‘Dogs head south for Stacy Winsberg Invitational

Fresno State at Stacy Winsberg Invitational
(Long Beach, Calif./Los Angeles, Calif.)
Live Updates on Twitter: @FresnoStateSB

vs. Oregon State • Feb. 15, 2019 • 9:00 a.m. PT • Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats
Series History: FS leads 22-7-1 | Streak: FS W 2 | Last: FS 6-2 (3/11/17)
at Long Beach State • Feb. 15, 2019 • 11:30 a.m. PT • Long Beach, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Video
Series History: Fresno State leads 35-19 | Streak: FS W 2 | Last: FS 4-2 (3/2/17)
vs. Cal Poly • Feb. 16, 2019 • 11:30 a.m. PT • Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats
Series History: Fresno State leads 43-13 | Streak: FS W 3 | Last: FS 9-5 (3/18/18)
at #2/1 UCLA • Feb. 16, 2019 • 7:00 p.m. PT • Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats | Live Audio
Series History: UCLA leads 45-11 | Streak: UCLA W 3 | Last: UCLA 8-2 (2/7/19)
vs. UC Riverside • Feb. 17, 2019 • 11:30 a.m. PT • Los Angeles, Calif.
Live Stats
Series History: Fresno State leads 13-2 | Streak: FS W 1 | Last: FS 4-3 (2/21/16)

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State went 3-2 at the season-opening Hawaii Paradise Classic with first baseman Rachel Minogue and catcher/dp Hayleigh Galvan named to the All-Tournament team.
The Bulldogs defeated UT Arlington, Georgia State, and Saint Mary's in Honolulu with losses against No. 2/1 UCLA and host Hawaii.
The 'Dogs return three All-MW selections in 2019 in pitcher Danielle East, Minogue, and Galvan, who was also an NFCA All-Pacific Region selection in 2018.
Fresno State recorded its 37th consecutive 30-win season in 2018 and finished in third place in the MW.
The Bulldogs play their first 16 games of the season away from Fresno with six games against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams.

Scouting the Stacy Winsberg Invitational

Oregon State is the first team receiving votes just outside the top-25 in both national polls (essentially ranked No. 26 in the nation). Former Bulldog All-American Laura Berg, one of two Bulldogs to have her jersey retired, is in her seventh season leading the Beavers. OSU went 5-0 at the Kajikawa Classic last week and Missy Nunes hit three homers to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week. Fresno State has won its last two games against Oregon State, both in 2017.
Long Beach State was ranked No. 25 in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball poll but went 3-2 last week with losses against UNLV and North Dakota. The Beach still received a top-25 vote this week as the team hit .342 and slugged eight home runs in its season-opening tournament in Las Vegas. Long Beach State was picked second in the preseason Big West Coaches' Poll after going 43-14 last year. The 'Dogs are 35-19 all-time vs. the 49ers with two straight wins.
Cal Poly went 2-2 at a tournament in San Diego last weekend, winning its last two games against Portland State and San Diego. The Mustangs pitching staff leads the Big West with a 2.10 team ERA, allowing just nine earned runs over 30.0 innings pitched. Cal Poly was picked 7th in the Big West poll after a 25-25 overall record last season. Fresno State beat Cal Poly three times last season, including one neutral site win, and holds a 43-13 edge in the all-time series
UCLA remained at No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 2 in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches' poll after going 5-0 at the Hawaii Paradise Classic last week. Rachel Garcia went 2-0 with a 0.55 ERA and 22 strikeouts in 12.2 innings and UCLA hit .374 as a team with a 1.09 ERA. In Fresno State's season opener against UCLA the Bruins had a six-run 2nd inning and led 8-0 before Rachel Minogue hit a 2-run homer in the 6th inning off of Holly Azevedo in an 8-2 final.
UC Riverside was at the same tournament as Cal Poly last week and went 3-2 with wins over San Diego, Marshall, and Portland State. Fresno State head coach Linda Garza led UC Riverside for four seasons before coming to Fresno and pitcher Hailey Dolcini was an NFCA All-Region selection as a Highlander last year. UCR junior Haley Marschall earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors with a 0.64 ERA in 11.0 innings last week. The 'Dogs are 13-2 all-time vs. UCR.

Dazzling Debut

Sophomore transfer Hailey Dolcini started her Fresno State career with a bang as she was named MW Pitcher of the Week for her first week as a Bulldog.
The UC Riverside transfer went 1-0 with a 1.87 ERA at the Hawaii Paradise Classic, allowing just four earned runs and striking out 11 over a team-high 15.0 innings pitched.
Dolcini started two of the three Fresno State wins in the tournament, allowing just one run in a complete game win over Georgia State while also allowing just one run in 3.0 innings of relief vs. No. 2/1 UCLA.

