Fresno State Athletics
No. 14/14 Bulldogs Battle Top 25 in Cathedral City
2/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 17, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FRESNO, Calif. - After a week off, the Fresno State softball team will continue play and return to Cathedral City, Calif. to participate in the annual Cathedral City Classic hosted by Oregon State, Feb. 19-22. Fresno State is 3-1 on the season and will take on four top 25 teams in Florida, North Carolina, Northwestern and UCLA and will also face Maryland.
Scouting Florida
It will be a meeting of 2008's top two leaders in the NCAA in wins when Fresno State's Morgan Melloh and Florida's Stacey Nelson are projected to take the circle on Thursday. Nelson recorded 47 wins in 2008 to lead the nation while Melloh was just second behind her with 42. The Gators are 8-1 on the season with the lone loss coming to Baylor on opening weekend. Florida has four batters hitting .500 or better on the season, led by Francesca Enea at .542. Fresno State leads the overall series vs. Florida 2-1, winning the first two meetings in 1997 and 1998 while Florida won the last meeting in 2000 during the NCAA Regional at Bulldog Diamond. Fresno State came just one run short of facing Florida last season in the Super Regionals.
Scouting Maryland
Maryland is 0-5 on the season after competing in the Florida Atlantic Kickoff on opening weekend. The Terps dropped games to UMass, Florida Atlantic, Long Island, Michigan and Pitt. This will be the first-ever meeting between Maryland and Fresno State and one of three teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference on the Bulldogs 2009 schedule.
Scouting UNC
Fresno State has never lost a game to North Carolina in three tries. The Bulldogs have shutout UNC in each outing in 2001, 2003 and in 2005. The 2003 game was played in the NCAA Regional in Fresno. The Tarheels are 8-2 on the season with their two loses coming by just one run each to Louisville and Auburn. They perhaps got their biggest win over the season over No. 9 Cal. They are led by Danielle Spaulding in the circle with a perfect 4-0 record and 0.00 ERA and 67 strikeouts.
Scouting Northwestern
Northwestern is 6-3 on the year with a big win over then-ranked No. 7 Arizona on opening weekend. The three loses have been to Kansas, No. 23 Nevada and No. 4 UCLA. The Wildcats are led by Tammy Williams at the pate hitting .467 and Lauren Delaney in the circle with a 5-3 record. Fresno State leads the overall series vs. Northwestern 5-4 but the Wildcats won the last two meetings in 2006 and 2007. Fresno State's last win over Northwestern was a 2-0 shutout in 1995.
Scouting UCLA
UCLA and Fresno State have a storied rivalry unlike any other in Division I softball on the West Coast, dating back to 1981. The two have played against each other once in an NCAA Regional in 2003 and 12 times in the Women's College World Series. UCLA holds the postseason advantage 10-3 and leads the overall series 37-10. The Bruins are 7-2 on the year, led by Katie Schroeder at the plate with six home runs and a .464 batting average. Donna Kerr leads UCLA in the circle with 52 strikeouts and a 4-2 record.
Pacific Game Rescheduled
The Bulldogs were scheduled to play a doubleheader in Stockton vs. Pacific on Valentines Day, but due to weather in the Central Valley the games were rained out. On March 31 at 2 p.m. the Bulldogs and Tigers will make up one game in Stockton.
Melloh on the Rise
Morgan Melloh finished her freshman campaign as the school record holder for strikeouts in a single season with 454. With 24 already in 2009, Melloh has 478 for her career and is just 13 strikeouts shy of the Fresno State career strikeout list. The school's all-time record holder is Jamie Southern with 1,321 strikeouts.
Melloh's strikeout/7 inning ratio was 8.8 after her freshman season and has jumped up to 8.9 with 24 strikeouts in just over 15 innings this year. Melloh has pitched just over 375 innings in her career and once at 400 IP she can be tracked officially by the NCAA. She needs a minimum 500 IP to rank on the Bulldog career record list.
Proficient Perkins
Senior Haley Perkins has proved in her three plus years as a Bulldog that she can do it all. She has played shortstop, third base and second base. She has proved she can steal bases, hit home runs and lead the team. Her senior season, Perkins is continuing to do all of those things and permanently ink her name into the Fresno State career record book. She currently ranks No. 6 in batting average (.368), No. 10 in triples (10), No. 9 in slugging percentage (.469), 12 in steals (22), and No. 6 in hit by pitch (20). Before her career is over she will more than likely also rank in the top 10 in at bats, hits, runs, total bases and walks.
Speedy Gilleland
Sophomore shortstop Haley Gilleland stole 23 bases out of 24 attempts in 2008 which ranked second in a single season at Fresno State. She is just one stolen base away from the Fresno State career top 10 list. Becky Witt is the school record holder with 51 from 1998-2001.
Home Opener One Week Away
Fresno State's 2009 home opener is just one week away as the Bulldogs take on Utah Valley University on Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. at Bulldog Diamond. It will be `Heroes Night' at the field with the Fresno Police Department, Fire Department and Ambulance bringing vehicles to the Diamond.
Melloh Named WAC Pitcher of the Week
Morgan Melloh earned her first WAC Pitcher of the Week honors and the sixth of her career after going 2-0 for the then ranked No. 12/14 Fresno State softball team on opening weekend. Melloh pitched two complete game shutouts, allowing only four hits and three walks while striking out 24 batters. She struck out 13 batters and gave up just three hits against Wisconsin in the season opener then pitched a one-hitter vs. Cal State Northridge in the Bulldogs 3-0 win in eight innings.
