Fresno State Athletics
'Dogs Top Mustangs to Cap Fresno State Classic
3/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif.- The Fresno State softball team topped Cal Poly 4-1 in the final game of the Fresno State Classic on Sunday afternoon at Margie Wright Diamond. The Bulldogs move to an overall mark of 18-10 heading into conference play next week.
"Wins are always good," head coach Trisha Ford said. "We will take it, but we have to put a team away. We left 10 runners on base, mostly in the first three to four innings, and we had bases loaded so we have to do a better job. We had very unfocused at-bats with runners in scoring position and we're about to start conference play, so we have to do better at having good at-bats."
The Bulldogs came out swinging against the Mustangs after scoring one run in the bottom of the first inning. Senior Brenna Moss led off with a double, advanced to third on a Cal Poly defensive error and tallied the `Dogs first run on a sacrifice fly to center from Malia Rivers.
"We battled today," senior Brenna Moss said. "We struggled a little bit but in the end we fought through and got runs when it mattered and got the W. It wasn't our best performance but we still came out on top, we know we're a better team than that."
Fresno State's third baseman Katie Castellon hit her second collegiate double in the bottom of the fourth inning to place a runner in scoring position with one out. Pinch runner Brooke Coates and Moss both reached home in the fourth to give the `Dogs a 3-1 lead over Cal Poly after four complete innings.
Leading the Bulldogs against Cal Poly on Sunday, Rivers was 3-for-3 and drove in two of the `Dogs four runs including a sacrifice fly in the first inning. Senior Michelle tallied Fresno State's third earned run of the afternoon after going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks.
Willis had a momentum boosting play from left field that kept Cal Poly off the base path, gunning down a Mustang runner at second base in the seventh inning.
In what was her 21st game start this season, pitcher Jill Compton (11-7) tossed a complete game for Fresno State on Sunday. The righty allowed five hits and held Cal Poly to one run, leading the `Dogs to its ninetieth victory in non-conference play.
"We were mixing it up with Paige [Gumz] and coach was calling a great game," junior Jill Compton said. "Towards the end of the game I was starting to get a little tired but when Kierra made that amazing play in the outfield that pumped me up which got me to close the game off."
Previous Action
At the conclusion of the four-day weekend slate, Bulldog softball went 4-1 during the Fresno State Classic hosted at Margie Wright Diamond. On Thursday, the `Dogs topped both Providence (6-1) and Pacific (1-0) and competed against Montana on Friday where they picked up the third consecutive win of the weekend (5-1). Fresno State went on to face No. 16 Minnesota during Saturday's play, falling 3-1 to the Golden Gophers before heading into the final day of the tournament.
"The tournament overall was good," Ford added. "Obviously with Minnesota we had a couple missed opportunities, but we've played a lot of top 15 programs this year and that's going to get us ready for conference and being comfortable playing in a tight ball game. I think we learned a lot from the Minnesota game and we'll take that into conference."
Looking Ahead
This Friday-Sunday, the Fresno State softball team (19-10) enters its third season of Mountain West play with a three-game conference series against Colorado State (18-13). The first game will be at on Friday, March 20 at Ram Stadium in Fort Collins, Colo.
"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.
