FORT COLLINS, Colo. – The Fresno State softball team lost 5-4 in nine innings to the Colorado State Rams on Sunday afternoon at Ram Field.
This is the first time this season that Fresno State (20-28, 9-10 Mountain West) has been swept in a conference series.
Colorado State (26-17, 10-8 MW) now sits alone in third place in the league standings while the Bulldogs have fallen into a tie for fourth place, but don't own the tiebreaker with San Jose State.
The top six teams in the MW standings qualify for the 2023 MW Softball Championship, which will be held from May 11-13 in San Diego at SDSU Softball Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Colorado State raced out to an early 3-0 lead with four singles and a walk in the bottom of the first.
Fresno State scored in the top of the third when Juliana Wilson drove in pinch runner Keira Carrillo on a hard-hit spinning ball that deflected off the chalk down the first base line for an RBI single.
The Rams added one more in the fourth for a 4-1 advantage.
But the Bulldogs dug deep and responded with three runs in the top of the seventh.
The rally started when Taryn Irigoyen ripped a single to left field and then Bella Rocco drove her home with an RBI double off the wall in right center field. Keahilele Mattson then tied the game at 4-4 with a two-run blast over the right field fence.
In extra innings, Colorado State won the game on a two-out ninth-inning RBI double for the Rams' third-straight walk off winner of the weekend.
NOTES
This was Fresno State's eighth extra-inning game this season (4-4 record).
This was Fresno State's 19th one-run game this season (8-11 record).
With the two-run homer in the seventh, Fresno State's Keahilele Mattson extended her team-best hitting streak to a season-best 10 straight games.
This was Mattson's 10th multiple-RBI game and 19th multiple-hit game of the season.
This was the fourth multiple-hit game of the season by Fresno State's Bella Rocco.
This was the second multiple-hit game of the season by Fresno State's Taryn Irigoyen.
NEXT UP
Fresno State will start a five-game homestand on Tuesday by hosting Saint Mary's College in a doubleheader and then faces Boise State in a three-game series from Thursday to Saturday at Margie Wright Diamond to wrap up the 2023 regular season.