Fresno State gets hot heading into Mountain West softball season

The Fresno State softball team accomplished what coach Linda Garza hoped for: a sweep of its own tournament.

The Bulldogs finished a 6-0 weekend run with two wins Sunday, giving them an eight-game winning streak in a 14-6 season.

Three of those losses came against top-10 programs (two to UCLA, one to Tennessee) and another to a Top 25 program (Oregon State). There was a loss at Hawaii after Fresno State had rallied to go ahead.

And then there was inexplicable 8-0 run-rule loss at first-year NCAA Division I program Cal Baptist.

Sunday, the Bulldogs scored some revenge for that one, beating Cal Baptist 6-4. Freshman Danielle Lung gave up two home runs but got the win.

And Danielle East, an All-Mountain West pitcher last season as a freshman, asserted her dominance: six straight outs to save the Cal Baptist win, then a three-hitter with five strikeouts to beat UC Santa Barbara 3-1.

A year after leading the Mountain West in strikeouts, the left-handed East (4-4) is doing things economically. Sunday, she needed just 98 pitches in her nine innings of work.

With Lung (4-1) and sophomore transfer Hailey Dolcini (6-1), Fresno state appears well-armed for a Mountain West run beginning this weekend with a series at Colorado State. The Rams (17-4) come in on their own eight-game winning streak.

The conference appears stout. Preseason favorite and defending champion Boise State is 17-2. The Broncos feature 2018 MW player of the year shortstop Rebekah Cervantes (Redwood High) and Gianna Mancha (Central High), who’s 7-1. Five other teams including Fresno State are above .500.

This story was originally published March 10, 2019 at 11:30 PM with the headline "Fresno State gets hot heading into Mountain West softball season."