Fresno State Athletics
Sunday, March 25
Fresno, Calif.
12:00 PM
Fresno State
17-14, 2-1
4
vs
3
Colorado State
16-9, 3-3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Colorado State
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
3
5
1
Fresno State
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
4
5
0
Bulldogs rally for walk-off win to clinch series against Colorado State
3/25/2018 3:54:00 PM | Softball
FRESNO, Calif. – For the second time in the three-game series Fresno State trailed 3-0 early but battled back for a victory, winning on Sunday on a wind-aided walk-off double from Katie Castellon in the bottom of the 7th to beat Colorado State, 4-3, and take the series.
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Fresno State (17-14, 2-1 MW) also trailed 3-0 on Friday night before earning a 9-3 victory in the series opener. On Sunday Colorado State (16-9, 3-3 MW) got a 3-run homer in the first inning but was shut down from there as freshman Danielle East recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and held the Rams scoreless over the last six innings of the game.
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Strong wind was blowing in from center field throughout the game, and in a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 7th the 'Dogs got leadoff hitter Dominique Jackson to second base on a high fly ball that center fielder Ashley Michelena was unable to catch. With two out and pinch runner Kaitlyn Jennings on third, Castellon hit a fly ball down the right field line that was blown in by the wind and dropped off the glove of right fielder Madison Kilcrease to end the game.
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How it Happened
A hit batter and a walk gave Colorado State two base runners with one out in the top of the first and Corina Gamboa hit a 3-run home run to left to give the Rams a very early lead. East settled in from there, striking out the last two batters of the inning and permitting just four hits and two walks over the next six innings.
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Colorado State starter Bridgette Hutton allowed just one hit through her first four innings of work, but leading off the bottom of the fifth Vanessa Hernandez hit her fourth home run of the season to cut the lead to 3-1. East struck out the side in the top of the sixth inning and the 'Dogs tied it up in the bottom half.
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Miranda Rohleder opened the inning with a walk and scored on a Savannah McHellon RBI single. Hayleigh Galvan followed with a single up the middle and advanced to second as pinch runner Brooke Coates beat the throw to third. The extra base proved important as Coates scampered home on a wild pitch with two away to tie the game at 3-3.
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The Rams had a pair of 1-out singles in the top of the seventh and had runners on second and third with two away before East got Lauren Buchanan to pop out to first to keep the game tied and set the stage for the Bulldogs to win it in the bottom of the seventh.
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Notable
"It was awesome to have the 1998 team here and to be able to kind of replicate what it felt like for them being around the valley community. It's a big part of what makes Fresno State special. There are a lot of Bulldogs that played before that 1998 team and they were able to make that championship happen. It was great to see and feel that energy and to have the current players be able to experience it. We owe a lot to that team; it put Fresno State on the map in a lot of ways, even helping pave the way for baseball to win a title 10 years later."
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On the first two games of the Colorado State series…
"Conference is a new season and it's new for a lot of our players. We're still developing our pitching staff and figuring out what's going to work. Samantha Mejia was huge in game one to be able to come in and throw four shutout innings to give us an opportunity and our bats came alive. On Saturday the bats kind of went quiet and I think that's going to happen once in a while for us. We stayed in it with Sarah Santana pitching well for us but we couldn't get the big hits."
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On Sunday's game…
"Today, for us to fight back it was incredible base running and a clutch hitting performance. Vanessa hitting that ball out gave us some confidence that we could put something together. We ran balls out and forced them to make some plays and I thought Brooke had some amazing base running taking two chances to put us in a tied game. Dani's performance after the first inning was outstanding. Hopefully that is what she needed to get her going into conference. As we head into Albuquerque we want to find a way to win three games so to clinch the series today was huge."
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What's Next
Fresno State goes on the road for the first time since the opening week of March as the 'Dogs will play their first MW road series of the year Thursday-Saturday at New Mexico. The Lobos are 8-24 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West.
 "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.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateSB
Instagram:Â FresnoStateSoftball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateSoftball
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Fresno State (17-14, 2-1 MW) also trailed 3-0 on Friday night before earning a 9-3 victory in the series opener. On Sunday Colorado State (16-9, 3-3 MW) got a 3-run homer in the first inning but was shut down from there as freshman Danielle East recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts and held the Rams scoreless over the last six innings of the game.
Â
Strong wind was blowing in from center field throughout the game, and in a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the 7th the 'Dogs got leadoff hitter Dominique Jackson to second base on a high fly ball that center fielder Ashley Michelena was unable to catch. With two out and pinch runner Kaitlyn Jennings on third, Castellon hit a fly ball down the right field line that was blown in by the wind and dropped off the glove of right fielder Madison Kilcrease to end the game.