Cathedral City Kick-Off
Fresno State began opening weekend at the Cathedral City Kick-Off where they finished with a 3-1 record. The Bulldogs defeated Wisconsin in the season opener 5-0 before falling to Fordham 5-2. On day two, Fresno State recorded another shutout, 2-0, over Liberty. Due to rain earlier that morning however, Fresno State's game vs. then ranked No. 13/16 Houston was cancelled and will not be rescheduled. The Bulldogs finished the tournament in dramatic fashion with a 3-0 eight inning victory over Cal State Northridge. The Bulldogs hit two home runs in the top of the eighth inning, a two-run bomb by freshman Michelle Moses way over the right field wall, then a solo shot at the next at bat that was just fair down the left field line by sophomore catcher Caitlin Stiglich.
Pre-Season All-WAC
Senior Haley Perkins and sophomore Morgan Melloh were named to the pre-season All-WAC team voted on by the WAC coaches. Melloh was also named the pre-season Pitcher of the Year after she was named the 2008 WAC Freshman and Pitcher of the Year.
The Bulldogs were also picked to win their 21st conference title. This is the 12th time in the last 14 years that the Bulldogs have been favored to win the regular season conference championship. Fresno State has also won two WAC Tournament titles in the six years of its existence (1999, 2007).
USA Softball Top 50 Watch List
Haley Perkins and Morgan Melloh also received pre-season recognition from USA Softball as they were two of 50 players named to the Top 50 Pre-Season Player of the Year Watch List. The 2009 Pre-Season Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 32 schools and 13 different NCAA Division I Conferences. Melloh and Perkins are joined by fellow WAC opponent Noelle Micka (Nevada) representing the conference. Fresno State is one of 10 schools to have two student-athletes on the list while four schools placed three each on the list.
Pre-Season Top 25 Polls
Fresno State earned top 15 rankings by both top 25 pre-season polls. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) ranked the Bulldogs No. 14. Fresno State has been ranked for 27 consecutive seasons and in 243 out of the 269 weekly polls. This is the highest pre-season ranking for the Bulldog since they received a No. 9 ranking in 2001. In 2008 the `Dogs reached as high as No. 10, their highest in-season ranking since 2002.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball pre-season top 25 poll ranked the Bulldogs No. 12 in their poll. This is the highest preseason ranking the Bulldogs have earned from the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll since it began at the start of the 2006 season. Last year, the Bulldogs reached as high as No. 9 in the poll during the season and finished No. 15 in the top 25 final poll at the end of the season
Strength of Schedule
Head coach Margie Wright is known for playing the best-of-the-best year in and year out but the 2009 schedule could arguably be one of the toughest in school history. The Bulldogs will take on 15 teams who made last year's NCAA Tournament, three teams from the WCWS, 12 ranked in the NFCA pre-season top 25 and three others receiving votes.
Season and Single-Game Tickets on Sale
Softball season and single-game tickets are now on sale. Single-game tickets in lower box areas are $15 and upper reserved seating is $8. Discounts are available for senior citizens and youth in the softball general admission areas and the baseball upper reserved areas. Senior tickets are $5 and youth tickets are $3 (ages 5-18). The softball Opening Night Plan is a four-game package, including the opening night game versus Utah Valley University on Feb. 26 and any three other home games. This package is only $22 for adults and provides discounts for youth. The softball WAC Pack includes six home dates, beginning with the game against San Jose State on Friday, March 20. The package also includes the Nevada and Hawai'i series. This package is only $33 for adults and provides discounts for youth.
Season tickets for softball range from $63 - $250. All packages include each of the 14 home dates including the annual Fresno State Tournament at Bulldog Diamond, with the Dogs taking on Cal on Sunday, March 8.
Bayer CropScience Classic
The annual Fresno State softball tournament at Bulldog Diamond has a new sponsor beginning in the 2009 season. Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, nutrition and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience AG, a subsidiary of Bayer AG is one of the world's leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of crop protection, non-agricultural pest control, seeds and plant biotechnology.
This year's tournament includes BYU, Providence, Northern Illinois and Cal along with the host Bulldogs. The tournament runs March 5-8.
'Dogs to Host WAC Tournament
Fresno State will host the 2009 WAC Tournament at Bulldog Diamond, May 5-9. The top seven teams at the end of the regular season will compete in the double-elimination tournament. The winner of the tournament will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. (Eight teams in the WAC now sponsor softball with Boise State joining the conference this year.)
Bulldogs on Radio/TV
There will be plenty of opportunities to view the Bulldogs on television and listen to them on the air in 2009. Comcast Local 14 will broadcast six games throughout the season live from Bulldog Diamond, beginning on Sunday, March 8 vs. Cal at 1 p.m. Guy Haberman and Aubrey Fast will be announcing the games.
790 the Deuce ESPN Radio will broadcast all of the Bulldogs 2009 home games with Paul Swearengin and Guy Haberman calling the action live from Bulldog Diamond. Internet streaming of select Bulldog road games will be made available on the all-access page. Alyssa Chambers will be calling all of the games live from the road. This week, the games vs. Florida, North Carolina and UCLA will all be streamed live.
Bulldog Blog
The Fresno State Media Relations office will blog throughout the season about the Fresno State softball team. To view the softball blog and blogs from all of the 17 varsity teams at Fresno State, log on to www.gobulldogs.com and click on the Bulldog Blog button on the right side of the main page.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs travel to the Cathedral City Classic from February 19-22. The `Dogs' home opener is Thursday, February 26 against Utah Valley. First pitch at Bulldog Diamond is scheduled for 6:00 pm. Season tickets, mini plans and single game tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting the Bulldog Ticket Office, calling 278-DOGS or online at gobulldogs.com.
