FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State softball team lost 4-2 to the conference-leading Boise State Broncos on Thursday night at Margie Wright Diamond, but the Bulldogs mounted a late two-out rally that nearly was enough.
Fresno State (22-29, 9-11 Mountain West) is in a tight battle for one of the remaining spots in next week's MW Championship, which will be held May 11-13 in San Diego at SDSU Softball Stadium.
Meanwhile, Boise State (30-14, 15-4 MW) is one win away from clinching the outright MW regular season championship and top seed in the conference tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Boise State struck first with a solo home run in the third inning and then added two more home runs sandwiched between a single in the fifth to build a 4-0 lead, which the Broncos held the Bulldogs rallied with two outs in the seventh.
Fresno State sophomore center fielder Taryn Irigoyen ripped a two-out single through the left side and later came around to score along with pinch runner Ava Tingey on Emma Martinez' two-run single to cut the deficit in half.
The 'Dogs had the potential game-winning run up at bat when Boise State's Taylor Caudill ended the game with her 10th strikeout of the night.
NOTES
With a single in the first inning, Fresno State's Keahilele Mattson extended her team-leading hitting streak to 13 straight games.
Fresno State is now 28-13 all-time against Boise State and 20-3 when playing the Broncos in Fresno.
This was Fresno State's Emma Martinez' third game this season with two RBIs.
This was just the sixth time this season that Fresno State has struck out 10 or more times in a game.
Fresno State freshman pitcher Serayah Neiss became the second Bulldog this season to throw more than 100 innings on the year as she has now through 101.1 innings in 33 appearances (21 starts).