Bulldogs into the MW lead after 4-0 win at San Jose State

Friday, April 13

Santa Clara, Calif.

12:00 PM

Fresno State

25-15, 8-2

San Jose State

25-12, 9-3

Fresno State

San Jose State

Bulldogs into the MW lead after 4-0 win at San Jose State

4/13/2018 5:58:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Danielle East continued her dominance of the Mountain West, throwing a 3-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts, and Fresno State used a 3-run fifth inning to win its series opener at San Jose State, 4-0, on the campus of Mission College in Santa Clara.

Fresno State (25-15, 8-2 MW) won its eighth consecutive game and, in terms of winning percentage, moved ahead of San Jose State (25-12, 9-3 MW) atop the MW standings. East held the Spartans to 1-for-15 (.067) hitting in the game with runners on base and improved to 5-1 with a 1.57 ERA in conference games. She has 67 strikeouts in 35.2 innings pitched in MW play.

Katie Castellon was 3-for-4 with a triple to lead the 'Dogs on Friday and is now hitting .500 in ten MW games. Vanessa Hernandez delivered a two-run double to extend the lead in the fifth inning as the Bulldogs outhit the Spartans 8-2 with three extra-base hits in the game.

How it Happened
The 'Dogs got a run before an out was recorded in the first. Miranda Rohleder drew a leadoff walk and Castellon followed with a bunt single. Savannah McHellon drove in Rohleder from second with a single, and the 'Dogs had the bases loaded with one out but the Spartans got out of the inning with a double play.

San Jose State drew a pair of walks in the bottom of the first but East struck out the side. In the second the Spartans got a single but East struck out the side again and the Bulldog freshman retired the Spartans in order in the third. The 'Dogs threatened in the second and third but left two runners aboard in each inning.

In the bottom of the fourth the Spartans loaded the bases with two out on a double and two walks but East battled back from a 3-1 count to record her ninth strikeout and maintain the 1-0 lead. The momentum carried into the fifth inning as the 'Dogs loaded the bases with one out and Hernandez brought in two with a double to right center. Two batters later, Kaitlyn Jennings drove in Rachel Minogue with a single to give the visitors a 4-0 lead.

East stranded two base runs in the fifth inning and one in the sixth. The Bulldogs had triples from Castellon and Schuylar Broussard in the sixth and seventh innings, respectively, but were unable to add to their lead. The Spartans got a single and a two-out walk in the bottom of the seventh but East stranded two more runners to complete a shutout.

Notable

San Jose State is receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches' Poll. Extended out, the Spartans would be ranked No. 31 in the nation.
During their eight-game winning streak the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents 70-12, averaging 8.75 runs per game and hitting .373 with a 1.29 ERA during the stretch.
The eight-game winning streak is the longest for Fresno State since a program-record 23-game winning streak in 2016.
The first seven outs that East recorded were strikeouts.
Castellon had her third 3-hit game of the season, tied with Rohleder for most on the team.
Minogue is now on a 9-game hitting streak and Hernandez has a hit in eight straight games.
Hayleigh Galvan had her team season-long reached base streak end at 20 straight games.

What's Next
Fresno State will look for its fourth MW series win in as many weeks of conference play in game two against San Jose State at noon Saturday.

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