UCLA
Fresno State
Softball Wins Prestigious Fresno State Classic
June 21, 1999 | Softball
March 7, 1999
Fresno, Calif. - Behind a run and down to its final out of the game, No. 1 UCLA needed a miracle to pull out a victory over No. 3 Fresno State in the championship game of the 1999 Fresno State Softball Classic. Julie Adams provided that miracle, as her two-run, two-out seventh-inning home run off Bulldog pitcher Kristen Hunter, helped the Bruins to a 2-1 victory Sunday in front of 3,719 fans at FSU's Bulldog Diamond. With the win, UCLA moved to 6-0 for the tournament and remains perfect on the season at 24-0.
Adams, who was 0-for-3 heading into her final at bat of the afternoon, took Hunter's 2-0 pitch over the right field fence, scoring Erin Rahn from first base. Rahn was brought in to pinch run for Stacey Nuveman, who earned a two-out walk prior to the game-winning home run. After Adams put UCLA ahead 2-1, Bruin pitcher and Fresno native Courtney Dale, shut down the Bulldogs in the bottom of the seventh, sending Fresno State down in order. She gave up just four hits on the afternoon, striking out three and walking four, earning her team-leading 12th victory of the season.
Fresno State got on the board in the second inning after an Amanda Scott two-out double down the left field line scored Angela Cervantez from second base, putting FSU up 1-0. The score remained that way until Adam's seventh- inning homer. Hunter, who had pitched a solid game up until the seventh inning, surrendering just two hits all afternoon - a single to Dale and the home run to Adams - fell to 9-2 on the season.
With the victory, UCLA is crowned the 1999 Fresno State Classic Champion, finishing the weekend with a perfect 6-0 mark. Prior to Sunday's contest, UCLA notched tournament victories over No. 6 DePaul, Long Beach State, No. 19 Oregon State, Creighton and Missouri.
Next up for UCLA will be the Frost Cutlery Tournament hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, this Friday, Mar. 12 through Sunday, Mar. 14. In Tennessee, the Bruins will face Mercer, Alabama, Winthrop, Charleston Southern and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
