They may only be freshmen, but Fresno State softball’s three starting pitchers are throwing like veterans.
Jill Compton, Hannah Harris and Taylor Langdon all had their moment to shine this weekend in the Fresno State Classic.
Langdon took home the win on Thursday night against Iowa State when the Bulldogs made their biggest comeback of the season. The Bulldogs went from being down 5-0 to a 7-6 win, thanks to a clutch single from pinch hitter Kelly Megee.
Langdon’s two shutout innings of relief work helped seal the deal for the Bulldogs.
“I’m hoping that it’s starting to click,” coach Trisha Ford said.
“They have a few games under their belt, so they’re able to kind of watch film and see some of their tendencies.”
She cites the extra practice time the team has had as a possible reason for the recent strong performances from the staff. With no mid-week games, the young pitchers have had more time to work out the kinks in the bullpen.
Due to inclement weather, Friday saw the cancelation of two games against members of the Pac-12 Conference — Oregon and Oregon State.
The Bulldogs came back on Saturday with Compton in the circle to do battle against Cal. It was a close affair throughout, but the Golden Bears squeaked out a 1-0 win.
Despite the loss, Compton had one of the best outings of her young career, striking out a career-high 10 batters.
“It was nice for our team to come out and show what they’re capable of doing,” Ford said.
“Compton pitched really well last night (Saturday). Offensively, we had some good at-bats. We had a couple balls that didn’t really fall our way. It was important, I think, more so for them to kind of see what they’re capable of doing and build upon that.”
On Sunday, Fresno State wrapped up the weekend with a game against Saint Mary’s and this time it was Harris’ turn in the spotlight. She received plenty of run support from her offense, but she did not need it. Harris threw her first career complete-game shutout in a 8-0 win over the Gaels.
“She was hitting her spots much more,” Ford said. “Her ball was a little bit more down, which is a key for our game. We want to keep the ball down at the knees. She was able to command both the inside and outside part of the plate and keep the ball down.”
From their first at-bat on Sunday, the Bulldogs crushed the Gael’s pitching. The bottom of the first began with a triple from sophomore centerfielder Brenna Moss. That was the catalyst for a four-run first inning, which led to the eventual six-inning mercy rule when the eighth run scored.
“I just told them to build upon the Cal game from last night,” Ford said. “They came out full of energy, really executed some things last night and kind of took their game to that next level.”
Ford said that the young team is starting to mature. The pitching staff has improved and now all of their hard work is paying off.
“That’s the name of the game,” Ford said. “I tell them if you throw shutouts we’re going to be OK.”
Next weekend, Fresno State (15-11) travels to Sacramento to play in the Capital City Classic, where they will again face the Gaels, as well as Kansas, Texas State and host Sacramento State