Bulldogs open 2019 season at Hawaii Paradise Classic

Fresno State at Hawaii Paradise Classic (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Video: None
Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Live Updates on Twitter: @FresnoStateSB

vs. #2/1 UCLA • Feb. 7, 2019 • 1:30 p.m. PT
Series History: UCLA leads 44-11 | Streak: UCLA W 2 | Last: UCLA 7-3 (2/25/18)
vs. UT Arlington • Feb. 7, 2019 • 4:00 p.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 1-0 | Streak: FS W 1 | Last: FS 1-0 (3/2/91)
vs. Saint Mary's • Feb. 8, 2019 • 11:00 a.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 18-3 | Streak: FS W 4 | Last: FS 3-2 (2/18/18)
vs. Georgia State • Feb. 8, 2019 • 1:30 p.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 2-0 | Streak: FS W 2 | Last: FS 9-0 (3/21/98)
at Hawaii • Feb. 9, 2019 • 7:00 p.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 66-22 | Streak: FS W 1 | Last: FS 9-7 (5/11/12)

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State returns seven position player starters and ace pitcher Danielle East for the 2019 season.
The 'Dogs return three All-MW selections in East, first baseman Rachel Minogue, and catcher Hayleigh Galvan, who was also an NFCA All-Pacific Region selection in 2018.
The Bulldogs recorded their 37th consecutive 30-win season in 2018 and finished in third place in the MW
Fresno State will begin the season playing a top-five team for the second straight year after facing No. 3 Oregon in the 2018 opener.
The Bulldogs play their first 16 games of the season away from Fresno with six games against 2018 NCAA Tournament teams.

Scouting the Hawaii Paradise Classic

UCLA is ranked No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and No. 2 in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches' poll to open the 2019 season after reaching the Women's College World Series last year. The Bruins had a 58-7 record last year and have three players among 50 on the 2019 USA Softball Player of the Year watch list. The 'Dogs will be facing the Bruins twice this year, as the teams meet again in Los Angeles on Feb. 16, and played UCLA last year, losing 7-3.
UT Arlington qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) last year and reached the final round in its first postseason appearance in program history. The Mavericks finished 30-28 in 2018 and placed fourth in the Sun Belt Conference. Senior Laura Curry led the team hitting .353 last year and UTA returns just one pitcher from 2018. The 'Dogs and Mavericks have met once before, a 1-0 Fresno State win in Las Cruces, N.M. in 1991.
Saint Mary's finished last in the West Coast Conference at 15-34 overall and 3-12 in league games in 2018. The Gaels were picked last in the 2019 preseason poll but sophomore Kimiko Zapanta made the All-WCC team after breaking the league record with 39 stolen bases and hitting .333 last year. Saint Mary's will be playing under new head coach Sonja Garnett. The 'Dogs beat the Gaels twice in Fresno last season and have won four consecutive meetings.
Georgia State was 31-24 overall last year and placed third in the Sun Belt conference with a 14-11 record but lost All-American catcher Ivie Drake to graduation. The Panthers do return All-Sun Belt second team shortstop Skylar Mosel, and last season the team's pitchers had a 3.78 ERA but ranked sixth in NCAA Div. I with just 11 hit batters in 379.2 innings pitched. Fresno State is 2-0 all-time vs. Georgia State with two blowouts, winning 12-0 in 1997 and 9-0 in 1998.
Hawaii tied for last place in the Big West last year with a 7-14 league record and 23-27 overall mark. The Rainbow Wahine hit just .244 as a team but return a pair of All-Big West players, including catcher Callee Heen who hit .333 with 14 home runs. Hawaii has made 11 total NCAA Regional appearances but hasn't qualified since 2013. Former conference foes in the WAC, Fresno State owns a 66-22 all-time record against Hawaii but the teams haven't met since 2012.

High 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.

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

Votes Received

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

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.

On Base a Lot

As a team the Bulldogs ranked fifth in NCAA Div. I with a .410 on-base percentage last year. The Dogs had a .417 OBP in MW games after a .399 on-base percent in non-conference play.
Hayleigh Galvan was second in the MW and 23rd in Div. I with a .511 on-base percentage while five other Bulldog starters had an on-base percentage above .400.
The Bulldogs broke program season records for walks (213) and hit-by-pitches (71).

Taking Several for the Team

Fresno State batters ranked second in NCAA Div. I with 71 hit-by-pitches last season, trailing only South Carolina (86 HBP). No other MW team was hit more than 34 times.
The 'Dogs shattered the MW single season hit-by-pitch record, breaking it just 34 games into the season and topping the previous record of 47 set by San Jose State in 2017.
Kaitlyn Jennings tied for the MW lead with 12 HBP's, tied for fourth most in a season in program history, and three other Bulldogs were hit 11 times.

Super Support

The red wave averaged 1,071 fans per game last season, the most among all 20 NCAA Div. I schools in California and the 15th highest attendance average in the nation. The 'Dogs total attendance of 27,853 fans wans 16th most in Div. I.
Fresno State has averaged more than 1,000 fans per game for 26 consecutive seasons. The Bulldogs had 17 home games with 1,000 or more fans last year while playing just one total road game with a crowd of 1,000 or more.
No other MW team averaged more than 520 fans, less than half of the 'Dogs average.

Galvan-izing the Offense

In her first season with the Bulldogs last year, Hayleigh Galvan led the team hitting .372/.657/.511 and was an NFCA All-Pacific region selection and All-MW First Team.
Galvan ranked second in the MW and 23rd in NCAA Div. I with a .511 on-base percentage this season while also leading the team in batting average and ranking second in home runs (8) and third in RBIs (36).
Galvan reached base in 20 consecutive games and had an 18-game hitting streak in the middle of the season, recording the fifth-longest hitting streak in program history.

Double Doubles

Fresno State thrived in turning double plays and hitting doubles last season.
The 'Dogs ranked sixth in NCAA Div. I averaging 0.57 double plays per game and tied for eighth with 31 total double plays last year, turning multiple double plays in five games while only hitting into 12 double-plays.
First baseman Rachel Minogue was part of 27 double plays last year to tie the program record set by Jo Pinni in 1994, and Miranda Rohleder's three double plays in one game vs. UNLV tied the single-game record.
Offensively, the 'Dogs tied for second in the MW with 77 doubles and were 30th in the nation with 1.43 doubles per game.
Minogue had a big hand in that stat as well as she led the team and was third in the MW with 16 doubles, tied for the sixth most in a season in program history.

Powered Down

The Bulldogs had four victories against Power-5 schools last season, beating Stanford twice and knocking off Purdue and Notre Dame.
Fresno State plays seven games against Power-5 opposition this year, including Pac-12 foes UCLA (twice), Washington, Oregon State, and Stanford.

"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

Bulldogs open 2019 season at Hawaii Paradise Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hailey Dolcini

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa M. Hernandez

Kaitlyn Jennings

Danielle Lung

Rachel Minogue

Miranda Rohleder

Fresno State Athletics

Bulldogs open 2019 season at Hawaii Paradise Classic

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hailey Dolcini

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa M. Hernandez

Kaitlyn Jennings

Danielle Lung

Rachel Minogue

Miranda Rohleder

Related Videos