Bulldogs to open MW play at Colorado State

Fresno State (14-6) at Colorado State (17-4)
March 15-17, 2019 | Fort Collins, Colo. | Ram Field (700)
First Pitch (PT): Fri: 3:00 p.m., Sat: 12:00 p.m., Sun: 11:00 a.m.
Watch: Mountain West Network (Saturday and Sunday)
Live Stats: Sidearm
Series History: Fresno State leads 39-10
Streak: Fresno State Won 1

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State and Colorado State both take eight-game winning streaks into the first week of MW play. The Rams have six run-rule wins during the stretch and the Bulldogs have two such wins.
Over the last eight games the 'Dogs are hitting .376 with a .559 slugging percentage and .455 on-base percentage. Fresno State is averaging six runs per game and has slugged seven homers.
Fresno State's pitchers have a 1.43 ERA and .171 opposing batting average during the eight-game winning streak. They have totaled 65 strikeouts to just 18 walks over the last 54.0 innings pitched.
Vanessa Hernandez leads the Mountain West in home runs (6), RBIs (24), doubles (10), slugging percentage (.836), and total bases (51). Her 10 doubles are tied for fourth most in NCAA Div. I.
The 'Dogs were picked to finish second in the Preseason MW Coaches' Poll, behind only reigning champion Boise State, while Colorado State was picked seventh after a 10-14 MW record in 2018.
Colorado State enters MW play with the second best non-conference record and receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' Poll. The Rams lead the league in runs and ERA and are 8-0 at home.

Scouting Colorado State (17-4)

Picked to finish seventh in the Preseason MW Coaches' Poll, Colorado State enters MW with the second best non-conference record and receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' Poll.
The Rams have wins over No. 18/14 Oklahoma State and over Stanford, which is receiving votes. CSU did lose to Cal Poly but is 8-0 at home this season with six run-rule home wins.
Colorado State is tied for second in NCAA Div. I with 50 doubles this year and ranks ninth in the nation in slugging percentage (.581). The squad also leads the MW scoring 6.8 runs per game and in home runs (25) but is also the best pitching team in the league with a 1.70 team ERA.
CSU has had the MW Player of the Week for three straight weeks (three different players) and Jessica Jarecki leads the MW with a 1.17 ERA and is 8-1 with a .185 opposing batting average.
Fresno State is 39-10 all-time against the Rams and has won five straight series with CSU.

Eight Straight Wins

Fresno State takes an eight-game winning streak into the start of MW play, having gone undefeated so far in the month of March.
Over the last eight games the 'Dogs are hitting .376 with a .559 slugging percentage and .455 on-base percentage. Fresno State is averaging six runs per game and has slugged seven homers.
Fresno State's pitchers have a 1.43 ERA and .171 opposing batting average during the eight-game winning streak. They have totaled 65 strikeouts to just 18 walks over the last 54.0 innings pitched.
The Bulldogs have two run-rule wins during the stretch and have outscored their opponents 48-12, averaging 6.0 runs per game and allowing just 1.5 runs per game.

MW Opener

After being picked second in the MW in the preseason Coaches' Poll the 'Dogs begin their hunt for a conference title this week with the first of eight MW series.
Fresno State opens conference play against Colorado State for the second consecutive year, having taken 2-of-3 games against the Rams in Fresno to begin the 2018 MW schedule last March 23-26.
The Bulldogs have won their first MW series in each of the last four seasons. Three of those series have been on the road, including a Bulldog road sweep at Colorado State in their first MW series of 2015.

Top Slugger

At the onset of conference play Bulldog senior center fielder Vanessa Hernandez leads the Mountain West in home runs (6), RBIs (24), doubles (10), slugging percentage (.836), and total bases (51). Her 10 doubles are tied for fourth most in NCAA Div. I this year.
She has been on an absolute tear during Fresno State's eight-game winning streak, hitting .520 with a .586 on-base percentage and 1.040 slugging percentage. She has two home runs, seven doubles, 13 RBIs, and eight runs scored with 26 total bases over the last eight games.
Hernandez has five multi-hit and five multi-RBI games during the eight-game streak. She has driven in multiple runs in nine of 20 total games this year with four games driving in three or more runs.

