Fresno State Athletics
ESPNU Back at Bulldog Diamond on April 1
1/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Jan. 19, 2011
A Quick Look: Key Notes
• Fresno State will host Hawai'i on April 1 at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised WAC softball game on ESPNU.
• This marks the 16th national television appearance in Bulldog softball history.
• This marks the second straight season a Bulldog softball home game has been broadcast on ESPNU.
• Season Tickets are available for as low as $39 (youth/senior) and $65 (adult), which can be purchased online at www.gobulldogs.com.
FRESNO, Calif. --- The storied rivalry between Fresno State and Hawai'i will be featured at Bulldog Diamond in an ESPNU broadcast of the Dogs and Rainbow Wahine's Western Athletic Conference softball game on April 1 at 7 p.m.
Fresno State will be making its 16th appearance on national television in program history.
This is the second straight season that the Bulldogs have been selected for the regular season Western Athletic Conference softball showcase on ESPNU. Last year, Fresno State defeated Louisiana Tech 2-1 in the national broadcast on May 7, 2010.
The Bulldogs return four 2010 All-WAC honorees - senior shortstop Haley Gilleland, senior catcher Caitlin Stiglich, junior pitcher/first baseman Michelle Moses and junior infielder/outfielder Andrea Ortega - for the 2011 season.
Fresno State went 41-21 in 2010 and advanced to the championship game of the Los Angeles Regional before falling to eventual national champion UCLA.
The Dogs are the nation's only program to have qualified for all 29 NCAA Tournaments in the Division I sport's history and head coach Margie Wright, the all-time winningest Division I fastpitch head softball coach, owns 1386 career victories - 14 shy of the 1400 career win milestone.
The Bulldogs have appeared in 12 of the 29 NCAA Women's College World Series and secured the school's first national championship in any sport in 1998, have been a national runner-up four times (1990, '89, '88 and '82), finished third three times (1997, '92 and '91) and tied for fifth four times (1999, '94, '87 and '84).
Fresno State has won 10 of the past 15 regular season WAC championships and three WAC Tournament titles (2009, '07 and 1999).
Hawai'i, the defending WAC champion, advanced to its first-ever NCAA Women's College World Series last season after their best season in program history (50-16), during which they set the NCAA record for home runs in a season with 158 and beat No. 1 Alabama in the Tuscaloosa Super Regional on a walk-off home run off Jenna Rodriguez's bat.
The Rainbow Wahine returns National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Americans Melissa Gonzalez and Kelly Majam.
About ESPNU
ESPNU launched March 4, 2005. The 24-hour college sports television network televises more than 650 live events annually. Action includes a variety of top football and men's and women's basketball games, as well as Olympic sports from 26 Division I conferences. ESPNU is the destination for premier high school programming, including elite football and basketball events. The network also has a wide-ranging agreement with the NCAA for extensive coverage of 22 NCAA Championships.
ESPNU offers over 400 original studio shows, including SportsCenterU, ESPNU Recruiting Insider, The Experts, The Bracket, BCS Countdown and is the television home of ESPN Radio's The Herd with Colin Cowherd. The brand is also available in high definition on ESPNU HD, now in over 17 million homes. In addition, ESPNU Campus Connection is a multiplatform, student-generated content initiative to enhance the network's link to college campuses nationwide.
ESPNU has seen a steady increase since its inception and is now in approximately 73 million households across the country. The network has long-term carriage agreements with all 10 of the top multichannel TV providers - Cablevision, Charter, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV (Channel 208), DISH Network (Channel 141), Mediacom, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV and AT&T U-verse.
Bulldog Softball Season Ticket Information
Softball season tickets are available for as low as $39 for youth/senior in general admission areas, $65 for adult general admission, $78 for upper reserved seating and $130 for lower box seating. This represents an affordable price reduction from previous seasons and gives Bulldog fans significant savings when compared to the single game ticket price.
Fans can purchase season tickets by logging on to www.gobulldogs.com, calling 559-278-DOGS or by visiting the Bulldog Ticket Office.
"Meet the Dogs" on Saturday at River Park
The countdown to Opening Day is officially underway for the Fresno State softball team and Bulldog fans can get a jump start on the season by attending Saturday's "Meet the Team" event from 1-3 p.m. at River Park in front of the movie theater.
This will be the first time for the event in three years after the past two seasons "Meet the Team" opportunities were canceled due to rain. The forecast for Saturday is sunny skies and temperatures in the low 60s.
Fans are invited to bring items to be autographed, take photographs and talk with the Bulldogs about the upcoming season.
"We Are Your Team" - The Fresno State softball team will start the 2011 season on Feb. 12 with a doubleheader against Sacramento State at Bulldog Diamond. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Season tickets and single-day tickets are available throughout the season at www.gobulldogs.com and the Bulldog Ticket Office.
