Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
36-9-1, 17-0
San Jose State
22-23, 11-6
Softball victorious in Saturday's home run derby
4/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
By: Kimberly Fisher
kimfisher@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. - During what was a 20-run game that saw seven home runs and seven extra-base hits, the No. 20 Fresno State softball team claimed their sixth-straight Mountain West series with a 13-7 win over second-place San Jose State on Saturday at SJSU Field.
San Jose State scored five runs on four home runs in the initial two innings, however that line didn't compare to Fresno State's impressive 11 runs on nine hits which included a solo home run, grand slam and two doubles.
The undefeated Bulldogs are within one game of clinching their second-straight Mountain West Championship and will return to action on Sunday starting at noon. The squad boats a 36-6-1 overall record and is 17-0 in conference play with 18-consectuive wins starting in the last week of March.
The squad is riding the nation's longest win streak aside from continuing what is the best start to a conference season in MW history. The Bulldogs are ahead of the league by a six-game margin as the Spartans (22-23, 11-6 MW) trail in second place and move to a 6-4 record at home this year.
Overall on Saturday, four Bulldogs logged a multi-hit game including Lindsey Willmon (2-for-3), Whitney Smith (2-for-3), Kierra Willis (2-for-4) and Bria Kennedy (2-for-4) meanwhile Dominique Jackson led the team with four RBIs followed by Willis with three.
"Our offense was on fire today," head coach Trisha Ford said. "Early on it looked like we were going to be in a home run derby race. San Jose State can swing it and we did not throw our best today. I am extremely proud of Taylor [Langdon] as she came in and threw some quality innings for us today. The support up and down our lineup has been tremendous, Lindsey [Willmon] had another monster day and Dominique [Jackson] came through for us in a big situation. Jackson and Morgan [Howe] are getting some very important at-bats early in their career. I'm hoping those two will continue to be special in the batter's box."
Fresno State made noise early in the game and scored five runs, four earned, against San Jose State's starting pitcher Katelyn Linford (7-9) who was charged the loss in just 1.1 innings pitched. The Spartans tied the game on back-to-back homers and took a 3-2 lead on the third solo shot in the bottom of the first.
Senior Taylor Langdon (3-1) took over in the circle for freshman Kamalani Dung (7-0) with one away in the first. For the second-straight week Langdon was the `Dogs winning pitcher with three strikeouts in six innings during what was her eighth appearance of the season.
Saturday's contest was tied 3-3 in the second frame and the Bulldogs grasped the lead for the second time on a bases-loaded walk before Jackson blasted a grand slam that gave Fresno State an 8-3 advantage.
After two complete innings and 10 combined hits, Fresno State was up 8-5 following a two-run homer by SJSU. The Spartans second pitcher, Colette Riggs, allowed a game-high five earned runs in 0.2 innings pitched including a two-run homer by Smith in the top of the third that aided to San Jose State's second pitching change.
The Bulldogs scored their 10th run as Willis made contact with her second double of the day and added one run on a fielding error before San Jose State escaped the third. Following a quiet fifth inning, Fresno State put two insurance runs on the board with a standup triple by Kennedy.
Jill Compton made her 31st appearance of the year in the bottom of the seventh inning as San Jose State had two runners in scoring position and only one out. The Spartan's were halted facing a six-run deficit as Compton tallied her 109th strikeout in two batters faced.
Fresno State has won in double-digit fashion during 10 contests this season which includes eight MW matchups. As a conference-leader, cleanup batter Alyssa Villalpando added to her 47 RBIs, Willis drew her 36th walk and Smith increased her sacrifice hit tally to 13. Heading into Saturday's action, San Jose State led the Mountain West in team batting average (.330) ahead of the `Dogs at .320 and just six hits shy of the Spartans.
During the last meeting between Fresno State and San Jose State, the Spartans generated 15 hits in a 9-7 win that captured the weekend series two games to one at Margie Wright Diamond. In the all-time series, Fresno State holds an 86-12 advantage and is 40-8 during games contested in San Jose.
Next up, the Bulldogs will visit Nevada (May 6-8), prior to hosting UNLV for senior weekend starting Thursday, May 12 at Margie Wright Diamond.
QUICK HITS
The No. 20 Bulldogs have been ranked in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll for 11 consecutive weeks. That streak is the second-longest in MW history, trailing only San Diego State, which was ranked for 13 consecutive weeks in the NFCA poll in 2008. In addition, Fresno State is the first Mountain West team to be nationally ranked since New Mexico spent four weeks in the top 25 back in 2012.
The squad is currently 27-0 in conference play dating back to the 2015 season and is riding the longest win streak accomplished by any MW program in league history.
The Bulldogs have won their last 18 contests including 17 Mountain West matchups and a single nonconference game. The last time the Bulldog softball program opened conference with more than 16-straight wins was a 24-0 stretch, accomplished in 1999.
In the past three weeks the Bulldogs have swept Boise State and New Mexico on the road and took all three contests from San Diego State, Utah State and Colorado State at home. When combining the past four conference series, Fresno State has outscored their opponent 136-56 which includes four run-rule victories and three walk-off wins.
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: Langdon, Taylor (3-1)
L: LINFORD (7-9)
Batting:
2B: Kennedy, Bria 1 ; Willis, Kierra 2 ; Willmon, Lindsey 1
3B: Kennedy, Bria 1
HR: Jackson, Dominique 1 ; Smith, Whitney 1
RBI: Kennedy, Bria 2 ; Willis, Kierra 3 ; Villalpando, Alyssa 1 ; Willmon, Lindsey 1 ; Jackson, Dominique 4 ; Smith, Whitney 1
SH: Rivers, Malia 1 ; Smith, Whitney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy, Bria 2 ; Rivers, Malia 1 ; Willis, Kierra 3 ; Gumz, Paige 1 ; Willmon, Lindsey 2 ; Jackson, Dominique 1 ; Hernandez, Vanessa 1 ; Smith, Whitney 2
HBP: Willmon, Lindsey 1 ; Hernandez, Vanessa 1
Batting:
2B: AURIN 1 ; CONCHAS 1
HR: ABACHERLI 2 ; MARTINEZ 1 ; HUFSTETLER 1 ; AURIN 1
RBI: ABACHERLI 3 ; MARTINEZ 1 ; HUFSTETLER 1 ; AURIN 1 ; CONCHAS 1
Base Running:
RUNS: ABACHERLI 2 ; MARTINEZ 1 ; HUFSTETLER 1 ; AURIN 1 ; ENTZMINGER 2
HBP: ENTZMINGER 1
