FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State softball team defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack 5-4 in walk off fashion on Friday night at Margie Wright Diamond in front of a season-high 1,268 fans.
Freshman catcher Kennedy Bunker delivered the walk off single in the bottom of the seventh for Fresno State (18-24, 7-7 Mountain West), who rose into a tie for third place with Nevada (26-12, 7-7 MW) in the conference standings.
The top six teams qualify for the 2023 MW Softball Championship in San Diego from May 11-13.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Fresno State junior Keahilele Mattson launched a two-run home run on to the berm in center field to put the Bulldogs on the board first with a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
The 'Dogs added a run in the fourth when Emma Martinez drove in a run with an RBI single.
Each team scored once in the fifth, which included Vanessa M. Hernandez' textbook sacrifice bunt, which brought home Mattson on a squeeze to give Fresno State a 4-1 lead over Nevada.
The Wolf Pack tied the game at 4-4 with a three-run homer off the bat of Hailey Prahm in the sixth.
In the seventh, Alesia Denby opened with a double to left field and later came around to score on Bunker's walk off winner.
Defensively, the Bulldogs made some big plays in the infield and outfield, including a key catch by Taryn Irigoyen on a hard-hit line drive out to center field to end the top of the fifth.
NEXT UP
Fresno State and Nevada meet again on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT in the second game of the three-game set. It's Bark in the Park and all dogs get in free for a fun afternoon out on the berm.