WEEK PREVIEW
DH: San Jose State at Fresno State (April 12, 2023 – 3:30/6 p.m. PT)
LOCATION: Fresno, Calif. (Margie Wright Diamond)
GAME 1: Fresno State at Utah State (April 15, 2023 – 11 a.m. PT)
GAME 2: Fresno State at Utah State (April 16, 2023 – 11 a.m. PT)
LOCATION: Logan, Utah (LaRee & LeGrand Johnson Field)
TV/WEB: CW59 [April 12: 3:30 p.m. PT game only] & Mountain West Network [All Games]
RADIO: Bulldog Sports Network – 1130 AM (Matt Norville) [April 12 Only]
LIVE STATS: BulldogsLive.com
FIRST PITCH
The Fresno State softball team hosts San Jose State on Wednesday in a doubleheader starting at 3:30 p.m. PT and then travels to face Utah State on Saturday and Sunday in Logan, Utah.
Fresno State (16-21, 5-4 Mountain West) enters the week having won five of its last seven games.
Fresno State is currently in a tie for third place in the MW standings.
Last weekend, Fresno State rallied for an 8-5 road win at UNLV on Sunday to leave Las Vegas with a victory.
16 of Fresno State's first 37 games this season were decided by two or fewer runs, including 12 by a single run (5-7 in one-run games).
AT THE PLATE
Fresno State's Keahilele Mattson leads the team with a .370 batting average, .580 slugging percentage, a .457 on base percentage, six home runs and 23 RBIs as a starter in all 37 games.
Fresno State's Juliana Wilson sports a .308 batting average and has homered five times this season.
Fresno State's Emma Martinez owns a .286 batting average with 19 runs scored this season.
Fresno State's Alesia Denby is batting .288 and leads the Bulldogs with six home runs, nine stolen bases (in 10 attempts), 24 runs scored, 23 RBIs, seven doubles and three triples entering the week.
Fresno State freshman catcher Kennedy Bunker has caught all 37 games for the 'Dogs and has 15 RBIs with six doubles and nine runs scored in her debut season in a Bulldog uniform.
Four Bulldogs – Mattson, Denby, Bunker and Bella Rocco – enter the week having played and started in all 37 of Fresno State's games this season.
IN THE CIRCLE
In 2023, Fresno State has mostly pitched by committee, but got three impressive complete games from its staff in the Bulldogs' home sweep of New Mexico (March 31-April 2).
Senior pitchers Taylor Gilmore (Arizona/Colorado State) and Shelbi Denman (Stony Brook) transferred to Fresno State for the 2023 season and own the team's top two ERAs (Gilmore: 3.06 ERA • Denman: 4.05 ERA).
Taylor Gilmore leads the squad with a 3.06 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 32 appearances (eight starts) and 87.0 innings of work
Shelbi Denman is 6-3 on the season with a 4.05 ERA in 21 appearances (nine starts).
Freshman pitcher Serayah Neiss has recorded 54 strikeouts over the course of 61.2 innings of work in 21 appearances (16 starts) during her first collegiate season.
Hannah Ortega owns a 4.15 ERA in 28.2 innings over 16 appearances (two starts).
BULLDOGS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH IN THE MOUNTAIN WEST
The Fresno State softball team was picked to tie for fifth in the 2023 Mountain West softball regular season, as voted by the League's nine head coaches. Boise State was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the 2023 MW softball regular season title. Boise State tallied 61 points and five of the nine first-place votes. San Diego State was a tight second place with 60 points and the remaining four first-place votes. UNLV was voted third with 48 points, Colorado State in fourth with 36 points, Fresno State, Nevada, and San José State all tied for fifth with 25 points each, New Mexico in eighth with 23 points and to round out the MW preseason poll was Utah State in ninth with 21 points.
The top six teams in conference play will qualify for the 2023 MW Softball Championship, which will be held May 11-13, 2023 at SDSU Softball Stadium in San Diego. The hybrid single and double-elimination event awards first-round byes to the top two seeds with the other four seeds playing single-elimination contests to advance to the double-elimination format.