Softball to face more tough competition at Mary Nutter Classic

Fresno State at Mary Nutter Classic (Palm Springs, Calif.)
vs. Wisconsin • Feb. 23, 2018 • 10:30 AM
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vs. #7 LSU • Feb. 24, 2018 • 2:30 PM
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vs. BYU • Feb. 24, 2018 • 7:30 PM
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vs. #3 UCLA • Feb. 25, 2018 • 11:30 AM
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vs. CSUN • Feb. 25, 2018 • 2:00 PM
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Complete Fresno State Weekly Notes (PDF)

• Fresno State faces three more Power-5 schools and two more top-seven ranked teams in Palm Springs.
• Every game of the Mary Nutter Classic will be streamed on FloSoftball ($). Every Fresno State game will also have live stats with links available on the Softball Schedule page.

Scouting the Mary Nutter Classic
• Wisconsin received votes in the preseason NFCA/USA Today coaches poll after going 35-17 last season and qualifying for the NCAA Regionals. The Badgers have already faced another MW school, losing to Colorado State in their season opener in Texas, and are 4-4 overall. Wisconsin ranks second in the Big 10 in fielding percentage and stolen bases and has a solid 3.02 team ERA. The team has five starters hitting better than .300 but just six total home runs.

• LSU is one of 11 undefeated teams remaining in Div. I and has moved up to No. 7 in the country. The Tigers reached the Women's College World Series last season and returned six starters as well as three of four pitchers. All 10 games the team has played this season have been at home but LSU plays three games in Stockton Thursday and Friday. As a team the Tigers have a 0.51 ERA and .129 opposing batting average allowing just six total runs in 10 games.

• BYU was ranked No. 19 in the preseason NFCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll but has started the year 4-6. The Cougars went 1-4 at the Kajikawa Classic but did beat Stanford 10-1 and had a win over New Mexico last week. BYU made its 13th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Regionals last season and lost only four letterwinners. The Cougars rank 8th in NCAA Div. I with 15 home runs in 10 games this year but they have a 4.80 team ERA.

• UCLA is also undefeated, ranking third in Div. I hitting .409 as a team and tallying a 1.17 team ERA. The Bruins have outscored their opposition 83-12 and have four starters hitting .500 or better. UCLA has reached the WCWS in three consecutive seasons and returned seven starters and three pitchers from last season. The Bruins will be playing in Palm Springs for the second straight week after going 4-0 in the first edition of the Mary Nutter Classic last week.

• CSUN also beat Stanford and lost to Oregon at the Kajikawa Classic. The Matadors went 3-2 last week with a win over Nevada but a loss to New Mexico. Most of the team's games have been very high scoring as CSUN has hit 15 home runs and has a .313 team batting average but has a 7.32 team ERA and has allowed 7.8 runs per game. Despite losing six starters the Matadors were picked to finish third in the Big West preseason poll after going 31-22 in 2017.

Into the Polls
• The Bulldogs appeared in the national rankings this week as D1softballnews.com chose Fresno State as the No. 25 team in the nation.
• Fresno State earned votes in the 2018 preseason USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll as well as in the first edition of the season.
• The Bulldogs have been ranked in the top-25 in the coaches' poll, one of two polls officially recognized by the NCAA along with the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, in each of the last two seasons, reaching No. 17 in 2016 and No. 21 in 2017.

Triple Time
• Sophomore Miranda Rohleder had four triples over the last three Fresno State games in the Bulldog Classic, including a two-triple games against Pacific.
• Rohleder is tied for the NCAA Div. I lead as only one other payer (Kyler Trosclair Klatt of Memphis) has four triples this year. Her four triples are more than every other Mountain West squad has as a team.

Powered Down
• Fresno State opened the 2018 season with three wins over Power-5 schools at the Kajikawa Classic. The 'Dogs took down Stanford, Purdue, and Notre Dame, earning wins against the Pac-12, Big 10, and ACC schools, respectively.
• The Bulldogs tallied three Power-5 wins at the Kajikawa Classic for the third consecutive season, beating both Purdue and Stanford at the tournament for the second straight year.
• Fresno State had seven total wins over Power-5 schools last season and has seven more games vs. Power-5 teams still to come this year, including three this week.

Up to Wins
• Fresno State is undefeated this year when leading at any point in the game. The Bulldogs are also 6-0 when scoring first and 3-0 when tied in the second inning or later.
• While the 'Dogs have not lost a lead they also have one come-from-behind victory, rallying from down 4-0 to beat Notre Dame.

