The Diamond Times



The Diamond Times

Bulldog Diamond -- Home of Fresno State Softball

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With well over a decade of national excellence that includes a NCAA Softball Championship title, 12 trips to the NCAA Women's College World Series, 23 consecutive NCAA regional appearances, and 18 conference championship titles, Fresno State softball has set a precedent on the collegiate ranks.

Fresno State, which also has been a four-time NCAA national runner-up and is the only school to have appeared in every NCAA tournament, showcased a new home for its softball program in 1996.

Regarded as one of the finest in the country, the Bulldogs play in a stadium like no other on the collegiate ranks as the facility boasts a seating capacity of 5,767 and a home field record of 250-46 (.845) since 1996. The stadium was singled out in the summer of 2000 by the American Institute of Architect San Joaquin for its "excellence in design and execution."

The $3.2 million softball stadium features 1,688 permanent seat-back chairs that include 388 box seats, sunken dugouts, lights, concessions stands, restrooms, practice areas, enclosed batting cages, press box with 24 telephone lines as well as a contemporary scoreboard and message center. Completely fenced in, Bulldog Diamond is 205 feet down the lines and 220 feet to center field.

Bulldog Softball, home to the country's largest fan following since 1987 which has amassed an outstanding winning percentage of .743 (1,231-425-1), has hosted 18 of the 23 NCAA regional championships since 1982.

With the NCAA officially keeping total and average attendance marks since 1991, Fresno State has led the country in average attendance in 12 of the last 14 seasons (unofficially in 17 of last 19) while being tops in the nation in total attendance in 10 of the last 14 seasons (unofficially in 15 of last 19). The reward has been an astonishing 621-139-1 (.817) overall home field record.

After setting Top 25 single-date records at Bulldog Diamond for nine straight years, Fresno State has drawn more than 350,000 (358,938) while averaging more than 2,100 (2,149) per home date (167).

Three times in the last nine years the Bulldogs have broken their own NCAA record in total attendance for a regular-season. In 1999, Fresno State drew its largest single-season attendance with 55,746 fans in 26 dates for an average of 2,144. The 1997 Bulldogs broke their own NCAA records in total and average attendance that they set the previous year as Fresno State drew 51,133 fans for an average of 2,557 (20 dates). In 1996, the `Dogs totaled 34,224 fans for an average of 2,139 (16 dates).

Fresno State owns three of the top 10 NCAA all-time largest softball crowds, including most in a single-date with 5,724 versus Arizona (March 14, 2000) and 5,427 versus UCLA (February 24, 1996). The Bulldogs have set the NCAA single-date regular season record five times (1993, 3,517; 1989, 3,357; 1988, 2,583; 1996, 5,427; 2000, 5,724) while averaging at least 1,000 fans per single-date in a single-season 14 of the last 15 years.

"We have built something that is a testament to our commitment toward women and girls in the sport," said head coach Margie Wright, who is the NCAA's all-time winningest softball coach and the first NCAA Division I softball coach to ever post 1,000 and 1,100 Division I wins. "The university has honored its former players while welcoming generations to come with this premier softball stadium."

With a history of demanding nothing short of excellence, Fresno State has rewarded its loyal fans with nine USA Softball Olympians, one Puerto Rico Softball Olympian, one Greece Softball Olympian, 51 All-Americans, 16 Academic All-Americans, 87 all-region and 134 all-conference picks.

The Real Dream Team

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004 USA Olympic Softball Gold Medal Team on Front Cover of Sports Illustrated

Two Bulldogs grace the front cover as Sports Illustrated hits the newstands tomorrow.

 

Three-time Olympic softball gold medalist Laura Berg, a four-time All-American at Fresno State, and her USA teammates grace the front cover of Sports Illustrated this week, which hits the newstands tomorrow. EADLINES

Aug. 25, 2004

FRESNO, Calif. - After sweeping through the 2004 Summer Olympic games in grand fashion and dominating in every aspect of the game along the way, the Amateur Softball Association of America, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today that the gold medal winning USA Softball Olympic Team will be showcased on the front cover of this week's Sports Illustrated.

As the top ranked team in the world for the last 18 years, the 2004 United States Women's National Team is now the first softball team to be featured on the cover of SI.

This week's Sports Illustrated hits the newstands tomorrow as four-time All-America outfielder Laura Berg and two-year player Lovie Jung are on the front cover for Team USA.

For Fresno State, it is the eighth cover appearance for a Bulldog on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Bulldogs on SI Cover

Laura Berg/Lovie Jung (2004 USA Olympic Gold Medal Softball Team), Aug. 26, 2004

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