May 20, 2001

Tallahassee, FL - The Florida State softball team kept its World Series dreams alive Sunday afternoon by downing No. 2 seed Cal (52-16) 2-1 to move to the championship game of the 2001 NCAA Tallahassee Regional. The Seminoles (58-11) used five innings of one-run ball from starter Leslie Malerich (27-8) who picked up her fourth straight win in the tournament and junior Monique Marier's RBI infield single in the fourth to send the Golden Bears to their first loss of the regional.

"It was a close ballgame and obviously we knew we had to win or our season was over," said head coach Dr. JoAnne Graf. "I'm excited that our kids came through. We scored on kind of a cheap hit but I'll take it. Anything to get us through to the next game and this one is for all the marbles."

Cal threatened to take an early lead on FSU in the top of the second when it loaded the bases after FSU starter Malerich retired the first two batters she faced in the inning. Paige Bowie worked a full count against the ACC Player of the Year before grounding out to first baseman Robyn Gauger to end the inning.

The Bears once again looked to jump in front of FSU in the third when lead off hitter Pauline Duenas was hit by a pitch and moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by Candace Harper. Veronica Nelson then lined a double to right knocking in her 50th RBI of the year and giving Cal the 1-0 lead.

Malerich continued to struggle in the top of the fourth when she gave up back-to-back singles to the first two batters in the Cal lineup. After retiring the next two hitters she faced, Malerich walked Harper to load the bases and bring up the Bear's leading power hitter Nelson. The sophomore had 18 homeruns and 49 RBI coming into the championship game Sunday but Malerich ended the threat when she struck out Nelson swinging on a 2-2 pitch.

The Seminoles struck back and took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when ACC Rookie of the Year Jessica van der Linden led off the inning with a double to center. She was followed by first baseman Robyn Gauger who doubled to left center scoring van der Linden with just FSU's second run ever against Cal in six meetings between the two teams. After Brandi Stuart sacrificed pinch runner Skyla Cox to third and Jen White-Stokes struck out swinging, left fielder Monique Marier hit an infield dribbler to the pitcher and beat the throw out at first. The RBI was Marier's team-leading 41st of the season and put the Seminoles up for good 2-1.

"I think the win was a total team effort and everyone did their part," said shortstop Natalie Bennett. "The pitchers did an awesome job, our defense was solid and the hitters came through. We have to come out here and stay relaxed and play our game and I think we can do this."

Malerich continued her dominance in the NCAA Tournament as she moved to 4-0 with a 0.81 ERA in 26 innings of work. She is holding opposing batters to a .198 average at the plate, 21 strikeouts and just three walks. Senior Jen White-Stokes then relieved Malerich in the sixth to pick up her second save of the season.

"That was awesome and I thought our team played well," said White-Stokes. "I had confidence that as long as I kept it on the ground my teammates would make the plays. As long as the pitchers hit their spots and our defense plays as well as they did in game one, we'll be fine."

The Seminoles and Bears will meet again this afternoon in a game scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m., weather permitting, for a trip to the College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. For additional information on the Seminole softball team or the 2001 NCAA Tallahassee Regional, please visit www.seminoles.com.