fresno State jumped back into the Top 25 with a No. 25 ranking in the latest ESPN.Com/USA Softball poll released on Tuesday, May 8. The Bulldogs were tied at No. 25 with Florida and earned 41 points. The USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll had the Bulldogs just outside the Top 25, sitting in the 27th spot.
All-WAC Tournament Team: Fresno State had four players named to the 2007 WAC Tournament Team, including the Most Valuable Player. Robin Mackin was named Most Valuable Player after going 4-0 in the circle for the Bulldogs. Nichole Willis, Jenna Cervantez and Haley Perkins also received All-Tournament honors.
Six Players Earn All-WAC Honors: The Bulldogs had six players earn All-WAC honors announced by the conference office. Robin Mackin, Haley Perkins, Jenna Cervantez and Nichole Willis were all First Team All-WAC selections. Kristin Sylvester and Merryann Barr were named to the Second Team. Mackin and Perkins were named to the First Team for the second consecutive season, while Willis and Cervantez were named to their first All-WAC First Team honor.
Mackin, Perkins Earn Academic All-District Honors: Fresno State sophomore pitcher Robin Mackin was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 8 First Team and sophomore shortstop Haley Perkins was named to the All-District 8 Second Team. Mackin and Perkins, both in their sophomore seasons, earned their first honor in the first year they were eligible for the award. Mackin, a Biology-Physiology and Anatomy major, carries a 4.0 GPA and Perkins, a Liberal Studies major, carries a 3.46 GPA.
Playing Long Ball: The Bulldogs tied a school record with six home runs in a single game Friday, April 20 against New Mexico State. In the three-game series, Fresno State hit nine home runs, including two apiece from Haley Perkins, Jenna Cervantez and Kristin Sylvester. Nichole Willis, Shannon Garvin and Ashley White each hit one home run on Friday.
Perkins Earns WAC POW Honor: Fresno State sophomore shortstop Haley Perkins earned her first Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor announced by the conference office on April 3. Perkins, a sophomore from Fresno, Calif. (Clovis West), helped lead the Bulldogs to a perfect 3-0 record in WAC play last week against Utah State. Perkins hit .857 in three games, going 6 for 7 with a .909 on base percentage. The Bulldogs' leadoff hitter scored seven runs, walked twice, was hit by a pitch twice and had a perfect fielding percentage at shortstop.
Sylvester Earns First WAC POW Honor: The Bulldogs' Kristin Sylvester earned her first Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week honor on Monday, March 26, for her efforts last week. Sylvester was on fire at the plate for Fresno State and had an impressive four home runs and eight RBI in five games. Sylvester pulled off the impressive feat of hitting two home runs in the same inning against Ohio in the second game of the doubleheader. The junior hit .563 (9 for 16) with a 1.313 slugging percentage and a .632 on base percentage.
Mackin Earns Third Honor: Fresno State sophomore pitcher Robin Mackin, from Newmarket, Ontario, Canada (Newmarket) appeared in all seven games for the Bulldogs, but the most memorable came against No. 2 Arizona State. Mackin baffled the Sun Devils with 16 strikeouts during Fresno State's 6-1 win in the second game of the Judi Garman Classic. Mackin's other wins came against Purdue and a complete-game, 11-strikeout performance against Cal State Northridge. Mackin also picked up a save during the week while only allowing five earned runs in 31 2/3 innings. Mackin ended the week with a 3-1 record, pitching 31.2 innings and adding 49 strikeouts. She averaged 10.8 strikeouts per seven innings.
