The Lobos sent 17 batters to the plate on Saturday against Fresno State and Bulldogs starter Danielle East retired all of them without allowing a hit, as the Bulldogs won 10-0 over New Mexico to take the series victory.
The Lobos faced East on Thursday and were able to get the better of her in the walk-off win, but she shut the Lobos’ offense down on Saturday.
“I think she just really nibbled on the corner a lot more, and then once she nibbled on the corner and got the the first strikes, she just pushed out,” head coach Paula Congleton said. “Our kids basically just fell into that trap and got extended away from their bodies, and our swings fell apart.”
Fresno opened the scoring in the top half of the second inning, driving three runs across the board to take the lead. Rachel Minogue, who singled down the right field line to lead off the inning, scored the first run of the game on a Schuylar Broussard single.
Dominique Jackson followed Broussard with a single and drove her in from second. A Miranda Rohleder single drove in Jackson from third to give Fresno the 3-0 lead. The bottom of the second saw one of the Lobos’ only two base runners of the game, as D’Andra DeFlora drew a walk before the three batters behind her struck out in order to end the inning.
Fresno State added a fourth run in the fourth inning, as Rohleder walked to lead off the inning, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by New Mexico catcher Lauren Wilmert. After Katie Castellon was hit by a pitch, and with one out in the inning, the Bulldogs put on the double steal, and Rohleder stole home.
Fresno State blew the game open in the fifth inning when it was able to put four runs on the board. The Bulldogs loaded the bases with two outs, and a double from Hayleigh Galvan drove in two runs. Minogue drove in another run on a single up the middle, and Vanessa Hernandez cleared the bases with a three-run home run to give the Bulldogs the 10-0 lead.
“We just kind of have to have a short memory about it,” Congleton said. “It’s just kind of unfortunate, because we faced that kid on Thursday night. We kind of just fell apart as far as our hitting. Jensen (Main) did a nice job, but they put the runs on the board that they needed to.”
The Lobos went down in order in the bottom of the fifth, and as a result of the eight-run mercy rule, that ended the game. East finished the day with five innings pitched, allowing no hits, one walk, one hit by pitch and recording strikeouts for all 15 batters.
Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.
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