Bulldogs host Illinois and Cal Poly in final non-conference weekend

Friday, March 16

Fresno, Calif.

6:00 PM

Fresno State

Illinois

Bulldogs host Illinois and Cal Poly in final non-conference weekend

3/14/2018 4:56:00 PM | Softball

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

Fresno State hosts Fresno State Friendly (Margie Wright Diamond)
Fresno State vs. Illinois (DH) • March 16, 2018 • 6:00 PM
    Watch: Mountain West Network • Radio: 790 ESPN2 • Live Stats: Sidearm
Cal Poly vs. Illinois (DH) • March 17, 2018 • 2:00 PM
   Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2
Fresno State vs. Cal Poly (DH) • March 18, 2018 • 11:00 AM
    Watch: Mountain West Network • Radio: 790 ESPN2 • Live Stats: Sidearm

Complete Fresno State Weekly Notes (PDF)

Promotions
Friday, March 16th

Community Heroes Night - Help us spotlight some of our great local heroes!
Youth Jersey Friday
All kids (8^th grade and under) get in FREE with a jersey!
Doubleheader - One TICKET gets you admission to both games!

Sunday, March 18th

Doubleheader
One TICKET gets you admission to both games!
Post-game all JR Bulldogs are invited to come run the bases!

• Fresno State hosts Illinois for a doubleheader on Friday and Cal Poly for a doubleheader on Sunday. Illinois and Cal Poly will face off in a neutral-site doubleheader at Margie Wright Diamond beginning at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
• All four Fresno State games will be streamed for FREE on the Mountain West Network and will air on 790 AM ESPN2 in Fresno with Matt Norville on the call.

Bulldog Bones
• Fresno State leads the Mountain West and is tied for 17th in NCAA Div. I with 25 home runs in 24 games played this season. The Bulldogs have hit at least one home run in 10 of their last 12 games.
• Fresno State has been successful on 21 consecutive stolen base attempts over the last nine games. The Bulldogs were 15-for-15 in steals in the Fresno State Invitational and allowed just two steals.
• The 'Dogs are 8-2 at home this season, having outscored the opposition 61-22 while hitting .311 with a 2.05 team ERA. The win over Monmouth on Sunday was the 900th home win in team history.
• The Bulldogs will be facing Cal Poly for the second time this season after a 3-2 win at the Judi Garman Classic. Illinois has won 10 of its last 12 games with a DH sweep of Missouri on Wednesday.

Scouting the Fresno State Friendly
• Illinois is 13-8 this season and has won 10 of its last 12 games after a doubleheader sweep of Missouri on Wednesday. The Illini lead the Big 10 in batting average, hitting .321 as a team, and are averaging more than five runs scored per game. The team has seven starters hitting above .300 and has a 3.71 team ERA. Fresno State is 3-1 all-time against Illinois and is 5-3 against Big 10 teams over the last two seasons with a win over Purdue earlier this season.

• The Bulldogs will be facing Cal Poly for the second time this season, having defeated the Mustangs, 3-2, at the Judi Garman Classic in the March 2 game that was suspended and completed March 4. Cal Poly beat Iowa and Michigan State to close the Judi Garman Classic and have won six straight games. The Mustangs have just eight home runs and seven stolen bases as a team and are led by starting pitcher Lindsey Chalmers, who is 9-3 with a 2.86 ERA.

McHellon's Monster Day
• Last Friday Senior Savannah McHellon hit two walk-off home runs and pitched a 1-hit shutout to lead Fresno State to wins over Cleveland State and UC Santa Barbara.
• She ended both games via the run rule with a walk-off homer, hitting a 3-run shot in the fifth inning against Cleveland State and a 2-run homer in the sixth against UCSB. She had also hit a walk-off home run the previous week against Cal Poly.
• McHellon was 4-for-8 with 6 RBIs over the two games and was the starting pitcher against the Gauchos, taking a no-hitter into the fifth innings and allowing just one single over six shutout innings.

Running Free
• Fresno State has been successful on 21 consecutive stolen base attempts over the last nine games. The 'Dogs have also allowed only five stolen bases over the stretch.
• The Bulldogs were 15-for-15 in steals in the Fresno State Invitational and rank second in the MW with 33 stolen bases this year.
• Miranda Rohleder, who leads the team with 13 steals in 14 attempts, is 6-for-6 in steals over the last nine games while Brooke Coates is 5-for-5 and Kaitlyn Jennings is 4-for-4.

