Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
30-9-1, 12-0
Utah State
19-19, 5-7
Bulldogs sweep Utah State with final-inning surge
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - Despite three close games against Utah State, the No. 23 Fresno State softball team pulled off its fourth-straight Mountain West series sweep with a 2-1 win on Sunday at Margie Wright Diamond.
The Bulldogs came from behind in all three contests this week and credited a loss to the Aggies on a walk-off hit on two occasions. Fresno State rallied back from an eight-run deficit to top Utah State 12-11 in nine innings on Friday, won 3-2 on Saturday and continued its 12-game conference streak in the series finale.
During Sunday's action, Utah State put up one run in the top of the third, after being held hitless through two complete innings by senior starter Jill Compton. The contest became tied, 1-1, with two outs in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Vanessa Hernandez and Whitney Smith.
Following two scoreless innings, Smith reached base as the 'Dogs seventh-inning leadoff and was ran for by junior Christina Rodriguez. Senior Bria Kennedy laid down a sacrifice bunt as Rodriguez pushed for third and forced an Aggie throwing error to score the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
"Our pinch runners, Christina [Rodriguez] and Brooke [Coates], are considered our special teams and they really take pride in that," head coach Trisha Ford said. "Their only goal is to come out every day and mess with our defense. They practice just as long and just as hard as the rest of our position players and have really embraced the role they've been given. Christina has scored a lot of big runs for us throughout the year and today was obviously one of them. She's here to cause chaos and force teams to have to make plays."
As the winning pitcher, Compton threw all seven innings of work on Sunday while allowing the Aggies just two hits and one run. Overall this week, she went 2-0 with a combined total nine strikeouts and tossed two complete games after earning all three starts in the circle for the 'Dogs.
"Jill was in a grove, she hit a minor speed bump earlier in the series but refocused and came back out and mowed them down today," Ford added. "We're talking about a kid that has faced every team in our conference for four years, and every batter at least twice a day each series. Other teams have hours and hours of video and data on her and she is still continuing to come out here and get wins. If that doesn't say a lot about her, I don't know what does."
Exactly half way through MW play, the 'Dogs are 30-9-1 overall and have won 22 consecutive league games dating back to the 2015 season. Fresno State is just one game away from tying the best conference start in MW history as San Diego State holds the all-time record of 13-0 back in 2006. The last time the squad opened conference with more than nine-straight wins was a 24-0 stretch, accomplished in 1999.
QUICK HITS
Fresno State (12-0) tops the Mountain West by a four-game margin over San Jose State (8-4) meanwhile Nevada trails in third, New Mexico is fourth and Utah State dropped one place to fifth among the nine-team league.
In the past two weeks the Bulldogs have swept Boise State and New Mexico on the road and took all three contests from San Diego State and Utah State at home.
When combining the 12 conference games played this year, Fresno State has outscored their opponent 117-46 which includes four run-rule victories.
ON THE HORIZON
Fresno State will make a one-day road trip to Stockton, Calif., for a nonconference game against Pacific on Wednesday, Apr. 20 prior to hosting Colorado State, April 22-24. The squad will then visit San Jose State (April 29-May 1) and Nevada (May 6-8), followed by senior weekend versus UNLV, May 12-14.
STAY UP TO DATE
Fans can follow the Bulldog's 2016 journey and stay up-to-date with the latest news through several media outlets including Twitter (@FresnoStateSB), Facebook (Fresno State Softball), Instagram (@fresnostatesoftball) and Snapchat (FresnoStateSB). A full recap and final results can be found at GoBulldogs.com following each competition.
"Be Bold!" - The official home of Fresno State Softball is 790 AM ESPN2 "The Deuce."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Compton, Jill (18-4)
L: BROWN, April (6-5)
Batting:
RBI: JOHNSON, Noelle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DICKSON, Kylie-Rose 1
HBP: DICKSON, Kylie-Rose 1
Batting:
2B: Hernandez, Vanessa 1 ; Smith, Whitney 1
RBI: Smith, Whitney 1
SH: Kennedy, Bria 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hernandez, Vanessa 1 ; Rodriguez, Christina 1
SB: Rivers, Malia 1
