Fresno State Athletics
A Bronco Shutout Leads `Dogs to a Sweep
4/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif.- The Fresno State softball team took on Boise State for the third and final time on Sunday afternoon after grasping the series on Saturday night. The Bulldogs advance to 33-14 overall and are now 14-4 in Mountain West play, following a 5-0 shutout on Sunday, and now sit alone atop the conference standings.
"We had much better energy today," head coach Trisha Ford said. "We had much better at-bats and we put pressure on the defensive. This is a game of inches and we had some hard luck early in the game but you could tell we kept the momentum on our side and knew we were going to break through."
Junior junior Jill Compton held the Broncos to only one hit through four innings of play in what was a scoreless game heading into the bottom of the fourth. Allowing only five hits on a day, Compton tallied her third win of the weekend and added 10 to her complied 189 strikeouts this season. The right-handed ace tossed her sixth regular season shutout against the Broncos on Sunday afternoon, giving her 22 victories this season.
Designated player Bria Kennedy sparked a fourth inning offensive rally for the `Dogs after reaching base on a walk. Chase LeeHong successfully bunted Kennedy over and with two outs, Brenna Moss singled up the middle to score the first Bulldog run of the game. Moss took third before the play was over and was driven in on a single to right from Malia Rivers, putting Fresno State up 2-0 heading into the fifth inning.
The sixth inning was highlighted by the `Dogs second double of the game by LeeHong who was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Whitney Smith, scoring on a single through the left side from Moss. Rivers kept the inning alive with a single to right field, taking second on the play. Both runners on base were brought home on an outfield single by Kierra Willis to put Fresno State up 5-0.
"We came out this weekend with a lot of energy," Rivers said. "We came out this weekend focused in the dugout and on the field. If something went wrong we made sure to come together as a team and build off of each other which I think is the main difference between this weekend and our past weekends. Coach always tells us to stick to our plan so we stuck to our plan today and it worked."
Contributing to the `Dogs 10 hits on Sunday was Rivers who led the team going 3-for-3 with Moss, Willis and LeeHong all posting two hits and Kennedy with one hit and one walk on the day.
"Malia has done a great job," Ford added. "The rhythm of the game flows a lot better when Brenna gets on and Malia moves her over and then Michelle or Kierra does a great job hitting them in. It's more about the rhythm of the game and how our offensive works."
Previous Action
The Fresno State softball team grasped the three-day conference series with a 4-3 victory against Boise State on Saturday evening. Senior Michelle Solomon led the team scoring three of the `Dogs four runs with a single, triple and home run on the night.
Looking Ahead
The `Dogs will continue a two-week home stand as they welcome Nevada to Margie Wright Diamond for senior weekend April 24-26. Following the back-to-back Mountain West series, Fresno State will travel to Stockton, Calif., for a single non-conference game with the University of Pacific on Saturday, May 2 before competing in the final regular season series against UNLV at Eller Media Stadium in Las Vegas, Nev.
"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.
