Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Open WAC Play in Ruston
3/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 23, 2011
FRESNO, Calif. - After defeating No. 5/6 Michigan behind the power of an explosive fourth inning and another pitching gem by Mackenzie Oakes, Fresno State will make its final scheduled trek to Ruston as a member of the Western Athletic Conference to open league play on Friday.
Live statistics of all Fresno State games can be viewed with Gametracker at www.GoBulldogs.com.
Dogs Start 16-8 with Three Top 20 Wins Over Big Ten/Big 12 Foes
On the season, Fresno State is 16-8 with three wins over Top 20 teams for a 3-3 mark against Top 20 opponents and 3-4 against schools ranked in the Top 25.
Fresno State's 2011 Top 25 Wins
• Fresno State 3, No. 5/6 Michigan 1 [March 19, 2011]
• Fresno State 6, No. 8/10 Missouri 3 [February 18, 2011]
• Fresno State 4, No. 19/18 Oklahoma State 3 [February 25, 2011]
Oakes Named WAC Pitcher of the Week
Bulldog junior pitcher Mackenzie Oakes earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors. In three starts, Oakes recorded a 3-0 record in the circle with a 0.67 earned run average to lead Fresno State to wins over No. 5/6 Michigan (3-1), Illinois (3-2) and Bradley (3-2).
PREVIEW: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (Friday - 4 p.m. PT & Saturday - 11 a.m./1 p.m. PT)
• The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are a member of the Western Athletic Conference
• Fresno State leads the all-time series with Louisiana Tech, 27-5.
• The teams played on ESPNU last year in the WAC's softball showcase.
WRIGHT WATCH: Wright Records No. 1,400 and Keeps Winning
• Margie Wright is the all-time winningest Division I fastpitch head softball coach (1,402)
• Margie Wright is in her 26th season as Fresno State's head softball coach
DOG WATCH: Bulldogs Climbing into Record Books
• Haley Gilleland is Fresno State's all-time stolen base leader (71) & 12-for-12 this year
• Haley Gilleland is tenth all-time in the WAC in stolen bases (71)
• Haley Gilleland is sixth all-time at Fresno State in career hit by pitch (23)
• Michelle Moses is second all-time at Fresno State in career home runs (37)
• Caitlin Stiglich is one grand slam away from tying Christina Clark's program record (5)
Fresno State is One of Nation's Elite Programs
• Fresno State won its 1,500th career game on March 10 with a 1-0 against Idaho State
• Fresno State is in its 34th year with an overall record of 1,507-536-1 (.739) since 1978
• Fresno State is the nation's second-best all-time winningest NCAA Division I softball fastpitch program with a 1,423-478-1 (.750) record since 1982 --- behind Arizona and ahead of UCLA, Florida State, Cal State Fullerton, La.-Lafayette, California and Oklahoma.
• Fresno State is the nation's only program to qualify for every NCAA Tournament (29)
• Fresno State has appeared on national television 15 times (16th set for April 1, 2011)
Eight Games Have Been Either Washed Out or Postponed
Due to inclement weather conditions that made fields unplayable, Fresno State's games against Washington, UC Davis and San Diego were canceled and will not be rescheduled for a future date. The Bulldogs also had doubleheaders with Pacific and UC Santa Barbara postponed due to inclement weather forecasts and rescheduled for later dates. Due to travel concerns and time restraints, Oregon State and Fresno State elected to postpone the Feb. 27 game between the schools and the contest has yet to be rescheduled.
ESPNU Back on Campus on April 1
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 WAC softball showcase on ESPNU. Last year, Fresno State defeated Louisiana Tech 2-1 in the national broadcast on May 7, 2010.
ESPNU Shines Spotlight on the Bulldogs
After the Bulldogs' 4-3 win against No. 19 Oklahoma State on Feb. 25 in Cathedral City, Fresno State's Haley Gilleland, Michelle Moses and Mackenzie Oakes taped segments with ESPNU for the upcoming national broadcast of the Fresno State-Hawai'i game. Bulldog head coach Margie Wright, the NCAA's all-time winningest Division I fastpitch softball coach, was also interviewed on her career, the program and current topics affecting the sport of softball.
Fresno State Holds Record for 29 NCAA Tournament Appearances
Fresno State is the nation's only program to have qualified for all 29 NCAA Tournaments in the Division I sport's history. 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 Picked to Finish Second, Three Dogs Named All-WAC
In the annual Western Athletic Conference coaches preseason poll, Fresno State was picked to finish second and three Bulldogs earned selections to the preseason All-WAC team - senior shortstop Haley Gilleland, junior pitcher/first baseman Michelle Moses and senior catcher Caitlin Stiglich. Hawai'i, the defending WAC champion who advanced to the 2010 Women's College World Series, was tabbed as the preseason conference favorite.
Bulldogs to Host 2011 WAC Softball Tournament May 11-14
Fresno State will serve as the hosts for the 2011 Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament from May 11-14. The top six schools qualify for the double-elimination tournament with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament awarded to the winner. The Bulldogs have won three WAC Tournament titles (2009, `07 and 1999) and 10 of the past 15 regular season WAC championships. Ticket information will be announced later this year.
Fresno State Continues to Perform as the WAC's Premier Program
With its strong commitment to premier athletic competition and academic performance, Fresno State finished second in the 2009-10 Western Athletic Conference Commissioner's Cup standings and remained the best program throughout the eight years of the award. Since the 2002-03 academic year when the Cup race started, Fresno State has scored a WAC-best 679.5 points for an average of 84.94 points per academic year. The Bulldogs rank first among the current WAC institutions with an average finish of 2.375, ahead of Boise State (3.63) and Nevada (3.88) as the top three WAC schools. Fresno State is also one of two repeat Cup winners (2007-08 & 2008-09), along with Rice University (2003-04 & 2004-05).
"We Are Your Team!" --- Fresno State starts WAC play on Friday night in Ruston, La. The Dogs will return to Bulldog Diamond for a nationally televised showdown with No. 21/25 Hawai'i on April 1 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU. Fans can purchase tickets by logging on to www.gobulldogs.com, calling 559-278-DOGS or by visiting the Bulldog Ticket Office.
