Watching the NCAA softball Super Regionals, it became obvious to me that Fresno State won't get back to Oklahoma City and the College World Series unless coach Margie Wright starts recruiting some hitters who can bang balls off and over the fences -- and find a sturdy No. 2 pitcher to back Morgan Melloh and give her a breather in the playoffs.
Only a handful of pitchers have carried teams to the NCAA championship and they were All-Americans. Melloh isn't in that class yet, although she only just completed her sophomore year and has room to mature.
As for the 'Dogs offense, it put up the lowest batting average in decades and there doesn't seem to be any help on the way. They lose lead-off batter Haley Perkins, the team's lone
.300 hitter. Jody Bardorine, sent into the UCLA games for her defense, did show some awesome speed and got on base, so she could be Perkins' replacement at the top of the order. As for the heart of the order, it was pretty sporadic all season and only Michelle Moses appeared to be a long-ball threat.
You look at the teams in the Super Regionals over the past few years and you see teams that can hit the heck out of the ball, like Michigan, Arizona, Alabama, this year Missouri which took out UCLA, and teams like Washington, Cal and Arizona State.
Fresno State has appeared in 28 straight NCAA tournament -- the only team to accomplish that -- but the program hasn't gotten back to the CWS since 1999, the year after the 'Dogs won the title. They've got Melloh. All they lack his hitting, hitting and more hitting.
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