Classic Domination

After playing its first 14 games of the season away from Fresno the 'Dogs opened their home slate in a big way going 6-0 in the Bulldog Classic.
Fresno State beat UC Santa Barbara and Montana twice and had single wins over North Dakota and California Baptist to go undefeated in the tournament.
The Bulldogs hit .370 and scored 34 runs in the tournament while also going 13-for-15 in stolen base attempts. The Fresno State pitchers combined for a 1.71 ERA and .184 opposing batting average while allowing just 10 runs over 41.0 innings with 45 strikeouts.

Take Lead, Win Game

Fresno State has won every game this season in which it has taken a lead at any point.
The 'Dogs are 6-0 when leading after the first inning, 11-0 when leading after the second inning, and 12-0 when leading after three.
The Bulldogs are 12-0 this year when scoring first and have two come-from-behind wins.

Strikeout Machine

In her last three starts Bulldog freshman Danielle Lung has recorded 30 strikeouts over just 17.0 innings.
Lung had nine strikeouts in a six-inning win over UT San Antonio and followed with a career-high 13 strikeouts in a six-inning shutout of Montana. She tallied eight more K's over five innings in her last start against California Baptist.
Lung has earned the win in each of her last four appearances, including one victory in relief, and she ranks fourth in the MW with 49 total strikeouts this season.

Super Support

Despite two game times being moved due to rain, the Red Wave averaged 1,067 fans over the first six Bulldog home games last week. That average is 11th most in NCAA Div. I, second highest among non Power-5 schools, and the highest among all 20 Div. I schools in California.
The Red Wave averaged 1,071 fans per game last season, the most in California and the 15th highest attendance average in the nation. The 'Dogs total attendance of 27,853 fans was 16th most in Div. I.
Fresno State has averaged more than 1,000 fans per game for 26 consecutive seasons. No other MW team averaged more than 520 fans last year, less than half of the 'Dogs average.

'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.

Happy at Home

Fresno State has won exactly 17 home games in each of the last three seasons and has had a winning home record in all 41 years of the program's existence.
Fresno State is 915-239-1 all-time at home in 41 seasons, winning over 79% of its home games in the program's storied history.

Winning Big

The Bulldogs have totaled 93 runs scored in their 14 wins this season, averaging 6.6 runs per game while hitting .354 in the victories with four run-rule wins.
By contrast, the 'Dogs have scored 10 total runs in their six losses, an average of 1.7 runs per game, while hitting .137.

Dazzling Debut

In nine games (eight starts) this season sophomore transfer Hailey Dolcini is 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA, ranking second in the MW in ERA.
Fresno State has won seven of Dolcini's first eight starts as a Bulldog and the sophomore has allowed two earned runs or fewer in all nine of her appearances.
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.

Scoring Early and Late

Fresno State has scored runs in the first inning six times this year and is undefeated in those games.
However, the Bulldogs have done the bulk of their scoring in the fifth and sixth innings with 48 of their 103 total runs in just those two innings.
The 'Dogs have outscored the opposition 33-5 in the sixth inning and later this year.

Picking Up Where They Left Off

Senior Rachel Minogue and junior Hayleigh Galvan were All-MW selections last season and the duo continue to lead the offense.
Galvan has reached base in 19 of 20 games this season and is hitting .345 with a .457 on-base percentage.
Minogue is hitting .361 with a .426 on-base percentage and 14 RBIs and has just one strikeout in 61 at-bats to rank as the 15th toughest player to strike out in NCAA Div. I this year.

Three Aces

Fresno State has just four pitchers on its roster and one is redshirting, but the other three all have pitched like aces this season and all have at least four wins.
Sophomore Danielle East was an All-MW selection last season and currently leads the team with a .221 opposing batting average, allowing just three hits and one run over her last 9.0 innings pitched.
Sophomore Hailey Dolcini was an NFCA All-Pacific Region selection last season at UC Riverside and currently ranks second in the MW with a 1.39 ERA with a 6-1 record through nine appearances (eight starts).
Fresno State signed HS All-American and Clovis native Danielle Lung for the 2019 season after she won a state-record 92 games in her HS career and she was named MW Pitcher of the Week on March 5 after a strong pitching performance at the Judi Garman Classic.

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.

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Bulldogs to open MW play at Colorado State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hailey Dolcini

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa M. Hernandez

Danielle Lung

Rachel Minogue

Fresno State Athletics

Bulldogs to open MW play at Colorado State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hailey Dolcini

Danielle East

Hayleigh Galvan

Vanessa Hernandez

Vanessa M. Hernandez

Danielle Lung

Rachel Minogue

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