They've Got the Power
• Fresno State leads the Mountain West and is tied for 17th in NCAA Div. I with 25 home runs this season.
• The Bulldogs have hit at least one home run in 10 of their last 12 games and have hit multiple homers in six games this year.
• Savannah McHellon leads the MW with eight home runs as eight 'Dogs have homered and six have hit multiple home runs.

Home Cooking
• Fresno State is in the midst of a 12-game homestand to end the pre-conference portion of its schedule and open MW play.
• In 10 home games this year the 'Dogs are 8-2, having outscored the opposition 61-22 while hitting .311 and holding opponents to a .222 batting average with a 2.05 team ERA.
• The win over Monmouth on Sunday was the 900th home victory in program history. The 'Dogs are 900-232-1 all-time at home over 41 seasons.

Super Support
• The red wave has averaged 1,167 fans per game this season, the most among all 20 NCAA Div. I schools in California and the 11th highest attendance average in the nation.
• 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.

Taking Several for the Team
• The Bulldogs have been hit by a pitch 33 times this season, more than double the second highest total in the MW (Colorado State/San Jose State - 14).
• Fresno State hitters have recorded at least one hit-by-pitch in 14 games this season and have been hit multiple times in 10 games with a season-high five hit-by-pitches vs. Loyola Marymount and UC Santa Barbara.
• Hayleigh Galvan and Emily Brodner are tied for the Mountain West lead with seven hit-by-pitches while Brodner is 19th in the nation in hit-by-pitches per game.

Walk-Offs
• Savannah McHellon's two walk-off home runs last Friday gave the 'Dogs six walk-offs this season, the first three of which came in succession.
• McHellon has hit three walk-off homers after Schuylar Broussard and Katie Castellon hit walk-off homers on the same day against Purdue and Notre Dame, respectively.
• The 'Dogs have two walk off wins in tied games while the other four walk-offs came when the 'Dogs ended a win via the 8-run rule.

Non-Conference Non-Easy
• Fresno State has faced six ranked teams in non-conference play, having played four of the top nine teams in the current NFCA/USA Today coaches' poll.
• In terms of opponent winning percentage the Bulldogs have played the second toughest schedule among MW teams, behind only San Diego State.

On Base a Lot
• Hayleigh Galvan leads the team with a .500 on-base percentage this year, hitting .345 with 10 walks and seven hit-by-pitches to reach base in half of her plate appearances.
• Three other Bulldogs have an on-base percentage over .400 in Savannah McHellon (.432), Miranda Rohleder (.419), and Schuylar Broussard (.408).
• As a team the Bulldogs rank fifth in the MW with a .388 OBP after tallying a .373 mark at the end of the 2017 season.

Impressive Home Debut
• Freshman Savannah Berkowitz made her first start and first home pitching appearance against Cleveland State and threw seven solid innings for her first collegiate win.
• Berkowitz allowed just one run, scattering seven singles and striking out two for a complete-game win throwing only 76 pitches.

Doubling Up
• Fresno State is third in the MW with 12 double plays turned and has hit into only two double plays this season.
• The 'Dogs turned a pair of double plays in consecutive games against Wisconsin and No. 3 LSU.

Irregular Innings
• Through 24 games this season Fresno State has played just 13 that were completed in the standard seven innings. The team has played six 5-inning games, three 6-inning games, and two 8-inning games.
• The Bulldogs did not play a seven-inning game until their fifth contest of the season.

Triple Time
• Sophomore Miranda Rohleder had four triples over the last three Fresno State games in the Bulldog Classic, including a two-triple game against Pacific.
• Rohleder is tied for sixth in NCAA Div. I as only three players have more than four triples this year. Her four triples are as many as all but two other Mountain West squads have as a team.

Strikeout Stuff
• The Bulldog pitching staff ranks third in the Mountain West with 117 strikeouts this season.
• The 'Dogs have tallied multiple strikeouts in all but two games this year with a season-high 11 K's against Notre Dame. Danielle East ranks fourth in the MW with 52 strikeouts.

"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.

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