Bulldogs bounce back behind Dung’s no-hitter
Fresno State – after suffering a pair of defeats Thursday – got the rebound it was looking for at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge.
Sophomore pitcher Kamalani Dung threw a no-hitter in a 9-0 five-inning win over Florida Gulf Coast (5-3) on Friday morning.
Dung retired 15 of the 18 batters she faced, walking three while striking out six to improve to 4-1 in the circle with a 1.25 ERA. She became the 21st Bulldog to pitch a no-hitter. There have been 73 in Fresno State history, but this was the first since Jill Compton on March 6, 2015, against Iowa.
“We really had to take a step back and resort to the basics after yesterday,” Dung was quoted in a university news release. “Today we had fun and stuck to the game plan. We limited errors physically and mentally and showed what kind of team we really are.
“I didn’t even notice it was a no-hitter until after the game. My pitches were working well and the defense did an awesome job making outs.”
The no-hitter by Kamalani Dung is the 1st of her career, the 73rd in Fresno State history, and the 'Dogs' 1st since 3/6/2015 (Jill Compton).
— MWC Softball (@MWCsoftball) February 17, 2017
The Bulldogs got on the board in the first on junior Savannah McHellon’s RBI single and added to their lead on Miranda Rohleder’s two-run double. Rohleder went 2 for 2, driving in two runs and scoring three for Fresno State (5-3).
“I’m proud of Kamalani and our team’s ability to bounce back after a tough Thursday,” first-year coach Linda Garza said. “Our offense executed the game plan perfectly and I am glad to see that part of our game have success. Kamalani stuck to the process and executed pitch-by-pitch. It was great to see pitching, hitting and defense on at the same time.”
▪ Thursday rewind: The Bulldogs had a rough start in Mexico, falling 4-1 to Mississippi State and then 4-3 to Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday. Fresno State outhit both teams by a combined 16-10, but lost both games in part because of a pair of two-out errors that led to six unearned runs.
▪ Looking ahead: Fresno State will wrap up its stay with two games Saturday. The Bulldogs will get started against Cal State Fullerton at 9:45 a.m. in a rematch of last year’s NCAA Regional, where the Dons eliminated the Bulldogs with a 7-1 win in Los Angeles. Fresno State will close challenge against Texas Tech at 3 p.m.
This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 7:51 PM with the headline "Bulldogs bounce back behind Dung’s no-hitter."