Fresno State to face San Jose State in battle between top two MW teams

Fresno State (24-15, 7-2 MW) at San Jose State (25-11, 9-2 MW)
April 13-15, 2018 | Santa Clara, Calif. | Mission College Softball Field
First Pitch: Fri: 12:00 p.m., Sat.: 12:00 p.m., Sun: 12:00 p.m.
Watch: None
Radio: None
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
Series History: Fresno State leads 88-15
Streak: San Jose State Won 2

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

• San Jose State and Fresno State enter the week in first and second place, respectively, in the MW standings at the approximate midway point of the conference season.
• Due to ongoing construction on San Jose State's home stadium, the series will be played at Mission College in Santa Clara (3000 Mission College Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95054). The series will not be video streamed as a result of the relocation and facility limitations.

Bulldog Bones
• Fresno State meets San Jose State in a battle of the top two teams in the MW standings. The Spartans are 6-0 in home MW games while the Bulldogs have won five straight MW games.
• The Bulldogs are on a seven-game win streak overall, winning four of the seven via the 8-run mercy rule as the 'Dogs have outscored their opponents 66-12 hitting .388 during the winning streak.
• In her first five starts against MW opponents, freshman Danielle East is 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a .184 opposing batting average. East has recorded 56 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched vs. the MW.
• Fresno State ranks in the top-25 in NCAA Div. I in hit-by-pitches (2nd-52), on-base percentage (7th-.419), double plays (T9th-20), triples (T16th-12), slugging percentage (18th-.495), and doubles (T22nd-59).
• In MW games the Bulldogs lead the league with a 2.47 team ERA and are second hitting .330. Fresno State is scoring 7.22 runs per game in league play and leads with a .977 fielding percentage.

Scouting San Jose State (25-11, 9-2 MW)
• San Jose State is receiving votes in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches' Poll as the Spartans have won 10 of their last 12 games. The squad had a 16-9 record in non-conference games.
• SJSU is 6-0 in home MW games with sweeps of UNLV and San Diego State. The Spartans split two games at Nevada last weekend as one game was postponed due to field conditions.
• Picked to finish second in the MW Coaches' Poll, San Jose State has the third best ERA in the league (3.09) and is hitting .293 with 32 home runs. San Jose State is averaging just under six runs scored per game and is sixth in NCAA Div. I with 0.56 double plays turned per game.
• In her first season pitching for the Spartans, junior Madison Aurin is 11-8 with a 2.90 ERA while Caroline Bowman is 12-1 with a 3.14 ERA. Aurin is also leading the team with nine home runs and is tied for the MW lead with 43 RBIs while Cassidy Clark leads the team hitting .393.
• The series will be played at Mission College as the SJSU home field is under construction.

Going Streaking
• Fresno State has won seven consecutive games, winning four of the seven via the 8-run mercy rule as the 'Dogs have outscored their opponents 66-12 during the streak.
• The Bulldogs are hitting .388 with a 1.50 team ERA during the winning streak. Six starters are hitting over .400 in the streak, with Vanessa Hernandez hitting .545 with 11 runs and Katie Castellon hitting .500 with 11 RBIs.
• The 7-game winning streak is the longest recorded by the Bulldogs since a program-record 23-game winning streak in 2016.

Mountain Climbing
• With five straight wins in MW play the Bulldogs trail only 9-2 San Jose State as the top two teams in the league meet this week.
• In MW games the Bulldogs lead the league with a 2.47 team ERA and are second hitting .330. San Jose State leads with 15 home runs in conference games.
• The series could help determine the MW champion as, in addition to picking up more victories, the winner of the series will also hold the tiebreaker over the loser.

On Base a Lot
• As a team the Bulldogs lead the MW and rank 7th in NCAA Div. I with a .419 on-base percentage. The number has skyrocketed in MW play as the 'Dogs have a .465 OBP in league games after having a .399 on-base percent in non-conference play.
• Hayleigh Galvan leads the MW and is 12th in Div. I with a .547 on-base percentage this year while five other Bulldog starters have an on-base percentage above .400.

East Meets (Mountain) West
• In her first five starts against MW opponents, freshman Danielle East is 4-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a .184 opposing batting average.
• East has recorded 56 strikeouts in 28.2 innings pitched against MW batters, averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning. She has tallied double-digit strikeouts in four games and had seven in just three innings in the 15-1 win on Sunday.

Galvan-izing the Offense
• Sophomore Hayleigh Galvan has reached base in 20 consecutive games. She had an 18-game hitting streak, the longest by a Bulldog in more than a decade, which was snapped last Saturday.
• Hitting in the clean-up spot, Galvan leads the MW and ranks 12th in NCAA Div. I with a .547 on-base percentage this season while also leading the team in batting average (.404).
• With 38 hits (including six home runs, eight doubles, and a triple), 24 walks, and eight hit-by-pitches Galvan has reached base in more than half of her plate appearances this year.

