Bulldogs travel to New Mexico for first MW road series

Fresno State (17-14, 2-1 MW) at New Mexico (8-24, 2-4 MW)
March 29-31, 2018 | Albuquerque, N.M. | Lobo Softball Field (1,500)
First Pitch (PT): Thu: 5:00 p.m., Fri.: 5:00 p.m., Sat: 11:00 a.m.
Watch: Mountain West Network
Radio: None
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Series History: Fresno State leads 43-6
Streak: Fresno State Won 11

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Bulldog Bones
• The Bulldogs took 2-of-3 games against Colorado State, winning their first conference series of the year for the fourth consecutive season. The Rams entered the series leading the MW in ERA.
• Fresno State leads the Mountain West and is tied for 22nd in NCAA Div. I with 31 home runs in 31 games played this season. The Bulldogs have hit at least one home run in 14 of their last 19 games.
• Hayleigh Galvan leads the Bulldogs and the MW with a .530 on-base percentage this season while also leading the team with a .387 batting average. She is currently on a 12-game hitting streak.
• The Bulldogs broke the single season program record for hit-by-pitches last week as they have now been hit 43 times. The MW record for HBP in a season is 47, set by San Jose State last year.
• In 31 games this season Fresno State has played just one true road game, at Cal State Fullerton on March 3. The Bulldogs will now play five road games over a seven day stretch starting on Thursday.

Scouting New Mexico (8-24, 2-4 MW)
• New Mexico was unanimously picked to finish in last place in the preseason MW Coaches' Poll after changing coaching staffs following a 20-30 overall record and 6-18 MW mark last year.
• The Lobos have three wins this year over Saint Mary's and earned a win at Texas Tech in the pre-conference season. New Mexico opened conference play losing 2-of-3 games against both UNLV and Nevada, dropping the UNLV series on its home field to fall to 4-5 at home this year.
• New Mexico ranks last in the MW and 288th out of 296 Div. I schools with a 7.24 team ERA. The Lobos are allowing 7.9 runs per game this year with a .353 opposing batting average. The squad has allowed 60 runs in six MW games, giving up 43 runs in three games vs. Nevada.
• Andrea Howard leads the team hitting .325 with five home runs while Chelsea Johnson is hitting .319 with five homers and a team-high 22 RBIs. The Lobos are 24-of-30 on stolen bases.
• Fresno State has won 11 straight games against New Mexico dating back to the 2014 season.

Opening MW with a W
• In its first MW series of the season the Bulldogs took 2-of-3 games against Colorado State, winning their first conference series of the year for the fourth consecutive season.
• Colorado State entered the series leading the conference in ERA and second in batting average but the 'Dogs outscored the Rams 13-10 while posting a 3.33 team ERA.

Taking Several for the Team
• The Bulldogs broke the single season program record for hit-by-pitches last week as they have now been hit 43 times this season. The MW record for HBP in a season is 47, set by San Jose State last year.
• No other MW team has been plunked more than 19 times. The NCAA does not track national team hit-by-pitch statistics.
• Hayleigh Galvan and Emily Brodner are tied for the Mountain West lead with eight hit-by-pitches while Schuylar Broussard has been hit seven times.

Road Rarity
• In 31 games this season Fresno State has played just one true road game, at Cal State Fullerton on March 3. The 'Dogs have played 13 neutral site games but just one contest on an opponent's home field.
• The Bulldogs will now play five road games over a seven day stretch with the series at New Mexico and games at Stanford and Santa Clara, the latter of which was just added to the schedule this week.

Galvan-izing the Offense
• Hitting in the clean-up spot, sophomore transfer Hayleigh Galvan leads the Bulldogs and the MW with a .530 on-base percentage this season while also leading the team in batting average (.387).
• With 29 hits (including five home runs and six doubles), 16 walks, and eight hit-by-pitches Galvan has reached base in more than half of her plate appearances this year.
• The Oklahoma State transfer has been especially strong at home, as she has reached base in all 17 home games the 'Dogs have played this year while hitting .477 with a .586 OBP at Margie Wright Diamond.
• Galvan enters the week on a team season long 12-game hitting streak.

