Fresno State Athletics
`Dogs Topped in Battle with Cal
2/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif.- The Bulldog softball team ended the Fresno State Kick-Off with a 3-2 tournament record after falling to No.23 California on Sunday. In what was a high-scoring battle between the `Dogs and Bears, Cal (9-0) came out on top with a 14-9 victory at Margie Wright Diamond.
"This by far was our best game," head coach Trisha Ford said. "I don't think we've swung the bat as well in the other games but we battled which was good. Offensively I think we came out banging, we did a great job of attacking the zone and putting some good swings on some good pitches. Defensively we had some lapses and Cal is a good hitting team and we can't give them six outs an inning so I think we just need to shore some things up on the infield."
The `Dogs had a strong first-inning showing with a two-run double from senior Michelle Solomon that drove in both Brenna Moss and to score Solomon who had advanced to third on an illegal pitch.
The Bulldogs continued to put up multiple runs in the next two innings against the Bears including a single up the middle from Solomon to drive in her fourth run of the game in the second and a two-out rally in the third inning was highlighted by Alyssa Villalpando's first career homerun to score Willis and put the `Dogs up 7-6.
"We can swing it, we showed that in our first couple showings in Kajikawa." Ford added. "We got a little stale when we got back at home but we have a young group still. We fought back, we showed tenacity and perseverance and that was one thing that I challenged our team to do before tonight's game was to come out with a bang and I thought they did a really good job with that."
Behind Solomon's four runs, senior Brenna Moss came out strong for the `Dogs with four hits in her five at-bats and touched home a total of three times in the matchup with Cal.
"It was a good softball game," Solomon said. "It's fun to play in these games like this and we learned what our potential is, what we should expect of ourselves every single game."
The Bulldogs (7-3) started Jill Compton on the mound for the eighth time this season giving her four of the five starts in the Fresno State Kick-Off tournament. Following Compton's two inning showing, the `Dogs made three additional pitching changes including Kiley Shae Aldridge who retired the third inning followed by Hannah Harris in the fourth and Compton who re-entered the game in the sixth.
Both teams captured double digit hits in what was a long ball battle in the final game of the tournament. Fresno State capped the game with nine runs on 14 hits compared to Cal's 14 runs on 23 hits.
The Bulldogs will spend the week preparing for the upcoming Mary Nutter Classic where they will face Texas, Ohio State, Stanford, Oklahoma State and Loyola Marymount. The tournament will kick off on Friday, Feb. 20 in Cathedral City, Calif.
For the full tournament schedule and results click here.
"Be Bold!" - The official home of Fresno State Softball is 790 AM ESPN2 The Deuce. For ticket information contact the Bulldog Ticket Office at 559-278-3647 or log on to www.gobulldogs.com.
