No. 16/16 Softball Captures WAC Title with Series Sweep Over Nevada
Bulldogs collect second straight league crown and eighth in 10 years.
May 7, 2005
Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. -
The No. 16/16 Fresno State softball team captured its second straight Western Athletic Conference title and eighth in the last 10 years when the Bulldogs posted a 10-1, 5 inning win over Nevada.
Going undefeated on the road in conference action, Fresno State exploded with eight runs in the first three innings of play before going on to notch its fifth run-rule victory of the year.
Senior All-America pitcher Jamie Southern improved to 24-3 on the season after scattering seven hits and yielding one run (unearned) while striking out six.
Junior All-America shortstop Christina Clark was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle as she went 4-4 with four runs and three RBI. Senior third baseman Leticia Pacheco also was perfect at the plate as she went 3-3 with a RBI.
Banging out a season-high 16 hits, the top of the Bulldogs' line up did the damage as the one through five hitters combined for six runs on 12 hits and nine RBI.
Using two pitchers, Nevada starter Jordan McPherson was knocked out of the game early as she allowed six runs on eight hits and walked one in 1.0 innings of work to fall to 11-11 overall. Reliever Tiffany Hoeft threw the final 4.0 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits.
With the loss, Nevada fell to 22-28 overall and 8-7 in the WAC.
In the first, Clark led the game off with her 14th home run of the season when she drove a 2-2 pitch over the center field fence to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom half of that frame, Nevada tied the game on a RBI single by third baseman Candice Rainwater. The Bulldogs allowed the run to score after they committed a two-out fielding error that would have ended the inning. For Southern, that run ended her scoreless streak at 46.0 innings, a mark that ranks sixth-best all-time in school history.
In the second, the Bulldogs would score five runs on seven hits. Batting around, Fresno State strung together seven consecutive base hits before the first out was made. Clark, sophomore catcher
Nichole Willis, senior third baseman
Leticia Pacheco and feshman first baseman Kristin Slyvester picked up the RBIs. Freshman desiganted player
Lindsay Milchovich got the offense rolling when she led the inning off with a hit through the right side.
In the third, Clark had a one-out RBI double and Willis had a run scoring single to give Fresno State an 8-1 lead. In the fifth, Southern collected a sacrifice fly and Pacheco recorded a RBI single.
Pacheco tied the school's all-time career mark in hit by pitch when she was tagged on a full count in the first inning. With 43 in her career, she shares the record with four-time All-American and three-time Olympic gold medalist Laura Berg.
Riding its longest win streak of the season with 10 straight victories, Fresno State (38-10, 14-1 WAC) will close out the regular-season at home next week with a three-game conference series against UTEP (May 13-14).
