The Fresno State softball team finished its weekend series against the Utah State Aggies, losing two of three to open up Mountain West play.
The ‘Dogs closed out the series with a 6-2 victory, spearheaded by a strong pitching performance from Lauryn Carranco. The win moves the Bulldogs to 12-11 on the season.
The win on Sunday snapped a six-game losing streak at Margie Wright Diamond for the Bulldogs. Their last win came on Feb. 7 against the Idaho State Bengals in the Fresno State Kickoff Classic.
To open up conference play, the Bulldogs came out swinging. They opened up a quick 2-0 lead on the Aggies in the first inning. After the first, the bats went quiet, mustering only two hits for the rest of the game.
Five errors let the Aggies grow their lead, as they scored nine unanswered runs to down the ‘Dogs 9-2 in the series opener.
Carranco went five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits. She was able to strike out only one Aggie in the losing effort.
In game two, the ‘Dogs were shut down for six innings by Aggie pitcher Kendall Cochran. She posted four hits and one unearned run against.
But the ‘Dogs would not go down without a fight. They scored three runs off Cochran in the bottom of the seventh inning, knocking her out of the game.
With the winning run on first base, outfielder Olivia Hill hit into a double play to end the seventh.
In extra innings, the Aggies scratched across four runs, a deficit that the Bulldogs could not overcome.
Pitcher Alyssa Loza was tagged with three of the four runs in the ninth inning. She finished her outing, pitching 8.1 innings.
In game three, the ‘Dogs turned to their ace, hoping to avoid a sweep from the Aggies.
Carranco delivered in the final game of the series. She went the distance in the Sunday match for the eighth time this season, striking out eight batters and giving up just two runs on 129 pitches.
The Bulldogs’ offense came to life in the third, fourth and fifth innings, bringing home six runs.
Freshman first baseman Jayda Crosby started a rally for the ‘Dogs in the third inning, knocking a double off the leftfield fence. Shortstop Emma Martinez quickly brought her home with a double of her own.
The ‘Dogs added two more in the fourth with more extra base hits.
The fifth inning saw more of the same from the Bulldogs, knocking out Aggies starter Rylie Pindel. The additional runs were the nail in the coffin as Carranco shut down the Aggies for the final six outs.
The Bulldogs will travel to Boise for their next weekend series against the Boise State Broncos from March 20-22 at Dona Larsen Park.