‘Dogs complete sweep of Boise State, 5-4, on late Jennings home run

Saturday, May 11

Fresno, Calif.

11 A.M. PT

Fresno State

36-18, 14-10

RV/RV Boise State

34-14, 12-12

Boise State

Fresno State

‘Dogs complete sweep of Boise State, 5-4, on late Jennings home run

5/11/2019 3:52:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery Watch: Senior Day Ceremony

By: Andrew Tomsky / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – With her team trailing 4-3 and two out in the bottom of the sixth inning junior Kaitlyn Jennings hit her first career home run at Margie Wright Diamond, a two-run shot that propelled the Bulldogs to a 5-4 win over RV/RV Boise State in the regular season finale on Saturday.

Fresno State (36-18, 14-10 MW) completed a three-game sweep of Boise State (34-14, 12-12 MW), which entered the week leading the MW at No. 33 in the country in RPI and was the first team just outside the Top-25 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches' Poll. The 'Dogs handed the Broncos just their second series sweep of the year and held Boise State to six total runs in three games after the squad began the week ranked eighth in NCAA Div. I averaging 7.00 runs per game.

Hailey Dolcini earned her second win of the series and 17^th of the season allowing just four hits and no walks in six innings and Danielle East got the last three outs for her fourth save of the year, tied for the most saves in a season in program history. Boise State battled back from down 2-0 and 3-1 to take a 4-3 lead with three runs in the top of the sixth before Jennings put her team back ahead in the home half of the inning.

How it Happened
Dolcini set down the Broncos in order in the top of the first and in the bottom half the 'Dogs scored two runs through just their first four hitters. McKenzie Wilson drew a leadoff walk and quickly came around to score on an RBI triple down the right field line by Miranda Rohleder (watch). Two batters later, Rachel Minogue, one of six Bulldog seniors honored before the game, brought in Rohleder with an RBI single (watch).

Dolcini was perfect through three innings and retired each of the first 11 batters she faced, but with two out in the top of the fourth Boise State made its first hit of the day count as Morgan Lamb got the Broncos on the board with a solo home run. Fresno State got that run back in the fifth inning as Vanessa M. Hernandez had a leadoff single and after a fielder's choice and a passed ball Wilson would score as Hayleigh Galvan drove in her fifth run of the series with a single up the middle (watch).

Boise State would rally with three runs in the top of the sixth. The Broncos had just a runner on second with two out, but Rebekah Cervantes made it a 3-2 game with an RBI single and Lamb followed with her second home run of the game and third of the series, a two-run homer to put the visitors ahead 4-3.

The Bulldogs battled back with a pair of two-out runs of their own in the last of the sixth as Vanessa Hernandez began the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Boise State got the second out before Jennings cleared the wall in right center to put the 'Dogs back on top (watch).

East came in to start the seventh and got a ground out, a pop out, and another ground out on just 11 pitches to complete the win (watch).

Quotable
Kaitlyn Jennings
On her go-ahead home run…
"I was just really happy that I got to give our seniors the win. They're some of my best friends and it hurts so bad knowing that they're not going to come back, but that means we all had something special. All I was thinking about (rounding the bases) was that I couldn't wait to get in a dog pile with them one more time."

On hitting her first home run at Margie Wright Diamond…
"It was epic. That was the most awesome feeling I've ever felt on the field."

On the sweep and looking towards the postseason…
"I think that we're firing on all cylinders. All of our pitchers look awesome and up and down the lineup we are all picking each other up so we're ready to rock and roll."

Notable

Fresno State's six graduating seniors (Hernandez, Minogue, Emily Brodner, Dominique Jackson, Jade Nua, and Dolly Stevens) were honored prior to their last home game.
Jennings hit her third career home run, all of which have come in a regular season finale. She hit her first two career homers in consecutive at-bats at Nevada in the final game of the 2018 season.
Fresno State's three pitchers combined to allow just 11 hits and only one walk in the series while tallying 12 strikeouts. The 'Dogs did not allow a single walk over the last two games.
East's four saves are tied for the most in a season in program history and are the most since Taylor Langdon logged four saves in 2014. Fresno State's seven total saves this year have established a new single-season program record, topping the previous high mark of five.
Galvan hit 5-for-9 (.556) with a walk, two home runs, five RBIs, and three runs scored in the series.
Wilson has now reached base in 22 consecutive games and, with a single in the sixth inning, extended her team season-long hitting streak to 14 games.
Schuylar Broussard also had a single to extend her reached-base streak to 21 straight games and is now on an 8-game hitting streak.
Dolcini finished the year 12-1 with a 0.91 ERA in home games, allowing just 11 earned runs with 85 strikeouts in 84.2 innings pitched in her first home season as a Bulldog.
Fresno State remained undefeated at 31-0 this season when scoring first.
Fresno State finished 23-5 at home this year, posting the most home wins since the 2012 team finished 24-8 at home. The team's .821 home winning percentage is its best since the 2016 team went 17-2 at home (.895).
As a team the 'Dogs had a 1.53 ERA and .338 batting average over 28 home games.
Saturday's crowd of 1,371 fans was the 19^th home crowd of over 1,000 fans this season. The 'Dogs lead all 20 NCAA Div. I schools in California, including No. 2 UCLA, in average home attendance.

Up Next
The field for the 2019 NCAA Tournament will be revealed at 6 p.m. Pacific Time Sunday on ESPN2. Selections for the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) will be announced shortly after the NCAA field is released and host sites and matchups for the NISC will follow later Sunday evening. Follow @FresnoStateSB on Twitter for all postseason information as it is announced.

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