Fresno State Athletics
Competitive First Day in the Desert
2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
PALM SPRINGS, Calif.- The Fresno State softball team competed in the first day at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., on Friday facing No. 25 Texas and Ohio State. The `Dogs moved to 8-4 by picking up an 8-7 win over Texas (9-4) in what was an exhilarating game against the Longhorns and fell to Ohio State (9-1) in a one-run battle with the Buckeyes.
"I think both games we came out with a lot of energy," head coach Trisha Ford said. "It was good for us to carry on from the Cal game and have that tenacity up to bat. Our pitchers kept us in the ball games but defense and base running cost us today. We're getting deeper into counts, getting good pitches to hit and have been much more aggressive in the zone which are things we've been working on. It's a process but I'm very pleased with where we are offensively, we just have to keep growing and getting better and tidy up some things defensively and on the bases."
Against the Longhorns, Fresno State allowed three runs on four hits in the first inning and came back to put one on the board with a run from Malia Rivers as the result of a Texas throwing error.
The Bulldogs scored again in the third inning with a triple by Kierra Willis followed by Alyssa Villalpando. The junior ignited the two-out rally with a line drive double to right field that scored Willis, leaving the `Dogs trailing only 4-3 after three innings of play.
Junior Jill Compton started in the circle for the `Dogs and battled through four innings. Hannah Harris (3-0) took the mound in the fifth inning, giving up one hit and retiring the inning with a strikeout. Harris (2-0) claimed the win for Fresno State and Compton secured her first save after reentering the game in the seventh to record the final three outs of the game.
Villalpando drove in the tying run in the fifth with a single to the left side, scoring Michelle Solomon. Bria Kennedy followed with a walk with bases loaded to give the `Dogs a 5-4 lead over the Longhorns. A wild pitch brought Villalpando home and a single by Brenna Moss scored Katie Castellon to put the Bulldogs up 7-4 at the end of the fifth.
Fresno State pieced together a series of singles from Solomon, Castellon, Willis and Villalpando in the seventh inning to tally another run another insurance run to make it 8-4 before battling though a challenging seventh inning with Texas up to bat. After giving up three runs on five hits, the `Dogs finished out the win with a fly ball and a pair of ground ball outs from Compton.
In the `Dogs second game of the day against Ohio State, Fresno State scored first with a single to right field by Gumz that scored Solomon.
Compton made her 10th start of the season on the mound for Fresno State and compiled seven strikeouts against the Buckeyes in her complete game showing.
Down 3-1 in the sixth, Willis started the inning with a one-out double to left field followed by a double from Paige Gumz and a fielder's choice ground ball from Villalpando to score Willis, leaving the `Dogs trailing the Buckeyes by one.
Fresno State battled in the seventh inning with bases loaded, but left the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the 3-2 loss that capped a 1-1 day at the Mary Nutter Classic.
Sophomore Kierra Willis led the team on day one with four hits in six at-bats (.667) with one double, a triple, seven total bases and drew two walks in the two games.
Kennedy entered the Bulldog starting lineup for the second time in her career as the `Dogs designated player. The junior outfielder recorded one RBI in her two at-bats with one walk against Texas and set a new career game high for at-bats in a game with three against Ohio State.
On Saturday, the `Dogs will face Stanford at 7:30 p.m. for the only game of the day and is slated to face Oklahoma State and Loyola Marymount on Sunday for the final day of the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
"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.
