1991_02 The Daily Collegian February 1991

              ...Sports,
FSU's
The Collegian • February 25, 1991
wears Pac-10 crown
• Fresno State
finishes fifth
overall at
annual tourney
By John Welsh
Collegian Sports Writer
PALO ALTO- John Pierro
became Fresno State's first
Pacific 10 Conference
wrestling champion in three
years with his 3-2 overtime
victory over Cal State
Bakersfield's Laurence
Jackson.
Pierro, wrestling in the 142-
pound division, helped the
Bulldogs finish fifth at the
Championships, with 86
team points. Arizona State
captured its seventh
consecutive title with 112
points, edging Cal State
Bakersfield, which finished
with 1011/2 points.
Oregon finished third
with 9225 points, followed
by Cal State Fullerton with
87.
Pierro was one of three
FSU wrestlers that captured
an automatic berth for the
NCAA Championships, to be
held March 14-16 at Iowa
Gty,      Iowa. Anthony
Camacho's third-place
finish at 150 pounds and Scott
Boness' third-place at 177
pounds were Fresno State's
other two automatic
qualifiers.
Pierro became the
Bulldogs' first Pac-10
individual champion since
1988, when Allen Richburg
claimed the 150-pound
division title. Fresno State
head coach Dennis DeLiddo
compared Pierro with
Richburg.
'Ion is the greatest
competitor I've ever
coached," DeLiddo said. "Jon
and Allen Richburg have
been the greatest competitors
I've coached. Jon is an
overachiever and that's
because he works so much."
DeLiddo noted that Pierro
finished sixth in the state of
California his senior season
at Clovis High whereas
Jackson was a three-time
state champion in his days at
Santa Monica High.
Camacho avenged a 3-2
preliminary round match
defeat to Cal State
Bakersfield's Rick Monge to
defeat Monge 9-4 for third
place.
Boness, a sixth place
finisher at the Pac-10 meet
last season, defeated Cal
State Fullerton's Ramon Diaz
5-4 to clinch third place in
the 177-pound division.
All 10 of Fresno State's
wrestlers placed in the
tournament, held at Stanford
University's Burnham
Pavilion.
Harold Zinkin (126
pounds) and Ray Roso (190)
registered fourth place
finishes while Ray Range!
(158) and Robbie Dicks ii€7)
both   placed   fifth.      Robbie
See PIERRO, page 7
Long Beach gains revenge,
hands 'Dogs first home loss
• 49ers defeat FSU
in front of record-
crowd at North Gym
By Doug McLeod
Collegian Sports Writer
Ihe saying "Revenge is sweet" could not
have been illustrated any better Saturday
night at the North Gym as the 23rd-
ranked Long Beach State women's
basketball team beat Fresno State 75-58
before a record 1,002 fans.
The 49ers (18-7 overall, 13-3 in the Big
West) avenged a January 23 73-72 loss to
the Bulldogs behind a 21-6 run to open the
second half to ruin Senior Night for FSU
seniors Geri Gainey and Michelle Bento.
With the win, the 49ers nth straight
since the loss Jan. 23rd, Long Beach moved
into a first place tie with UNLV for the
conference lead.
The loss, the Bulldogs first at the
North Gym this season, leaves FSU at 16-
10 overall, and 9-7 in conference. More
importantly, the Bulldogs hit the road to
face conference co-leader Nevada-Las
Vegas this week before they end the
season at Cal State Fullerton.
"We need to go out and regroup (for the
upcoming games)," said Gainey, "they are
very important games and we just need to
learn from our mistakes and move on."
After a sluggish start, the Bulldogs
looked to make a game of it by staying
close and even taking the lead 20-19 at
8:27 of the first half. However, the much
taller 49ers scored the final four points of
the first half for a 39-35 lead and then
opened the second half by scoring the first
six points to key the 2l-6 run to put the
game out of reach.
We wanted revenge for
the loss in Long Beach.
This proves I don't think
anybody is going to beat
us.
Penny Moore
'The whole difference uf the game was
the beginning of the second half," said
Bento, "We came out sluggish... and didn't
hustle after balls. We just weren't playing
our game and those few minutes (of
letdown) cost us the game."
Penny Moore led four 49ers in double
figures with 15 points, and Dana
Wilkerson chipped in nine points in a
solid 26 minute perfomanee.
"We wanted revenge for the loss in Long
Beach," Moore said, "This proves that I
don't thinkanybody is going to beat us."
Fresno State softball bats
come alive in double-header
By Chris Cocoles
Collegian Sports Write
The bats of the Fresno State softball
team are alive and producing runs and
wins.
The second-ranked Lady Bulldogs (6-0)
pounded out 18 hits Saturday in a
doubleheader sweep of Sacramento State
2-1 and 7-2 in front of 1,278 fans at Bulldog
Diamond. Sacramento State has lost
eight straight games after winning five in
a row to start the season.
"We played a good couple of games
today," said FSU second baseman Julie
Smith, one of the stars at the plate.
For the second time in 1991, the
Bulldogs came from behind in the last
inning of a game. In the season opener at
California, FSU trailed 4-0 in the
seventh inning before tying the game and
eventually winning in extra innings.
FSU faced a similar situation Saturday
in the first game. Sacramento State led 1-
0. entering the bottom of the seventh
before   the   Bulldogs , rallied.       Smith
singled off losing pitcher Karen Andreotti
to lead off the inning and advanced to
second after a RaeAnn Pifferini sacrifice
bunt.
With one out, Kim Maher lifted a fly
ball to medium center field. Smith tagged
up after the catch and slid head first into
third, avoiding the tag of Hornet third
baseman Cary Gessell. Smith was shaken
up on the play but suffered only a jammed
finger.
After Gina LoPiccolo was walked
intentionally, freshman catcher Christa
Yorke delivered a clutch single to left,
scoring Smith to send the game into extra
innings.
Marcie Green came in to relieve
freshman pitcher Amy Windmiller and
set the Hornets down in order in the top of
the eighth. FSU wasted no time to score
the game-winner in the bottom of the
inning.
A bloop single by Michelle Gardiner,
and infield hits by Donna McDaniel and
See SOFTBALL, page 6
. Je*s» ChenauH/ Tho CoHegian
UOP's Randy Lavender (24) attempts a layup as Fresno State's Wil Hooker
and Tod Bernard (33) go for the block. For full story, see page 6.
Baseball averts sweep with victory
Collegian Sports Staff
The 15th-ranked Fresno State
baseball team lost two one-run games
this weekend before exploding for a
Season high 24 hits on. Sunday to
destroy theUnisenriry of Hawaii 17-8.
The Bulldogs . tost Friday night's
opener 9-8, and 5*4 Saturday behind
timely Rainbow hitting before
Sunday's hitting explosion averted a
sweep.
The Bulldogs (10-5) trailed 1-0 until
the top of the fourth, when they
scored four times to lead 4-1. The
Bulldogs piled on seven runs in the
fifth, and three runs inboth the"
seventh and eighth rounded out FSU
scoring and put the game out of reach.
Hawaii dropped to 10-3 overalL       ' '■&•
Martin Togher tied a school record
by going 6-for-6 ■ at the plate white
driving in four runs.
Todd Johnson went 51/3 innings to
collect  his second  win in as many