Bulldogs can’t overcome mistakes, drop series finale to SJSU 9-3

Sunday, April 23

Fresno, Calif.

12 p.m. PT

Fresno State

26-20, 6-8

San Jose State

29-15, 9-6

San Jose State

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Bulldogs can’t overcome mistakes, drop series finale to SJSU 9-3

4/23/2017 3:01:00 PM | Softball

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Senior utility Lindsey Willmon hit her sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the sixth

By: Jason Kelm / Communications Assistant

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State softball team was unable to recover from six errors, which led to five unearned runs, and fell to San Jose State 9-3 in the Mountain West series finale on Sunday afternoon at Margie Wright Diamond. This is the second series in three years that the Spartans (29-15, 9-6 MW) have taken from the Bulldogs (26-20, 6-8 MW).

Senior utility Lindsey Willmon hit her sixth home run of the season, the 18th of her career, and collected two hits alongside sophomore Morgan Howe. Howe (2-for-4) now leads the team with 14 multi-hit games this season and improved her batting average to .425, which ranks second-best in the MW. Senior Malia Rivers and freshman Miranda Rohleder notched RBIs for Fresno State and senior Kierra Willis took her MW-best 33rd walk of the season.

Junior Savannah McHellon (5-7, 4.32 ERA) took the loss for the Bulldogs after pitching one and a third innings and giving up four earned runs on five hits and a walk. San Jose State senior Katelyn Linford (19-7, 2.40 ERA) recorded her MW-best 19th win of the season after pitching the final three and a third innings. Linford gave up just one run, Willmon's home run, three hits and a walk.

The Bulldogs' six errors were the second-most this year after recording eight against Idaho State on Feb. 25.

How it happened
McHellon allowed a single, an RBI-double by senior Casey Watt and a walk before the first out of the game was recorded. San Jose State added one more before the top half was over to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead. The Bulldogs were unable to get a runner on in the first and SJSU came back up in the second ready to do more damage. McHellon gave up a single and hit a batter, then Watt hit both runners in with her fifth triple of the season, giving the Spartans a 4-0 lead. Freshman Samantha Mejia then relieved McHellon in the circle and got the Bulldogs out of the top half.

The Bulldogs got their first base-runner on when McHellon took a two-out walk in the second, but they couldn't get anything going. The Spartans were able to get two more runners on base in the third, but were also unable to bring them home.

Fresno State found the scoreboard in the bottom of the frame. Freshman Haley Fuller took a leadoff walk, junior Katie Castellon doubled to right center and Rivers hit an RBI-single. Rohleder then hit a sacrifice fly to bring the 'Dogs within two runs. The Bulldogs narrowly escaped the fourth as Mejia gave up a walk and a single, but didn't allow a run and Fresno State went into the bottom of the fourth down 4-2.

Willis led the inning off with a walk, advanced to third on a single by Willmon, Fuller took a walk to load the bases, and San Jose State entered Linford into the circle with two outs. Sophomore Dominique Jackson then came up to the plate, but grounded out to third and the Bulldogs were unable to close the gap. The Spartans once again got runners in scoring position in the top of the fifth, but left runners on second and third and kept a 4-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, Howe knocked a two-out single through the left side, was pinch run for by freshman Kindra Hackbarth, Willis reached on an error, but the Bulldogs couldn't capitalize. In the top of the sixth, three hits and two errors lead to four runs, extending the Spartan lead to 8-2. Bulldog junior Sarah Santana then entered the circle to get the final out and limit the damage.

In the bottom of the frame, Willmon hit her sixth home run of the season to close San Jose State's lead to 8-3. SJSU added another in the seventh to take a 9-3 lead. In the final half, Rivers took a leadoff walk, Howe singled through the left side and freshman Faith Rousey came up to the plate in her first appearance of the season, but grounded out to end the game.

What's next?
Fresno State travels to UNLV for a three-game Mountain West series next weekend before returning home May 5-7 to host New Mexico for the Bulldogs' final home games of the 2017 regular season.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.