Playoff berth
on line for Wahine
UH needs at least two wins
By Cindy Luis
over FSU to secure a spot
in the NCAA tourney
Star-BulletinIt goes beyond important. It's truly a life-or-death situation for the University of Hawaii Wahine softball team's postseason hopes. By most calculations, the Wahine must win at least two of this week's four games with No. 4 Fresno State. Anything less and Hawaii will stay home during the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row.
"Obviously, we want to win all four," said sophomore pitcher Kelly Gentle, who is expected to get two starts against the Bulldogs. "We want to keep the season going. We feel if we win at least two games, we'll do it.
"It would also be a nice goodbye present for our senior, giving them a winning series in their last home games."
Hawaii bids aloha to four seniors: second baseman Laynie Sueyasu, outfielders Rose and Joyce Antonio and third baseman Chris Viernes. Sunday, they'll find out whether their careers are over when the NCAA tournament pairings are announced.
No. 10 Colorado State, as WAC champion, is already in. So is Fresno State, based on its ranking in the Top 25 and regional polls.
Whether the NCAA Selection Committee will take three or four teams from the WAC is the question. Utah, two games ahead of Hawaii in the WAC standings, moved up two spots to 14th in yesterday's poll.
Hawaii was 36th in last week's poll but wasn't ranked in the Top 40 yesterday.
"Who knows what the committee will do," Wahine coach Bob Coolen said. "There's only 16 teams they can take as at-large teams after all the automatic bids go out.
"Basically, our fate is in our own hands. We get at least a split, we should go. If we play poorly and finish (fifth) behind UNLV, we're not going anywhere."
Fresno State, the preseason favorite and defending WAC champion, has not played its best ball in the last week. The Bulldogs went 1-3 in WAC games, losing twice at Colorado State and splitting a doubleheader at San Diego State.
Fresno State also split a doubleheader at home with No. 11 Long Beach State Tuesday, 8-0 and 0-3. The Bulldogs earlier defeated the Wahine, 5-1, at the Cal State Fullerton tournament.
The Bulldogs lead the WAC in all three team categories: hitting (.338), pitching (1.08 ERA) and fielding (.962). Centerfielder Laura Berg (.451) and rightfielder Robyn Yorke (.446) are 1-2 in WAC batting and in base hits. Freshman pitcher Amanda Scott (15-2) is the WAC leader in doubles, RBIs per game and ERA (0.78).
Although the regional rankings have not been released, Coolen said the Wahine were back in the poll for the first time since they were No. 7 in February. He would not discuss the rankings other than to say "they were a little controversial."
Coolen, however, had plenty to say about the NCAA's decision to strip UCLA of the 1995 softball title for various improprieties. In 1995, the Bruins defeated Hawaii twice in the regional final to get to the College World Series, using Australian pitcher Tanya Harding.
Harding came to the Bruins 21 games into the season, at the start of the spring trimester. She went 17-1, won all four games at the College World Series, then left for home without taking spring exams.
"I have no remorse for them," said Coolen said. "It was a decision that was a long time coming. The more the NCAA dug further and further back in the program, they found that it wasn't just an isolated incident within the softball program."
The NCAA sanctions included barring fifth-ranked UCLA from this year's tournament. UCLA appealed the decision yesterday, which means the Bruins may play in the postseason this year.
The NCAA Appeals Committee won't consider the appeal until sometime this summer.
Should the appeal be denied, UCLA will be barred from the 1998 NCAA tournament.
UH vs. FSU
The series Hawaii (36-22, 17-11 in WAC) vs. Fresno State (46-11, 20-8)
