Mike Howells/The Collegian
Fans in attendance of Saturday afternoon’s softball game were in for a treat, Fresno State ice cream and two victories as the Bulldogs beat Sacramento State 5-4 in 11 innings and 7-4 in the second game of their double-header season opener.
Pitcher Mackenzie Oakes earned her first two wins of the season throwing 12.2 innings, including 5.2 innings of scoreless play to close out game one, and Michelle Moses became the first Fresno State softball player to hit for the cycle, going 6-for-8 at the plate.
“I didn’t even know I did that,” Moses said when told of her feat. “Well, that’s awesome. I don’t think I’ve ever done that before.”
In game one, Sacramento State scored first on a throwing error by catcher Caitlin Stiglich in the third inning. However, the Bulldogs responded quickly as right fielder Alexis Lujan scored on a throwing error and Moses hit a home run to give Fresno State a 3-1 lead.
Gilleland doubled the next inning to score another Bulldog run, but a double by Hornets’ second baseman Devin Caldwell cut the lead in half.
A home run for Sacramento State in the sixth inning tied the game and Moses moved to first as Oakes replaced her as pitcher. Neither team was able to score again until the bottom of the 11th inning when Gilleland, on second base, used her speed off the throwing error of catcher Marissa Navarro to round third and head home for the victory.
In game two the Bulldogs quickly jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first two innings of play and never looked back. Returning as pitcher, Oakes allowed only one run in the top of the third inning before shutting out the Hornets the next three innings.
“I just needed to refocus for a minute,” said Oakes, “And know I had to work hard for my team and get the team groundballs, give us a chance to score a lot of runs.”
Answering back quickly, the Bulldogs put another three runs on the board, giving Oakes a large 7-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh inning. Despite a last-minute surge by the Hornets, scoring three more runs in the seventh inning, Fresno State beat Sacramento State for its second win of the day, starting the season 2-0.
“We had some very, very outstanding performances today,” head coach Margie Wright said. “I think it shows a very good team when you have your back against the wall this opening game and you know we were really struggling with their pitcher, and we were able to somehow make it happen.”
As crucial as veteran players like Moses, Gilleland, Oakes and Stiglich were, the Bulldogs were aided by their newcomers this season Demi Walker, Rebecca Hall, Brooke Ortiz and Vonnie Martin.
“I thought that Brooke and Vonnie and Demi did a really nice job and I think they’re going to have great careers here,” Wright said.
Along with scoring two runs, Walker fired a throw to retire Sacramento State’s Alyssa Naken at home after catching a fly in left field in the top of the first inning of game one. Hall contributed an RBI in game two, Martin got her first collegiate single in game two and Ortiz had a double, three hits and scored two runs in her collegiate debut.
Fresno State softball hits the road for the next month and returns to Bulldog Diamond on March 10 to host the 2011 Bayer CropScience Classic.