Fresno State coach TrishaFord called it “a statement inning” for the Bulldogs.
It also might’ve been a testament inning.
It was in the third inning of their prolonged first game of the Fresno State Classic on Thursday night in which the host Bulldogs found themselves quickly trailing by five runs.
It was also that very inning in which Fresno State broke off three runs to catalyze a leaping comeback over Iowa State in the seventh for the final, rallying cry — a 7-6 victory at Bulldog Diamond.
“They’re fighting, and that’s what good teams are made out of,” said Ford, whose team will also face three Pac-12 teams this weekend. “They don’t finish until the last out, so it was a good team effort tonight.”
Trailing 6-5 in the bottom of the seventh, Fresno State loaded the bases off singles from Paige Gumz, Vonnie Martin and Capri Angotti.
The Cyclones walked Whitney Smith (filling in place of Brooke Ortiz, who will be out for the remainder of the season) in the following at-bat to force the tie.
And with the game tied at 6 — though the Bulldogs’ one out provided some breathing room — Ford called upon sophomore Kelly Megee.
Megee belted a single to the outfield with enough speed and enough airtime to ring in Bria Kennedy (pinch running for Martin) for the walk-off winner.
“Kelly has gotten several opportunities in that situation to come through and be big for us,” Ford said.
“She hasn’t really gotten through on that one clutch hit. So it was a great opportunity for her. I kind of had a good feeling. She’d been swinging the bat well. She hit the ball deep enough into center field to score that run.”
The Bulldogs outhit Iowa State — which had seven hitters batting more than .333 heading into Thursday night’s game — 12-9.
The game was delayed for one hour, 15 minutes due to rain just as the top of the third was about to get underway.
When it resumed, FresnoState found itself on the receiving end of a 5-0 Iowa State run.
Freshman Jill Compton left the circle and caught a fly ball to end the third with two Iowa State runners on base — and pitched through the fifth inning. Taylor Langdon came in relief in the sixth.
The Bulldogs held Iowa State to four runs in the final five innings, though a Tori Torrescano solo home run in the fifth expanded Iowa State’s lead to 6-3.
“It’s a great learning opportunity for her,” Ford said of Compton.
“She’s going to be put into these tight situations and those are the types of situations that are going to build her character.
“I think as long we continue to get better, and move forward them, we’re going to be OK.”
Right fielder Michelle Solomon led the Bulldogs with three hits.
The Bulldogs got off to a winning start in the Fresno State Classic — and will face Oregon (6 p.m.) and Oregon State (8:15 p.m.) tonight in a doubleheader.
“I think it shows we have a lot of heart,” said Megee, who rung in the game-winning RBI.
“We have a lot of fighters on this team. We didn’t want to go down losing, especially losing 5-0.”
