Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
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Fresno State set to host Bulldog Classic [March 13-14]
3/12/2021 11:41:00 AM | Softball
Bulldog Classic | March 13-14 | Fresno, Calif. | Margie Wright Diamond
 Live Stream (vs. UC Davis, March 13) | Live Stats
Radio:Â 790 AM ESPN2 (All FS Games)
Live Updates on Twitter:Â @FresnoStateSB
vs. Cal • Sat, March 13 • 3:00 p.m.Â
Series History: Fresno State leads 64-49Â | Streak: FS W1Â | Last: FS 9-3Â (2020)
 vs. UC Davis • Sat, March. 13 • 6:00 p.m. PTÂ
Series History: Fresno State leads 12-1Â | Streak: FSÂ W1Â | Last: FSÂ 3-2Â (2018)
 vs. UC Davis • Sun, March 14 • 12:30 p.m. PTÂ
Series History: Fresno State leads 12-1Â | Streak: FSÂ W1Â | Last: FSÂ 3-2Â (2018)
 vs. Cal • Sun, March 14 • 3:30 p.m. PTÂ
Series History: Fresno State leads 64-49Â | Streak: FS W1Â | Last: FS 9-3Â (2020)
BULLDOG BITES:
- Fresno State is 9-5 this season and 6-2 at home.
- Fresno State is on a seven-game winning streak.
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 3-0 weekend at the Judi Garman Classic. Fresno State defeated CS Fullerton twice (4-3, 9-1) and bested LMU (10-2).
- Fresno State has outscored its opponents 71-39.
- Fresno State leads the Mountain West in pitching statistics with an overall ERA of 2.60.
- Fresno State has two players batting above .300 in Kaitlyn Jennings (.450) and Hayleigh Galvan (.440). Jennings leads the MW in batting average.
- Hailey Dolcini leads the MW in ERA (1.69) and strikeouts (57).
- The Bulldogs have their sights set on a Mountain West title and a 34th trip to the NCAA Regionals. Fresno State has played in the postseason four of the last five seasons. The 'Dogs have 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.
Cal is 7-3 this season and 3-2 on the road. Cal is coming off a 21-4 (5 inn.) victory over Santa Clara. Cal has won five of its last six games. Five Bears are batting above .300. Makena Smith leads Cal at the plate with a .438 batting average, 14 hits and eight RBIs. Chloe Romero owns the circle for the Bears with a 3-0 record and 0.44 ERA.
UC Davis is 6-9 this season and 1-4 on the road. UC Davis is coming off a 10-5 victory over Santa Clara. The Aggies are on a four-game winning streak. The Aggies swept the Big West Weekly Awards. UC Davis has two players batting over .300. Sommer Kisling and Megan Bower lead the Aggies at the plate, both with .352 batting averages and 19 hits. Kenedi Brown has chalked a 3-4 record in the circle with a 2.61 ERA.
Dolcini, Jennings Sweep MW Weekly Awards
- Fresno State swept the Mountain West weekly awards for the second consecutive week.
- Senior right-handed pitcher Hailey Dolcini earned Pitcher of the Week for the second week in a row and junior Vanessa Hernandez secured Player of the Week, after leading the Bulldogs to a 3-0 weekend at the Judi Garman Classic.
- Hernandez led the Bulldogs at the plate with a .625 (5-for-8) batting average, 2.000 slugging percentage and a .750 on base percentage. The Sanger, Calif. native logged three home runs including one grand slam, one triple and drew four walks. The junior recorded an impressive 12 RBIs on the weekend.
- Dolcini went 2-0 in the circle with two complete games. The senior recorded a 2.15 ERA in 13.0 innings of work and chalked up 12 strikeouts. The Ferndale, Calif. native held opposing batters to a .240 batting average.
Jennings the Jet
- Senior Kaitlyn Jennings has been the backbone of the Bulldogs' offense, starting all 14 games in the leadoff position.Â
- Jennings has recorded a hit in 12 out of 14 games, including five multi-hit games.Â
- Jennings has recorded a .450 batting average, .800 slugging percentage and a .551 on-base percentage.Â
- Jennings has chalked 18 hits, 16 runs and 10 stolen bases.Â
- Jennings leads the MW in batting average.
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.
Dealing Dolcini
- Hailey Dolcini owns a 5-3 record, including three shutouts.Â
- Dolcini leads the MW in ERA (1.69) and strikeouts (57).
- Dolcini has recorded two games with 10+ strikeouts.Â
- The senior recorded the 16th perfect game in program history in the 11-0 victory over Sacramento State on Feb. 27, 2021, the first one the Bulldogs have seen since 2015.
- Dolcini has earned two MW Pitcher of the Week honors this season.Â
 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.
"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.Â
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