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How it Happened
A hit batter and a walk gave Colorado State two base runners with one out in the top of the first and Corina Gamboa hit a 3-run home run to left to give the Rams a very early lead. East settled in from there, striking out the last two batters of the inning and permitting just four hits and two walks over the next six innings.
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Colorado State starter Bridgette Hutton allowed just one hit through her first four innings of work, but leading off the bottom of the fifth Vanessa Hernandez hit her fourth home run of the season to cut the lead to 3-1. East struck out the side in the top of the sixth inning and the 'Dogs tied it up in the bottom half.
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Miranda Rohleder opened the inning with a walk and scored on a Savannah McHellon RBI single. Hayleigh Galvan followed with a single up the middle and advanced to second as pinch runner Brooke Coates beat the throw to third. The extra base proved important as Coates scampered home on a wild pitch with two away to tie the game at 3-3.
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The Rams had a pair of 1-out singles in the top of the seventh and had runners on second and third with two away before East got Lauren Buchanan to pop out to first to keep the game tied and set the stage for the Bulldogs to win it in the bottom of the seventh.
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Notable
- Fresno State picked up its eighth walk-off win of the season and the third walk-off in a tied game. Castellon had her third walk-off hit of the season and won the game in the bottom of the 7th for the second time after a walk-off homer in the win over Notre Dame.
- East topped her previous career high of nine strikeouts recorded against BYU. She had at least one strikeout in each of the first six innings of the game.
- With her 6th-inning single Galvan has reached safely in all 17 Fresno State home games this season and has a hit in 12 straight home games.
- Fresno State won its first MW series of the season for the fourth consecutive year.
- The Bulldogs won for the fifth time this season when the opponent scored first.
- Fresno State ended its season-long 12-game homestand with an 8-4 record and improved to 12-5 overall at home this year.
- Head Coach Linda Garza
"It was awesome to have the 1998 team here and to be able to kind of replicate what it felt like for them being around the valley community. It's a big part of what makes Fresno State special. There are a lot of Bulldogs that played before that 1998 team and they were able to make that championship happen. It was great to see and feel that energy and to have the current players be able to experience it. We owe a lot to that team; it put Fresno State on the map in a lot of ways, even helping pave the way for baseball to win a title 10 years later."
Â
On the first two games of the Colorado State series…
"Conference is a new season and it's new for a lot of our players. We're still developing our pitching staff and figuring out what's going to work. Samantha Mejia was huge in game one to be able to come in and throw four shutout innings to give us an opportunity and our bats came alive. On Saturday the bats kind of went quiet and I think that's going to happen once in a while for us. We stayed in it with Sarah Santana pitching well for us but we couldn't get the big hits."
Â
On Sunday's game…
"Today, for us to fight back it was incredible base running and a clutch hitting performance. Vanessa hitting that ball out gave us some confidence that we could put something together. We ran balls out and forced them to make some plays and I thought Brooke had some amazing base running taking two chances to put us in a tied game. Dani's performance after the first inning was outstanding. Hopefully that is what she needed to get her going into conference. As we head into Albuquerque we want to find a way to win three games so to clinch the series today was huge."
Â
What's Next
Fresno State goes on the road for the first time since the opening week of March as the 'Dogs will play their first MW road series of the year Thursday-Saturday at New Mexico. The Lobos are 8-24 overall and 2-4 in the Mountain West.
 "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.
Follow us on:
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateSB
Instagram:Â FresnoStateSoftball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateSoftball
Â
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: East, Danielle (8-6)
L: PETTY, Alison (1-2)
Batting:
HR: GAMBOA, Corina 1
RBI: GAMBOA, Corina 3
Base Running:
RUNS: DONALDSON, Haley 1 ; BUCHANAN, Lauren 1 ; GAMBOA, Corina 1
SB: MUZIK, Sarah 1
HBP: DONALDSON, Haley 1
Batting:
2B: Castellon, Katie 1 ; Broussard, Schuylar 1
HR: Hernandez, Vanessa 1
RBI: Castellon, Katie 1 ; McHellon, Savannah 1 ; Hernandez, Vanessa 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rohleder, Miranda 1 ; Coates, Brooke 1 ; Hernandez, Vanessa 1 ; Jennings, Kaitlyn 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
LHP
/ SoftballC/OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballDP/RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
RHP
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