Fresno State Athletics
ESPNU Back for Friday Night Showdown
3/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 29, 2011
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.
ESPNU's Cara Capuano and Jessica Mendoza will call the action on ESPNU. Fresno State will be making its 16th appearance on national television in program history.
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Bulldogs Secure WAC Road Sweep of LA Tech
The Fresno State softball team completed a three-game road sweep of the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters by the scores of 2-0, 10-1 and 2-1 (9). The Bulldogs were only WAC school to win a road game during the opening weekend of conference play.
Dogs Start 19-8 with Three Top 20 Wins, Sport NCAA RPI of 19
On the season, Fresno State is 19-8 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 in the two major national polls. The Bulldogs also had a WAC-leading RPI of 19 before last weekend's sweep in Ruston in the first and latest NCAA RPI release. Four WAC schools are ranked in the Top 100.
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]
PREVIEW: No. 20/25 Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine
• No. 20/25 Hawai'i [WAC] (Friday - 7 p.m. PT & Saturday - 1 p.m./3 p.m. PT)
- The Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine are 25-9 on the season and 3-0 in WAC action.
- Fresno State leads the all-time series with Hawai'i, 61-19
- Stephanie Ricketts is 15-7, Kara Paraby is 9-2 and Jenna Rodriguez is batting .327
Oakes Honored as Back-to-Back WAC Pitcher of the Week
Bulldog junior pitcher Mackenzie Oakes earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors in consecutive weeks. For the first honor, Oakes recorded a 3-0 record in the circle over three starts 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). In the second honor, Oakes extended her 10-0 record as a starter (12-2 overall, 2-0 WAC) as she went 2-0 with a 0.44 earned run average in a pair of complete-game road wins over the Lady Techsters (2-0 and 2-1 in nine innings).
DOG WATCH: Bulldogs Climbing into Record Books
• Haley Gilleland is Fresno State's all-time stolen base leader (71) & 12-for-13 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)
WRIGHT WATCH: Wright Records No. 1,400 and Keeps Winning
• Margie Wright is the all-time winningest Division I fastpitch head softball coach (1,405)
• Margie Wright is in her 26th season as Fresno State's head softball coach
Fresno State is One of the 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 1,510-536-1 (.739) since 1978
• Fresno State is the nation's second-best all-time winningest NCAA Division I softball fastpitch program with a 1,426-478-1 (.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)
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 continues WAC play when the Dogs 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.