They've Got the Power
• Fresno State leads the Mountain West and is tied for 22nd in NCAA Div. I with 31 home runs this season.
• The Bulldogs have hit at least one home run in 14 of their last 19 games and have hit multiple homers in eight games this year.
• Savannah McHellon leads the MW with 12 home runs as eight 'Dogs have homered and six have hit multiple home runs.

Big K Day
• Freshman Danielle East recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts while earning the win over Colorado State on Sunday. She topped her previous career high of nine strikeouts while tallying 11 K's over the first six innings of the game against the Rams.
• East recorded three consecutive strikeouts three times in the game and had at least one punch out in each of the first six innings.

Walk-Offs
• Katie Castellon recorded Fresno State's eighth walk-off win of the season on Sunday.
• The Bulldogs have recorded three traditional walk-offs with two by Castellon and one from Savannah McHellon. The other five walk-off wins have come via the 8-run mercy rule.
• McHellon (3), Castellon, and Schuylar Broussard have hit walk-off homers.

McHellon Mashing
• Senior Savannah McHellon leads the MW and is tied for ninth in NCAA Div. I with 12 homers this season. She is also third in the MW in slugging percentage (.769) and total bases (70).
• She has hit six homers and driven in 17 runs over the last 12 games with two run-rule walk-off homers, her second 2-homer game of the season, and her second grand slam this year.
• She has also won two games as the starting pitcher during the stretch with a 3.06 ERA.

High RPI
• In the most recent NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) rankings Fresno State is No. 61, the second highest in the MW behind only No. 51 San Jose State.
• The RPI rankings reflect quality wins and strength of schedule as the 'Dogs played a very difficult non-conference slate and have wins over highly ranked teams, including a victory over Notre Dame (No. 29).

Super Support
• The red wave has averaged 1,056 fans per game this season, the most among all 20 NCAA Div. I schools in California and the 13th highest attendance average in the nation. The team's total attendance of 17,967 this season is eighth most in all of Div. I.
• 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.

Working the Field
• Fresno State has committed just six errors in the last 12 games and now ranks second in the MW with a .972 fielding percentage this year.
• The Bulldogs have 14 error-free games this season and have committed multiple errors just twice over the last 21 games.

20th Anniversary of WCWS Title
• Coach Margie Wright and nine members of the 1998 National Championship team were in attendance last Saturday as Fresno State celebrated the 20th anniversary of the first national championship in school history.
• Fresno State is the only non-Power 5 school that has won a WCWS national title since 1986 and is one of just two non-Power 5 schools to ever win the WCWS since its inception in 1982 (Cal State Fullerton, 1986).

Home Cooking
• In 17 home games this year the 'Dogs are 12-5, having outscored the opposition 107-57 while hitting .310 with 14 home runs and tallying a 3.01 team ERA.
• The win over Monmouth on Mar. 11 was the 900th home victory in program history. The 'Dogs are 904-235-1 all-time at home over 41 seasons.

Irregular Innings
• Thirteen of Fresno State's 31 games so far this season were not completed in the standard seven innings. The team has played seven 5-inning games, three 6-inning games, two 8-inning games, and one 9-inning game.
• The Bulldogs did not play a seven-inning game until their fifth contest of the season.

On Base a Lot
• As a team the Bulldogs rank second in the MW with a .402 on-base percentage after tallying a .373 mark at the end of the 2017 season.
• Hayleigh Galvan leads the MW with a .530 on-base percentage this year while four other Bulldogs have an on-base percentage at or above .400.

Doubling Up
• Fresno State is tied for second in the MW with 15 double plays turned and has hit into only six double plays this season.
• The 'Dogs turned a pair of double plays in consecutive games against Wisconsin and No. 3 LSU.

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Bulldogs travel to New Mexico for first MW road series

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Players Mentioned

Emily Brodner

Schuylar Broussard

Katie Castellon

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Savannah McHellon

Fresno State Athletics