Bulldogs host Fresno State Kickoff [Feb. 19-21]

Fresno State Kickoff Classic | Feb. 19-21 | Fresno, Calif. | Margie Wright Diamond
Live Stream | Live Stats
Radio: 790 AM ESPN2 (All FS Games)
Live Updates on Twitter: @FresnoStateSB

vs. Pacific (Doubleheader) • Fri, Feb. 19 • 2:00 p.m. PT • 4:30 p.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 86-23-1 | Streak: FS W7 | Last: FS 4-0 (2020)
vs. No. 10 Oregon • Sat, Feb. 20 • 6:00 p.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 29-9 | Streak: ORE W6 | Last: ORE 8-0 (2018)
vs. No. 10 Oregon • Sun, Feb. 21 • 10:00 a.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 29-9 | Streak: ORE W6 | Last: ORE 8-0 (2018)
vs. UCSB • Sun, Feb. 21 • 12:30 p.m. PT
Series History: Fresno State leads 68-13 | Streak: FS W4 | Last: FS 10-9 (2020)

Bulldog Bites

Fresno State is coming off a 0-3 weekend at the UCLA Invitational. The Bulldogs fell to No. 1 UCLA (7-0) and fell in both games of doubleheader against LMU (4-2, 2-0).
Fresno State has one player batting above .300 in Kaitlyn Jennings (.300).
Danielle Lung led the Bulldogs through the weekend with a 2.62 ERA through two appearances, chalking six strikeouts.
Two freshmen saw their first start last weekend in Keahilele Mattson (LF) and Makenna Steele (3B).
The Fresno State Kickoff Classic is the first of three tournaments that the Bulldogs will host this season.
Fresno State finished the 2020 season with a perfect 15-0 record at home.
The last time Fresno State beat a Top 10 team was in 2020 when the Bulldogs defeated No. 3 Texas 4-3 at the Judi Garman Classic.
The Bulldogs have their sights set on a MW title and a 34th trip to the NCAA Regionals. Fresno State has played in the postseason four of the last five seasons. Fresno State has won 23 conference titles, 59 NCAA Regional games, and have made 12 trips to the Women's College World Series with one title win in 1998 and four runner-up finishes.
Fresno State recorded a 30-win season for the 38th consecutive year in 2019. The program has had an overall winning record in all 42 seasons of its existence.

Scouting the Tournament
Pacific will open its 2021 season against the Bulldogs. The Tigers finished the 2020 season 15-10. Pacific was slated to finish third in WCC Preseason Poll. Pacific had three players named to the All-WCC Preseason team in Hanna Krosky, Jessica Mabrey and Myka Sutherlin.

No. 10 Oregon is 5-0 this season after going undefeated at the GCU Kickoff Classic, including four run-rule wins, three shutouts and a perfect game. Oregon finished the 2020 season with a 22-2 record. Oregon has a pair of players that were named to the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year watch list in Haley Cruse and Brooke Yanez. Cruse leads the country with five doubles.

UCSB will open its 2021 season this weekend. UCSB brings back four Big West All-Conference team selections. UCSB was selected to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Poll. The Gauchos finished the 2020 season with a 12-16 record.

Mountain West Favorite

The nine Mountain West softball head coaches chose Fresno State as the preseason favorite to win the 2021 regular season.
The vote was unanimous as the Bulldogs tallied all eight first place votes, as head coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team, to total 64 total points.
UNLV was picked to finish second (52 points, 1 first place vote) and San Diego State locked in third place (49 points) to round out the top three positions. Boise State (41 points) and San Jose State (38) were picked to finish in the middle of the conference standings, followed by Colorado State, Nevada, Utah State and New Mexico.
This marked the first time the Bulldogs have been selected to win the conference since 2017. The last time the Bulldogs won the Mountain West title was in 2016, after going 22-1 in conference play.

2020 Review

The Bulldogs posted a 21-4 record before the abrupt ending of the 2020 season. Fresno State finished with a ranking of No. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and No. 24 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll.
Fresno State was No. 12 in the nation in win-loss percentage (0.840) and the Bulldogs finished the season a perfect 15-0 at home. Fresno State's only losses came at the hands of No. 2 Washington, then-No. 7 Florida, then-No. 17 Michigan and RV/RV Stanford. The Bulldogs wrapped up the season winning 13 of their last 14 games.
The Bulldogs led the nation in triples with 23 averaging 0.92 per game and led the MW in scoring (5.92 runs per game) and slugging percentage (0.505). Fresno State excelled at base-running as the conference leader in stolen bases and finished the season ranked No. 14 - averaging 2.16 stolen bases per game.
In the circle, the Bulldogs' pitchers notched six shutouts and earned a 2.67 team ERA. Junior Hailey Dolcini was dominant in the circle for Fresno State. Dolcini owned a 10-1 record, touting the marque victory over No. 3 Texas. She recorded a 1.51 ERA, four shutouts and 77 strikeouts in 2020. Dolcini also earned two MW Pitcher of the Week honors - the only player in the conference to earn multiple weekly awards - and had one of the best games of her career against UIC (Feb. 21) when she threw a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts.

Big Bats Back

Three Bulldogs finished the 2020 season batting above .300.
Miranda Rohleder (.373), Kaitlyn Jennings (.357) and Schuylar Broussard (.342).
Broussard carried a hot bat with a team-high six home runs and a slugging percentage of .737 during the 2020 campaign. Broussard ranked within the Top 10 in the nation in RBIs (33), RBIs per game (1.32) and triples (4).

Full Circle

The Bulldogs return three pitchers to the circle in Hailey Dolcini, Danielle Lung and Dariana Orme.
Dolcini was dominant in the circle for Fresno State. Dolcini owned a 10-1 record, touting a marque victory over No. 3 Texas. She recorded a 1.51 ERA, four shutouts and 77 strikeouts in 2020. Dolcini also earned two MW Pitcher of the Week honors - the only player in the conference to earn multiple weekly awards last season - and had one of the best games of her career against UIC (Feb. 21) when she threw a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.

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Bulldogs host Fresno State Kickoff [Feb. 19-21]

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Players Mentioned

Schuylar Broussard

Hailey Dolcini

Kaitlyn Jennings

Danielle Lung

Keahilele Mattson

Dariana Orme

Miranda Rohleder

Fresno State Athletics

Bulldogs host Fresno State Kickoff [Feb. 19-21]

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Schuylar Broussard

Hailey Dolcini

Kaitlyn Jennings

Danielle Lung

Keahilele Mattson

Dariana Orme

Miranda Rohleder

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