Fresno State will bid farewell to seven seniors who will play their final home games at Bulldog Diamond this weekend against Louisiana Tech in a three-game series.
The Bulldogs (31-20) will honor seniors Kaitlin Griffin, Rebecca Hall, Michelle Moses, Courtney Moore, Mackenzie Oakes, Andrea Ortega and Kaylan Pollard in a ceremony before Saturday’s 1 p.m. doubleheader.
“When you have a group this large, they mean a lot of different things over four years,” said head coach Margie Wright. “Every one of these seniors has made a positive impact on the program, whether it’s on the field or off the field. They’ve brought something to the team and when you can do that, than you can consider your time here a success.”
For Griffin, Moses, Oakes, Ortega and Pollard, the four have spent their entire softball careers at Fresno State, while Ortega is the lone fifth-year senior of the group. She joined the team in 2008 and received a medical redshirt in 2009 after an early-season injury.
Moore and Hall both transferred to Fresno State after beginning their careers at other schools. Moore came from Mississippi State and joined the Bulldogs as a sophomore while Hall played two seasons at Miami Dade College before making the cross-country trip.
With the group of seniors, the Bulldogs will lose standout pitcher and hitter Moses, who is No. 2 all-time in home runs with 57 and No. 6 in batters struck out with 615.
“It’s hard to find players who have all the qualities; competitiveness, defensive prowess ”” whether it’s pitching or in the field ”” and offensive power,” Wright said. “She has all three. Any time you have someone like that in the program for four years, it’s a huge impact. I just think she’s great.”
Moses is five home runs from tying the school record with three games left in the regular season.
Fresno State closes out its regular season at home against Louisiana Tech before heading to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Las Cruces, N.M. May 9-12.