Picking Up Where They Left Off

Senior Rachel Minogue and junior Hayleigh Galvan were All-MW selections last season and the duo continued to rake in the first week of the 2019 season as both were named to the Hawaii Paradise Classic All-Tournament team.
Both hit better than .400 in the tournament, with Galvan driving in a team-high nine runs and Minogue driving in four runs and scoring four times. Both also had a home run and a double and drew multiple walks.

Rally 'Dogs

Fresno State recorded two come-from-behind wins last week and nearly had a third against Hawaii.
The Bulldogs came back from down 3-2 in the 7th inning against UT Arlington and battled back from a 3-0 deficit in the 5th inning to beat Saint Mary's.
The 'Dogs rallied from down 5-0 against Hawaii to draw even at 5-5 in the 5th but ended up taking a 7-6 loss.

Great Expectations

With the bulk of its offense returning as well as its ace pitcher and two highly touted newcomers in the circle, the Bulldogs have their sights set on a MW Title and a 34th trip to the NCAA Regionals.
Only UCLA has qualified for more NCAA Div. I Softball Tournaments than Fresno State and the 'Dogs have played in the postseason in three of the last four season.

Votes Received

Fresno State received votes in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll. The squad also received top-25 votes last year but has not been ranked since 2017.
The Bulldogs face four teams that were ranked in the preseason poll including No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Washington.

Big Bats Back

With seven returning starters Fresno State brought back 27 home runs, 181 RBIs, and 200 runs scored from the 2018 season.
Hayleigh Galvan led the team hitting .372/.657/.511 with 8 home runs and 38 RBIs, Rachel Minogue tied for the team lead with 40 RBIs and hit .354, and Miranda Rohleder led the team with 47 runs scored and led the MW in triples and walks last year.
Last year the 'Dogs ranks 2nd in NCAA Div. I in hit-by-pitches, 5th in on-base percentage, and also led the MW in triples and was second in home runs, doubles, and slugging percentage

East Beats (Mountain) West

In her freshman season Danielle East earned All-MW first team honors as she went 9-6 with a 2.87 ERA in conference games.
East led the league with 97 strikeouts in 90.1 innings pitched in MW games, 20 more strikeouts than any other pitcher tallied, while breaking the conference record for strikeouts by a freshman in MW play.
Her 2.87 ERA was second best among starters in MW games and she threw three shutouts, including a five-inning no hitter at New Mexico in which all 15 outs were strikeouts.

30 for 37

In 2018 the Bulldogs recorded a 30-win season for the 37th consecutive year. The program has had an overall winning record in all 41 seasons of its existence.
In its storied history Fresno State has won 23 conference titles, 59 NCAA Regional games, and 93 total postseason games, reaching the Women's College World Series 12 times with four runner-up finishes and winning the 1998 NCAA title.

Three Aces

Fresno State has just four pitchers on its roster and one will be redshirting, but the other three all have the potential to lead a staff.
In addition to All-MW sophomore Danielle East the 'Dogs added sophomore Hailey Dolcini, who was an NFCA All-Pacific Region selection last season as she went 15-9 with a 1.80 ERA and .195 opposing hitting percentage as a freshman at UC Riverside.
Fresno State also signed HS All-American and Clovis native Danielle Lung, who won a state-record 92 games and had a 0.99 ERA in her HS career and went 25-0 as a senior to lead her team to a third Central Section title.

'Dogs Picked Second

The Mountain West Coaches selected Fresno State to finish second in the preseason conference poll behind only reigning league champion Boise State.
The 'Dogs placed third in the league in 2018 and have finished in third place or better in each of their six years as a member of the MW with league titles in 2015 and 2016.

No, I'm Vanessa Hernandez!

Fresno State has two players named Vanessa Hernandez on the 2019 roster (no relation).
The pair also have the same middle initial, M, and both middle names are five letters. The senior outfielder (#10) is Vanessa Monet Hernandez and the freshman infielder (#23) is Vanessa Marie Hernandez.
To differentiate the duo, the senior is listed as Vanessa Hernandez and the freshman is Vanessa M. Hernandez. They also answer to Big Ness and Lil Ness, respectively.

"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.

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‘Dogs head south for Stacy Winsberg Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hailey Dolcini

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa M. Hernandez

Danielle Lung

Rachel Minogue

Miranda Rohleder

Fresno State Athletics

‘Dogs head south for Stacy Winsberg Invitational

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hailey Dolcini

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa M. Hernandez

Danielle Lung

Rachel Minogue

Miranda Rohleder

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