Fresno State Athletics
Softball to Compete in NCAA Eugene Regional
5/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
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FRESNO, Calif.-The Fresno State softball team gathered to patiently await the results of the NCAA postseason bracket announced during the 2015 Selection Show on Sunday night, aired live on ESPNU.
Fresno State (40-14) is headed to the Eugene, Oregon Regional of the 2015 NCAA Tournament and will open up against North Dakota State (43-9) on Thursday, May 14 at 2 p.m. Also attending the Eugene Regional this week at Howe Field is No. 2 overall seed Oregon (44-6) and BYU (39-12).
"It's a comfortable draw for us," head coach Trisha Ford said. "We're pretty familiar with Oregon after playing them earlier this year, North Dakota State had a great year and BYU is another team that had a great year. I'm excited to go in there and hopefully make some noise. I think we're in a good place, our bats this weekend stepped it up even more so and we'll tidy up some things in the circle but the great thing about this game is anybody can win. I am excited to go out there and compete and that our season is continuing."
All competition slates during the Eugene Regional will not be broadcasted on television, however all games will be streamed live with commentary and can be accessed for free at GoDucks.com.
Oregon has been selected as a regional host for the past four years where BYU was in attendance in 2012 and 2013. Fresno State is 1-0 all-time against North Dakota State, with the only meeting coming during the `Dogs non-conference slate in 2012 at the Fresno State Classic. The Bulldogs are 9-3 against BYU with all 13 matchups being between 2000-2013. After falling 3-0 to Oregon earlier this season, the `Dogs own the all-time record of 30-6 with the Ducks winning five of the last six meetings.
"We're very excited regardless of where we went, we're prepared for this and we'll see how this goes," senior Brenna Moss said. "Regardless of who we are playing, like coach always preaches we worry about us and how we play. This is a goal for us obviously every year and for us to get back in it my senior year is huge. It is important for our program to make it to the tournament every year, and with this group of girls I think we can make it really far."
Heading into postseason on an 11-game winning streak, the Bulldog softball team clinched the 2015 Mountain West Conference title and automatic NCAA bid to postseason on Friday night as they claimed the conference series against UNLV in Las Vegas, Nev. For the first time in school history, the Bulldogs secured MW automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament and improved to 40-14 on the season while concluding the regular season with a 20-4 record.
"We're just excited to take it game-by-game and pitch-by-pitch like we have all season," pitcher Jill Compton said. "This has been our goal, our first goal was to win the conference and this is the next chapter in our book. It's going to be fun, there is going to be pressure but we've put ourselves in pressure situations before and we are excited for this.
2015 will mark the `Dogs 35th postseason advancement with 30 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 1982-2011. The Fresno State softball team claimed the 1998 NCAA title while competing in 12 Women's College World Series and with four NCAA runner-up finishes.
"It's so exciting that we get to go experience this together," senior Michelle Solomon said. "I am very thankful for being one of the 64 top teams still playing in postseason, I am very excited."
NCAA regionals is set to begin on Friday, May 15 and is constructed of 32 programs which receive an automatic bid, while the remaining 32 teams are selected on an at-large basis to make up a 64-team playing field. Regionals will last through May 17 while the NCAA Super Regionals are slated for May 21-24 at eight selected campus sites. A best-of-three tournament format will determine who advances to the 34th annual NCAA Division I Softball Championship (May 28- June 3), held for the 25th time at the Oklahoma City/ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
"This is what we look forward to, this is what we do," pitcher Jill Compton said. "There is no pressure on us, we will just go out there and play the game that we love to play.
Fresno State softball's last postseason appearance was in 2011 as the `Dogs competed in the NCAA Region 15 at Stanford, topping Nebraska 1-0 in 10 innings before being edged by Stanford (3-1) and Nebraska (5-0).
"This has been a goal of ours and something that this community is thirsty for," Ford added. "Fresno State softball has been a mainstay in postseason and I think it's where we belong. I am very proud of the girls and their effort and I'm happy to be here."
EUGENE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Thursday, May 14 Game 1 - 2:00 p.m. North Dakota St. vs. Fresno St.
Game 2 - 5:00 p.m. Oregon vs. BYU
Friday, May 15 Game 3 - 11:00 a.m. Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2
Game 4 - 2:00 p.m. Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 5 - 5:00 p.m. Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3
Saturday, May 16 Game 6 - 1:00 p.m. Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
Game 7 - 4:00 p.m. Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6 (if necessary)
"Be Bold!" - The official home of Fresno State Softball is 790 AM ESPN2 The Deuce. For ticket information contact the Bulldog Ticket Office at 559-278-3647 or log on to www.gobulldogs.com.