Super Support
• The red wave averaged 1,229 fans per game for the Bulldog Classic, giving Fresno State the 5th highest attendance average in all of NCAA Div. I so far this season.
• Last season Fresno State led the MW and ranked 13th in NCAA Div. I averaging 1,101 fans per game. The 'Dogs drew more fans than any other team in California last year and have averaged more than 1,000 fans per game for 25 consecutive seasons.

3 and 7 Again
• To open the season the Bulldogs played preseason ranked No. 3 Oregon and No. 7 Arizona among their five games at the Kajikawa Classic.
• Fresno State will again play the current No. 3 and No. 7 teams in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll this week as UCLA is now No. 3 and LSU checks in at No. 7.
• The 'Dogs play six teams that appear in the current Top-25 poll with matchups against No. 15 Louisiana and No. 19 California to come.

Freshman Phenom
• True freshman Danielle East was the winning pitcher in all three Fresno State victories at the Kajikawa Classic, beating Stanford and Purdue as the starting pitcher and Notre Dame in relief.
• East threw an 8-inning shutout against Stanford for her first collegiate victory, allowing just seven singles and no walks with two strikeouts. She earned the win in both games on Sunday, beating Purdue 13-4 in 6-innings and pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in relief to earn the win against Purdue.
• East, who was named MW Pitcher of the Week after her first week as a collegiate pitcher, earned a fourth win in the Bulldog Classic and had her first career save on Sunday.

Three Straight Walk-Offs
• The Bulldogs won three consecutive games in walk-off fashion, winning the last two games in Tempe and the first game of the Bulldog Classic with dramatics.
• In a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh against Notre Dame, Katie Castellon walked-off the 'Dogs with a solo home run to right, her second long ball of the day.
• The other two walk-off wins came via the run rule, as Castellon tallied her second straight walk off hit in the 'Dogs 8-0 win in five innings against CSU Bakersfield and Schuylar Broussard started the walk-off streak with a home run for a 13-4 Bulldog win over Purdue.

McHellon Mashing
• Senior Savannah McHellon earned MW Player of the Week honors after hitting .417 with two home runs and four RBIs over the first week of the 2018 season. She led the team in batting average, slugging percentage (.917), and on-base percentage (.533) and reached base in all five games with hits in four of the five.
• McHellon had a two-homer game last weekend against CSU Bakersfield, including her second career grand slam, and remains the team's leader in batting average, slugging percentage and home runs and is tied for the team lead with nine RBIs.

TKC Wins Three
• Junior transfer Tiffany Kennedy-Cummings made her first three starts as a Bulldog in the Bulldog Classic and won all three games, allowing just four earned runs over 14.2 innings pitched.
• In five total appearances Kennedy-Cummings has tallied 23 strikeouts over 20 innings, including nine strikeouts against Notre Dame. She ranks second in the MW with a 1.40 ERA and is third in strikeouts.

On Base A Lot
• Coach Linda Garza and her staff focus heavily on on-base percentage and the team has five starters reaching base at better than a .400 clip so far this season.
• Hayleigh Galvan has reached base in nine straight games and leads the team with a .481 on-base percentage while Schuylar Broussard has reached in seven straight and has a .467 OBP. Savannah McHellon reached base in each of the first nine games of the season as she, Katie Castellon, and Miranda Rohleder are also over .400.
• As a team the Bulldogs rank fourth in the MW with a .391 OBP after tallying a .373 mark at the end of the 2017 season.

Irregular Innings
• The standard length of a softball game is seven innings, but the Bulldogs did not play a seven-inning game until their fifth contest of the season.
• Each of the 'Dogs first four games did not go seven innings as two went five innings and one went six via the run rule and one went extra innings, the 8-inning win over Stanford. The squad had another 5-inning game in its Bulldog Classic opener against CSU Bakersfield but the team's last four games of the tournament went seven.

On a Rohl
• In addition to her four triples last weekend Miranda Rohleder also stole four bases in five attempts.
• For the season she is 6-for-7 in steal attempts after ranking second on the team with three steals last year. As a team the Bulldogs are third in the MW with 10 steals in 11 attempts.

Power Surge
• Fresno State is tied for the Mountain West lead with 12 home runs and ranks 22nd in Div. I with 1.20 home runs per game.
• The 'Dogs hit seven home runs in two games to close the Kajikawa Classic and hit four more homers during the Bulldog Classic.
• Six different Bulldogs have homered and all 12 homers have come in Fresno State wins.

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Softball to face more tough competition at Mary Nutter Classic

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Players Mentioned

Schuylar Broussard

Katie Castellon

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Tiffany Kennedy-Cummings

Savannah McHellon

Miranda Rohleder

Fresno State Athletics