STANFORD, Calif. – The Fresno State softball team dropped both games on the second day of the Stanford Invitational, coming up short against Long Beach State 3-2 before falling to Stanford 3-0.
GAME 1
The Beach (3-0) dished a no-hitter to the Bulldogs (1-2), while recording 10 hits themselves.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Faith Jordan made her first start of the season, pitching 3.0 innings and setting a career-high with four strikeouts. Hannah Duncan and Serayah Neiss came on in relief, with Neiss taking her first loss of the season.
After two scoreless innings, Fresno State took the lead in the third. Alyssa Rebolledo drew a leadoff walk and advanced around the bases on a sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. Three more walks brought in the first run of the game for the Bulldogs.
In the next inning, Harleigh Braswell drew a leadoff walk, and Lauren Almeida reached on a fielder's choice to put two runners on base. Rebolledo followed with a sacrifice bunt, moving both runners into scoring position. Fresno State then executed a suicide squeeze to extend their lead to 2-0.
The score held until the bottom of the seventh inning. The Beach's first two batters reached base, and a base hit drove in a run to cut the deficit in half. LBSU then loaded the bases with one out, and a single combined with an error scored two runs, giving them the win in walkoff fashion.
GAME 2
The Cardinal (2-0) outhit the Bulldogs 9-2.
Junior right-handed pitcher Key-Annah Campbell-Pu'a started in the circle, with Hannah Ortega and Faith Jordan coming in relief.
Stanford took the lead in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run home run. The Cardinal added an insurance run in the third when a double and a fielder's choice put two runners on base. The following batter then hit an RBI single to score the final run of the game. Stanford's defense held the Bulldogs without a hit over the final four innings, securing the win.
UP NEXT
Fresno State will see Seattle at 10 a.m. before facing Stanford for a rematch at 12:30 p.m.