After finishing its first tournament of the season 3-2, the Fresno State softball team will host the Fresno State Kick-Off this weekend.
“We learned a lot last weekend,” said Fresno State coach Trisha Ford. “We played against tough competition, and we’re excited to be at home.”
Tonight, the Bulldogs will host the Sacramento State Hornets and UC Riverside Highlanders in a doubleheader. Saturday, they will face Southern Utah, and on Sunday, they will play CSU Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara.
During last weekend’s Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz., the Bulldogs dropped their first match to Oregon, won three in a row and then lost the finale against Arizona State.
“We made a couple of errors where we just pulled our heads up a little bit too soon,” Ford said. “Nine times out of 10, we succeeded [in pressure situations]. A couple of times we didn’t, and good teams take advantage of that.”
It’s an adjustment process for the Bulldogs as they use these preconference matchups to solidify their roster. Infielder Brooke Ortiz, who played 18 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury last year, moved from second base to shortstop. Kapri Angotti and Kierra Willis will split time in left field.
“We return a lot, but still we have lots to learn,” Ford said.
So far, Bulldog pitching has been productive. Sophomore Jill Compton threw two complete games and allowed only one earned run in those starts. In the Arizona State matchup, she pitched two innings and allowed three runs, raising her ERA to 1.75.
“[Compton’s] biggest hurdle is staying mentally positive,” Ford said. “She has a phenomenal understanding of what her body is doing and what she needs to do to correct it. We’re doing some things mentally during practice to help her with that.
“She’s somebody who’s going to get the ball for us. With her offspeed [pitches], she really keeps us in a lot of games because she messes with a hitter’s timing.”
The Bulldogs were 18-3 at home in 2013, but only 4-20 on the road. Therefore, the emphasis this weekend will not be on playing in front of the home crowd. Instead, it will be about being consistent for the upcoming road trip.
After the Fresno State Kick-Off, the Bulldogs will not return home until March 13 as they participate in the Mary Nutter Classic in Cathedral City, Calif., and the San Diego State Classic in San Diego.
“We have a lot of returners, but we’re still a lot of sophomores and juniors,” Ford said. “This weekend, more of the focus is on taking care of ourselves and not worrying so much about what’s going on on the other side.
“[This weekend,] we’re facing two teams who beat us last year, so we have a chip on our shoulder to make sure that we take care of business.”
