Bulldogs walk off against Cal Poly, downed by No. 18 Louisiana

Friday, March 2

Fullerton, Calif.

4:45 PM (CONCLUDED MARCH 4)

Fresno State

9-9

Cal Poly

8-9

Cal Poly

Fresno State

Bulldogs walk off against Cal Poly, downed by No. 18 Louisiana

3/4/2018 3:32:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

FULLERTON, Calif. – Savannah McHellon hit a walk-off home run as the Bulldogs beat Cal Poly, 3-2, to conclude Friday night's suspended game before the 'Dogs dropped a 7-2 contest against No. 18 Louisiana to conclude play at the Judi Garman Classic on Sunday.

Fresno State (9-10) also got a home run from Vanessa Hernandez in the Louisiana game and has hit a Mountain West-leading 21 home runs in 19 games this season. The Bulldogs recorded their fourth walk off win of the season (two via the run rule) with their second game-winning walk off homer after Katie Castellon did so earlier this year against Notre Dame.

How it Happened (Cal Poly Game)
The first three and a half innings of the game were played on Friday before play was halted due to rain. The Mustangs took a 2-0 lead in the top of the third as they loaded the bases with a hit, walk, and hit batter and scored runs on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.

In the bottom of the third the 'Dogs loaded the bases as Kaitlyn Jennings and Hayleigh Galvan walked around a bunt single from Miranda Rohleder. With two away Vanessa Hernandez brought Jennings and Rohleder in with a 2-run single to left center. The 'Dogs turned a double play to end the top of the fourth inning before the game was called.

The game resumed at 10 a.m. on Sunday in the bottom of the fourth, and the Bulldogs had runners reach scoring position in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings but could not score. Danielle East took over in the circle when the game restarted and did not allow a hit into the seventh inning.

Cal Poly tallied a pair of singles with one away in the top of the 7^th and had runners on 2^nd and 3^rd with two out but East got a fly out to keep the game tied. With one out in the bottom half McHellon hit a 1-0 pitch deep over the wall in left to win it.

How it Happened (Louisiana Game)
Playing its first game of the day, Louisiana jumped to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. The Ragin' Cajuns batted around with five hits, a walk, and a Bulldog fielding error to take the lead.

Rachel Minogue had the first Fresno State hit with a double in the second inning but was left there. Louisiana added another run in the bottom of the second on a double, sacrifice bunt, and a sacrifice fly. The Bulldogs got on the board in the third as Schuylar Broussard walked and Jennings had a single to open the inning and pinch runner Brooke Coates would score on a Castellon groundout.

The Ragin' Cajuns made the score 7-1 scoring a run on an error in the bottom of the third. The Bulldogs scored a single run again in the fourth as Hernandez hit her third home run of the season with one away. Tiffany Kennedy-Cummings pitched 2.2 innings in relief allowing just one unearned run and Sarah Santana retired four of the five batters she faced as the Bulldogs held the Ragin' Cajuns scoreless over the last three innings.

In the seventh inning Broussard walked and Jennings had her second single of the game with two away before Louisiana pitcher Casey Dixon got the last out to finish a complete game win.

Notable

Louisiana (12-4) was the fifth team ranked within the top-20 in the nation that the Bulldogs have faced this season.
Even though the Cal Poly game was concluded on Sunday the official date of the game is March 2, when it started.
McHellon has reached base in nine straight games, one shy of the team season-best reached base streak this year.
Hitting in the No. 9 spot, Jennings reached base in eight of her 10 at-bats over the weekend, hitting 2-for-4 with four walks and two hit-by-pitches. She was also 2-for-2 in stolen base attempts.
Kennedy-Cummings lowered her season ERA to 2.82 with a 225 opposing batting average.
Fresno State plays two more games against Cal Poly, hosting the Mustangs on March 17. The Bulldogs are now 41-13 all-time against Cal Poly.

What's Next
Fresno State plays its next 12 games at home through the end of the non-conference season and the beginning of Mountain West play. The Bulldogs host the Fresno State Invitational next weekend as No. 15 California, UC Santa Barbara, Monmouth, and Cleveland State visit Margie Wright Diamond.

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