Fresno State’s Kamalani Dung 2 for 2 in shutouts to start 2017

There’s 2 for 2 at the plate in softball, of course, that’s nice. But 2 for 2 in the circle – as in shutouts in as many starts?

That’s rarefied air and what Fresno State sophomore Kamalani Dung is breathing deeply in the opening days of the 2017 season.

The right-hander did it again Saturday, following up Friday’s shutout of Indiana with another three-hitter against Purdue as the No. 24 Bulldogs beat the Boilermakers 4-0 on Day 2 of the Kajikawa Classic in Tempe, Ariz.

Fresno State, after a split Friday, later improved to 3-1 by blasting the University of San Diego 12-6. The Bulldogs’ stay in the tournament ends Sunday versus Stanford at 10:45 a.m.

Dung got all the offensive support she would need in the top of the first when Morgan Howe, a sophomore who was the team’s top hitter off the bench a year ago but is slotted into the No. 2 hole this season, singled home Malia Rivers after Rivers beat out an infield hit and stole second.

Katie Castellon added a two-out RBI double in the second, Dominique Jackson a pinch-hit run-scoring single in the fourth and Savannah McHellon an RBI double in the sixth.

Dung walked two and struck out seven for the second straight start in keeping Purdue winless, with the Boilermakers then falling to 0-4 after a 16-9 loss to Stanford in their second game Saturday.

McHellon got the start versus the Toreros and the junior transfer from Northwest Florida State picked up her first win in two starts, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out three in five innings. Samantha Mejia, the freshman out of Ridgeview High, closed it out with two scoreless innings after sophomore Kira McKechnie (in her first appearance of the season) ran into trouble in the sixth.

This story was originally published February 11, 2017 at 7:07 PM with the headline "Fresno State’s Kamalani Dung 2 for 2 in shutouts to start 2017."