Relief Ace
• Samantha Mejia has pitched in three MW games and in all three appearances she entered the game with the bases loaded and was able to escape the inning. In three of her last six outings she entered with the bases loaded and less than two outs and did not allow a run.
• In her last six pitching appearances (19.2 innings) Mejia has allowed just six hits (all singles) and has 16 strikeouts without allowing an earned run. In three relief appearances in MW play Mejia is 3-0, throwing 13 scoreless innings with a .075 opposing average.

15 Outs, 15 Strikeouts, No-Hitter
• Freshman Danielle East threw her first career no-hitter, recording all 15 outs via the strikeout, as Fresno State beat New Mexico, 10-0, in five innings on March 30. It is believed to be the first Fresno State no-hitter in which every out was a strikeout.
• New Mexico did not but a ball in play as the only Lobo baserunners came on one walk and one hit batter. East's 15 strikeouts are a new program record for a 5-inning game and were just three shy of the 7-inning program record of 18.
• East became the 22nd pitcher in program history to throw a no-hitter while tallying the 74th no-no all-time.

Taking Several for the Team
• Fresno State broke the MW single season hit-by-pitch record just 34 games into the season, topping the previous record of 47 set last year by San Jose State.
• The 'Dogs have now been hit 52 times this year while no other MW team has been plunked more than 23 times and the 'Dogs rank second in NCAA Div. I behind only South Carolina, which has amassed 60 hit-by-pitches.
• Schuylar Broussard leads the league with 9 HBP this year while three Bulldogs have been hit eight times.

On a Rohl
• Sophomore Miranda Rohleder reached base in 18 consecutive games and leads the MW with 39 runs scored this season.
• Rohleder is also tied for 11th in NCAA Div. I with five triples and has 18 stolen bases this year, which is already tied for the 8th most in a season in program history.

Doubling Up
• Fresno State is tied for the MW lead and nine in NCAA Div. I with 20 double plays turned this year. The Bulldogs have also only hit into 7 double plays this season.
• The 'Dogs have turned a pair of double plays in three games this season, all against Power 5 opponents (Wisconsin, LSU, Stanford).

Irregular Innings
• Fresno State was played 17 games this season were not completed in the standard seven innings. The team has played 10 5-inning games, four 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.

Working the Field
• Fresno State has committed just 10 errors in the last 20 games and ranks second in the MW and 27th in NCAA Div. I with a .973 fielding percentage this year.
• The Bulldogs have 19 error-free games this season and have committed multiple errors just three times over the last 29 games.

Home Cooking
• In 20 home games this year the 'Dogs are 15-5, having outscored the opposition 132-62 while hitting .317 with 15 home runs and tallying a 2.68 team ERA.
• The win over Monmouth on Mar. 11 was the 900th home victory in program history. The 'Dogs are 907-235-1 all-time at home over 41 seasons.

They've Got the Power
• Fresno State leads the Mountain West and is tied for 37th in NCAA Div. I with 36 home runs this season.
• The Bulldogs have hit at least one home run in 17 of their last 27 games and have hit multiple homers in nine games this year.
• Savannah McHellon leads the MW with 12 home runs as eight 'Dogs have homered and six have hit multiple home runs.

High RPI
• In the most recent NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) rankings Fresno State is No. 81, the third highest in the MW behind only No. 43 San Jose State and No. 79 Colorado 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. 36).

Running Free
• Fresno State had been successful on 28 of its last 30 stolen base attempts over the last 24 games.
• The Bulldogs were 15-for-15 in steals in the Fresno State Invitational and rank third in the MW with 39 stolen bases this year.
• Miranda Rohleder, who leads the team with 18 steals in 19 attempts, has been successful on 11 straight steal attempts.

Walk-Offs
• Fresno State has totaled eighth walk-off wins this season.
• 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 19th in NCAA Div. I with 12 homers this season. She is also tied for second in the MW with 24 walks and is fourth in slugging percentage.
• McHellon has hit three walk-off homers, two grand slams, and has a pair of 2-homer games this season.

Super Support
• The red wave has averaged 1,019 fans per game this season, the most among all 20 NCAA Div. I schools in California and the 15th highest attendance average in the nation. The team's total attendance of 20,392 this season is the 14th 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.

Powered Down
• The Bulldogs picked up their second win over Stanford and fourth overall victory of the season against a Power-5 school last Tuesday.
• Fresno State opened the 2018 season with three wins over Power-5 schools at the Kajikawa Classic as the 'Dogs took down Stanford, Purdue, and Notre Dame, earning wins against the Pac-12, Big 10, and ACC schools, respectively.

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Fresno State to face San Jose State in battle between top two MW teams

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Players Mentioned

Schuylar Broussard

Katie Castellon

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Savannah McHellon

Samantha Mejia

Miranda Rohleder

Fresno State Athletics