Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Connecticut
Exciting Day One of Bayer CropScience Classic
3/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 9, 2012
By Jason Clay
jaclay@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State softball team opened up the 2012 Bayer CropScience Classic with a 6-1 victory over Connecticut, but fell 5-4 to No. 18/15 Oregon in a heartbreaker in game two Friday at Bulldog Diamond.
Fresno State (13-8) pounded out eight hits and was led by Michelle Moses' four-RBI performance in the win over UConn.
In game two the Bulldogs held a 4-3 lead going into the top of the seventh, but Alexa Peterson's two-out single with the bases loaded lifted the Ducks past the Bulldogs.
"I really felt like we played pretty well today and tomorrow is a new day," head coach Margie Wright said. "[The Oregon game] is one we would have really like to hung on to."
Senior pitcher Mackenzie Oakes picked up the win in game one, throwing all seven innings to improve her record to 4-2 on the year. Oakes allowed five hits, one unearned run and struck out three with one walk.
The top of Fresno State's order did the damage against the Huskies. Brenna Moss, Stesha Brazil and Moses combined to go 4-for-7 with five runs scored and five driven in.
Moss scored three runs off of two hits and a walk, Brazil had a RBI triple and Moses drove in four runs. Those came off of a two-run homer, her eighth of the year, and a pair of sacrifices.
"Mackenzie did a really good job and I know we needed to hit, because we seem to be stranding a lot of runners, so tonight it was good in that first game," Wright said.
Game two was an exciting shootout. The `Dogs scored two in the second and two in the third. Oregon had two in the third and one in the fourth.
It was a 4-3 heading into the ninth when Peterson delivered the game-winning hit for the Ducks.
"Second game, that was a hard-fought battle," Wright said. "That was a good game. Again, we left a lot of people on and any base hit in that game would have made a difference for us, too."
Day two of the Bayer CropScience starts at 9 a.m. Saturday when Oregon faces UConn. The Bulldogs play Purdue at 3:15 p.m. and UConn again at 5:30 p.m.
"We Are Your Team" - ESPN2 790 AM is your home for Fresno State Softball.
