Fresno State Athletics
Sunday, May 6
Fresno, Calif.
12:00 PM
Fresno State
30-21, 13-8
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UNLV
29-17, 11-10
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7
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UNLV
2
0
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6
10
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Fresno State
1
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4
3
‘Dogs honor seniors, drop series finale vs. UNLV
5/6/2018 5:32:00 PM | Softball
FRESNO, Calif. – On Senior Day, senior Savannah McHellon hit a solo home run in her final home at-bat as a Bulldog but it wasn't enough as UNLV claimed the series finale, 6-2, on Sunday afternoon.
Fresno State (30-21, 13-8 MW) is still mathematically alive for a MW title but will need some help as San Jose State (16-7 MW) and Boise State (15-6 MW) both won on Sunday. San Jose State has just one game remaining, a make-up game at Nevada on Tuesday, and with a Spartan win the Bulldogs would be eliminated from contention. If San Jose State loses on Tuesday the Bulldogs would still be alive but would need to sweep their series at Nevada and have Boise State lose at least two games in its home series against New Mexico.
In Sunday's home finale, seniors McHellon, Katie Castellon, Brooke Coates, Chase LeeHong, and Sarah Santana were honored in a pregame ceremony. As was the case in all three games of the series, UNLV (29-17, 11-10 MW) scored in the first inning on Sunday, and the Rebels went on to tally 10 hits while the Bulldogs were held to four.
How it Happened
UNLV senior Janine Petmecky was the story of the series hitting lead off and pitching in all three games. She reached in all eight of her plate appearances over the first two games of the series and opened Sunday's contest with an inside-the-park home run on a fly ball down the right field line. UNLV followed with a double and a single to plate a second run in the top of the first.
In the bottom half the Bulldogs responded as Miranda Rohleder drew a leadoff walk and would score as Hayleigh Galvan banged a two-out triple off the wall in left center (watch). Galvan would be stranded at third, however, and in the third inning the Rebels got that run back on a single from Brooke Stover, a double from Alyssa Navarro, and a sacrifice fly from Samantha Diaz to make it a 3-1 game.
The 'Dogs had a pair of walks in the bottom of the third but could not capitalize. UNLV would pull away with three runs in the fourth inning, recording two singles and a double and capitalizing on three Fresno State errors. Justine Federe had the big blow with a 2-RBI single.
Samantha Mejia gave up an RBI double to the first batter she faced in relief in the fourth but would get out of the inning and throw three scoreless frames after that. The 'Dogs had base runners in the fifth and sixth but could not push a run across a run, but in the seventh McHellon led off with her MW-leading 13th home run of the season (watch). LeeHong was hit by a pitch and Rohleder drew a walk with two out but Petmecky induced a pop out to end the game.
Notable
"I tip my hat to UNLV. I really feel like they came in with a 'nothing to lose' mentality and they pitched really well. In these kind of games it's about making the pitch and making the play and getting the hit that you need and all series UNLV put itself in positions to win. We couldn't get out of the first inning with a zero and I think that just was hard for us to overcome. I think we're tired; mentally we're a tad bit exhausted. For us to play the way that we want requires a lot of mental focus and at times I think we got exhausted. But I'm proud of who we are and how we still fight and there's still some games left that we're going to go do what we need to do and learn how to recover and fight through it."
On the senior class…
"They are just such great people. The five of them have put this program in a position to get back to doing the things that we do. I'm proud that Savannah got to hit a home run; it's poetic for her. She's had a tough conference season and to stick with the process and find a way to get it done at home in front of her family was huge. Chase started a lot of her career and found a way to be resilient and fight back. We weren't able to get Sarah into the game today but she truly is a testament to her work ethic and who she is and she's found ways to make big impacts with her teammates. Brooke has always scored runs for us and been a big part of our success and Katie Castellon is the glue that's held this team together and is such a good person. This class has been able to do some special things and I'm proud of them. They have three more games and we're going to do everything we can to send them off with something special." On her home run…
"It felt really good. I told myself just to keep swinging. I hadn't been performing the way I had wanted to for my team so I just thought I'd put it all out on the line and it felt really good."
On senior day…
"It was very special. We felt a lot of love and support from everyone and it was just a really good feeling knowing that we've made such an impact here. I think that's more important than the wins and the records, it's the impact we leave on the underclassmen and the program."
On going forward to the Nevada series…
"This one really hurt, but we've been a team to respond really well so we're looking to bite next week."
What's Next
The series at Nevada will be played Thursday through Saturday in Reno with the first two games beginning at 4 p.m. and Saturday's finale taking place at noon.
"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: @FresnoStateSB
Instagram: FresnoStateSoftball
Facebook: FresnoStateSoftball
Fresno State (30-21, 13-8 MW) is still mathematically alive for a MW title but will need some help as San Jose State (16-7 MW) and Boise State (15-6 MW) both won on Sunday. San Jose State has just one game remaining, a make-up game at Nevada on Tuesday, and with a Spartan win the Bulldogs would be eliminated from contention. If San Jose State loses on Tuesday the Bulldogs would still be alive but would need to sweep their series at Nevada and have Boise State lose at least two games in its home series against New Mexico.
In Sunday's home finale, seniors McHellon, Katie Castellon, Brooke Coates, Chase LeeHong, and Sarah Santana were honored in a pregame ceremony. As was the case in all three games of the series, UNLV (29-17, 11-10 MW) scored in the first inning on Sunday, and the Rebels went on to tally 10 hits while the Bulldogs were held to four.
