FRESNO, Calif. – A first-inning offensive explosion propelled Fresno State to a 9-1 run-rule victory over Utah State on Saturday afternoon at Margie Wright Diamond. It was the Bulldogs' third straight Mountain West win, and fourth-straight win overall.
Fresno State outhit Utah State 10-3 in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Following a three-up, three-down, top of the first, Fresno State's bats exploded in the bottom half of the inning with 12 batters stepping into the box.
Back-to-back singles from Kealani Nitta and Natalie Elias put two on with no outs for Sophia Medellin. The senior hit a liner to left center to plate both her teammates. Settling in at second, Medellin was brought in by a single to left from Lauren Almedia.
With three runs already on the board, and only one out, the Aggies made a change in the circle. The Bulldogs weren't done. Kennedy Bunker reached on an error and Alyssa Ramirez followed with a walk to load the bases. Juliana Wilson walked to bring in the fourth run of the inning. A single from Emma Martinez and a sacrifice fly from Nitta made it 6-0.
Reaching on her second error in as many innings, Bunker made the most of the Aggie mistake. The sophomore scored on the next swing of the bat as a single from Ramirez brought her across the plate with two outs in the inning.
Utah State got one back in the fourth inning.
The Aggies fourth error of the day led to the game ending in the fifth. With two outs and Taryn Irigoyen on second, Nitta reached on an error, and then stole second. Back-to-back singles from Elias and Medellin ended the game 9-1.
GAME NOTES
Natalie Elias recorded her seventh game with three hits.
Elias had her 15th multi-hit game.
Kealani Nitta and Sophia Medellin have gotten a hit in six straight games.
Medellin had a team-high three RBIs.
It was the third time Medellin has had three or more RBIs in a game this season.
The senior has three straight multi-RBI games.
Nitta and Kennedy Bunker each registered a team-high two runs.
Taylor Gilmore earned her 14th win of the season in the circle.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs and Aggies will play the series finale on Sunday at noon.