Preseason awards come aplenty for baseball; softball
By Darrell Copeland
The Collegian
If the real season goes as well as the preseason has gone, then Fresno State baseball and softball teams could go really far in the postseason.
Both the baseball and softball teams were both picked to win the Western Athletic Conference in addition to sweeping the preseason player and pitcher of the year award categories.
The news of the All-WAC selections comes just after the recently released national polls. The baseball team received a No. 21 ranking from Baseball America, while the softball team was picked as the No. 17 team by ESPN.com/ USA Softball Collegiate and the No. 20 team by USA Today/NFCA Division I.
Added to the news of the national ranking for each team is news of a sweep of WAC preseason awards.
Junior outfielder Nick Moresi came away with the preseason WAC Player of the Year award in addition to making the All-WAC team. The Bulldogs Doug Fister was selected as preseason WAC pitcher of the year.
The final Fresno State baseball representatives are Beau Mills and Christian Vitters, who both received bids on the preseason All-WAC team.
Mills, who was also WAC freshman of the year after a freshman year in which he hit .319 with 22 homeruns, has also been selected to Collegiate Baseball’s All-American team as a third-team member.
Fresno State softball also picked up its fair share of preseason awards.
Shortstop Christina Clark, who is entering her senior season, was picked as the WAC Player of the Year.
Clark begins the season as the nation’s top active Division I career home run leader with 54.
Clark has also led the conference in runs, home runs, slugging percentage and total bases the past two seasons.
Also receiving awards are Robin Mackin, who received the award for WAC Pitcher of the Year, and Nichole Willis who was named to the All-WAC team as a catcher.
Fresno State is expected to have its new ace in Mackin, who comes to the team from Canada, and is a member of the Canadian national team.
In her four-year high school career, Mackin posted an unfathomable stat sheet, allowing only one hit and no runs in all four years combined.
The Bulldog softball team will begin its season on the road Feb. 10 when it travels to Arizona for the Kajikawa Classic. The tournament will run until Feb. 12.
As for the baseball team, its season begins today on the road with a three-game series with Cal Poly. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 87–35.
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