How it Happened
UNLV senior Janine Petmecky was the story of the series hitting lead off and pitching in all three games. She reached in all eight of her plate appearances over the first two games of the series and opened Sunday's contest with an inside-the-park home run on a fly ball down the right field line. UNLV followed with a double and a single to plate a second run in the top of the first.
In the bottom half the Bulldogs responded as Miranda Rohleder drew a leadoff walk and would score as Hayleigh Galvan banged a two-out triple off the wall in left center (watch). Galvan would be stranded at third, however, and in the third inning the Rebels got that run back on a single from Brooke Stover, a double from Alyssa Navarro, and a sacrifice fly from Samantha Diaz to make it a 3-1 game.
The 'Dogs had a pair of walks in the bottom of the third but could not capitalize. UNLV would pull away with three runs in the fourth inning, recording two singles and a double and capitalizing on three Fresno State errors. Justine Federe had the big blow with a 2-RBI single.
Samantha Mejia gave up an RBI double to the first batter she faced in relief in the fourth but would get out of the inning and throw three scoreless frames after that. The 'Dogs had base runners in the fifth and sixth but could not push a run across a run, but in the seventh McHellon led off with her MW-leading 13th home run of the season (watch). LeeHong was hit by a pitch and Rohleder drew a walk with two out but Petmecky induced a pop out to end the game.
Notable
- Mejia allowed just three hits and no walks with two strikeouts over 3.2 innings on Sunday. In five relief appearances in MW games the sophomore has thrown 18.0 scoreless innings as she is 3-0 and has allowed just seven hits with 13 strikeouts pitching in relief in MW play.
- Seniors Castellon, LeeHong, and McHellon started the game and all three reached base while Coates entered as a pinch runner in the sixth inning.
- Fresno State had been undefeated (6-0) in Sunday MW games before the loss.
- Fresno State ended its 2018 home schedule with a 17-9 record inside Margie Wright Diamond. The 'Dogs hit .300 as a team with a 3.03 ERA at home, outscoring their opponents 147-89.
- In the series Petmecky hit 8-for-10 with two walks, two home runs, one triple, four RBIs, and six runs scored. As a pitcher she was 1-0 and had a save with a 2.10 ERA, allowing just three runs in 10.0 innings pitched.
- Head Coach Linda Garza
"I tip my hat to UNLV. I really feel like they came in with a 'nothing to lose' mentality and they pitched really well. In these kind of games it's about making the pitch and making the play and getting the hit that you need and all series UNLV put itself in positions to win. We couldn't get out of the first inning with a zero and I think that just was hard for us to overcome. I think we're tired; mentally we're a tad bit exhausted. For us to play the way that we want requires a lot of mental focus and at times I think we got exhausted. But I'm proud of who we are and how we still fight and there's still some games left that we're going to go do what we need to do and learn how to recover and fight through it."
On the senior class…
"They are just such great people. The five of them have put this program in a position to get back to doing the things that we do. I'm proud that Savannah got to hit a home run; it's poetic for her. She's had a tough conference season and to stick with the process and find a way to get it done at home in front of her family was huge. Chase started a lot of her career and found a way to be resilient and fight back. We weren't able to get Sarah into the game today but she truly is a testament to her work ethic and who she is and she's found ways to make big impacts with her teammates. Brooke has always scored runs for us and been a big part of our success and Katie Castellon is the glue that's held this team together and is such a good person. This class has been able to do some special things and I'm proud of them. They have three more games and we're going to do everything we can to send them off with something special." On her home run…
"It felt really good. I told myself just to keep swinging. I hadn't been performing the way I had wanted to for my team so I just thought I'd put it all out on the line and it felt really good."
On senior day…
"It was very special. We felt a lot of love and support from everyone and it was just a really good feeling knowing that we've made such an impact here. I think that's more important than the wins and the records, it's the impact we leave on the underclassmen and the program."
On going forward to the Nevada series…
"This one really hurt, but we've been a team to respond really well so we're looking to bite next week."
What's Next
The series at Nevada will be played Thursday through Saturday in Reno with the first two games beginning at 4 p.m. and Saturday's finale taking place at noon.
"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: @FresnoStateSB
Instagram: FresnoStateSoftball
Facebook: FresnoStateSoftball
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: BURKE,Breana (4-4)
L: East, Danielle (16-11)
Batting:
2B: FEDERE,Justine 1 ; TREJO,Mia 1 ; NAVARRO,ALYSSA 1
HR: PETMECKY,Janine 1
RBI: PETMECKY,Janine 1 ; FEDERE,Justine 2 ; TREJO,Mia 2 ; DIAZ,Samantha 1
SH: STOVER,Brooke 1
SF: DIAZ,Samantha 1
Base Running:
RUNS: PETMECKY,Janine 2 ; FEDERE,Justine 2 ; STOVER,Brooke 1 ; BUENO,Myranda 1
SB: BONDI,Reina 1 ; YADAO-VALDEZ,Jade 1
Batting:
3B: Galvan, Hayleigh 1
HR: McHellon, Savannah 1
RBI: Galvan, Hayleigh 1 ; McHellon, Savannah 1
SH: Rohleder, Miranda 1 ; Castellon, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rohleder, Miranda 1 ; McHellon, Savannah 1
HBP: LeeHong, Chase 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballC/OF
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballDP/RHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
RHP
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