Fresno State Athletics
WAC Coaches Pick Dogs to Finish Second
1/31/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
FRESNO, Calif. - With the start of the 2011 season days away, the Fresno State softball team was picked by the Western Athletic Conference coaches to finish second while three Bulldogs earned selections to the preseason All-WAC team, the conference office announced this afternoon.
Senior shortstop Haley Gilleland, junior pitcher/first baseman Michelle Moses and senior catcher Caitlin Stiglich were Fresno State's representatives on the preseason All-WAC team. The three selections marked the second-most for any WAC school behind Hawai'i's five student-athletes, including the 2011 Preseason Player of the Year sophomore Kelly Majam and Pitcher of the Year junior Stephanie Ricketts.
"It's great to see Haley, Caitlin, and Michelle made the preseason All-Wac Team," 26h-year head coach Margie Wright said. We are looking forward to our season and as always, I'm sure the WAC will be very competitive and we are looking forward to our season and the competition."
Hawai'i, the defending WAC champion who advanced to the 2010 Women's College World Series, grabbed 48 points and six first-place votes to be tabbed as the preseason conference favorite. The Bulldogs garnered 43 points and a pair of first-place votes.
Boise State followed in third place, New Mexico State edged Louisiana Tech for fourth place. Nevada was picked to finish sixth (24), followed by San Jose State in seventh with 13 points. Utah State rounded out the poll in eighth place with eight points.
Gilleland, Moses and Stiglich all were members of the 2010 All-WAC team. Moses was also a 2010 second-team All-West Region honoree.
Head coaches cannot vote for their own teams or student-athletes in preseason voting.
Last week, the Dogs received national recognition by earning votes in both the 2011 preseason USA Today/NFCA Division I and ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate polls.
Fresno State earned 31 votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll, the 26th most of any team in the country, while in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, the Dogs earned nine votes to rank in 34th position.
"Once again we have a very strong national schedule as we do every year," noted Wright, who enters her 26th season while averaging 49 wins per season.
In 2011, the Dogs will face three schools that competed in the 2010 Women's College Series, including a neutral site game with No. 7/9 Missouri, two neutral site games against 2009 national champion and No. 10/11 Washington and three WAC home games versus No. 8/13 Hawai'i (April 1 and 2).
"We are playing 14 games against the top 45 in the USA Today/NFCA preseason coaches poll, 12 of which come against the Top 25," Wright added. "In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate preseason poll, we will be playing 16 games against the top 45, and 12 of those also will be against the Top 25."
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 Bulldogs were ranked four weeks and finished No. 28 in both final polls.
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 Division I 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 Western Athletic championships and three WAC Tournament titles (2009, '07 and 1999).
The Bulldogs are the nation's second-best all-time winningest NCAA Division I softball fastpitch program with a 1,407-471-1 (.749) record since 1982 --- ahead of UCLA, Florida State, Cal State Fullerton, La.-Lafayette, California, Texas A&M and Oklahoma.
Fresno State enters its 34th year of competition with an overall program record 1,491-528-1 (.738) since 1978 - just nine wins away from the program's 1,500th all-time victory.
Fresno State opens the season on Feb. 12 at 1 p.m. in Bulldog Diamond with a doubleheader against Sacramento State. The Dogs will also serve as the hosts for the 2011 WAC Softball Tournament from May 11-14.
2011 WAC Preseason Poll
Rank - Team (first-place votes) - Points
1. Hawai`i (6) - 48
2. Fresno State (2) - 43
3. Boise State - 33
4. New Mexico State - 28
5. Louisiana Tech - 27
6. Nevada - 24
7. San Jose State - 13
8. Utah State - 8
2011 Preseason All-WAC Team
Allie Crump, Boise State, P, Jr.
Haley Gilleland, Fresno State, SS, Sr.
Melissa Gonzalez, Hawai'i, 3B, Sr.
Jessica Iwata, Hawai'i, SS, So.
Tiare Jennings, New Mexico State, OF, Jr.
Meghan Krieg, Louisiana Tech, P , Sr.
Kelly Majam, Hawai'i, OF, So.
Michelle Moses, Fresno State, P, Jr.
Hoku Nohara, New Mexico State, 1B, Sr.
Amanda Pridmore, San Jose State, P, Jr.
Stephanie Ricketts, Hawai'i, P, Jr.
Jenna Rodriguez, Hawai'i, OF, Sr.
Caitlin Stiglich, Fresno State, C, Sr.
Player of the Year
Kelly Majam, So., Hawai'i
Pitcher of the Year
Stephanie Ricketts, Jr., Hawai'i
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.
"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.
