Fresno State softball goes all-in on hitting metrics. Here’s what Bulldogs hope to gain

Hayleigh Galvan for the past two years has been one of Fresno State’s best hitters, leading the softball team as a sophomore and as a junior in slugging percentage and on-base percentage, ranked always in the top three in batting average, home runs and total bases.

But in 2020, the Bulldogs could get much more than more of the same from Galvan and a lineup that was 18th in the nation in on-base percentage a year ago, but only 51st in runs per game.

Fresno State jumped into the deep end of hitting analytics when coach Linda Garza hired assistant coach Matt Lisle, who was in the Chicago White Sox organization as a hitting analytics instructor.

It now is tracking bat speeds and exit velocities and launch angles, working pitch recognition with every player in a lineup that returns seven of its top 10 hitters and too many times last year found itself a hit away.

“It just might be that little bit that we need to score those few extra runs this season to put us in more contention obviously to win a conference championship,” Garza said.

“That’s why I came here. That’s obviously our goal every single season and I’m glad that Coach Lisle has taken on that challenge, as well.”

There is a tough test out of the gate – the Bulldogs open their season on Friday in the South Florida Tournament with a potential first-day matchup against South Florida right-hander Georgina Corrick, who last season was 25-6 with a 1.14 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and pitcher of the year in the American Athletic Conference.

The weekend in Tampa brings games against No. 7 Florida and No. 17 Michigan.

What type of difference can an additional run here or there make?

The Bulldogs in finishing 37-20 and fourth in the conference last season scored three runs or less in 15 of their 20 losses.

They lost five games when allowing three runs or less.

Fresno State also won every game it scored first – 31-0.

‘One swing away’

“Everywhere (Lisle) has been, he has been able to be super impactful in Year One,” Garza said. “For us right now, if you look at some of the history and some of the things, we’re one swing away. We have the people on base. We have enough power here. Can we get 10 more home runs this season? Can we score 30 more runs, 20 more runs?

“If those come in the right games, then all of a sudden 16, 17 losses turns into 12 and you win the 1-run game. That’s the goal.”

To get there, Lisle has narrowed the Bulldogs’ approach to their work in the batting cage and in live batting practice sessions.

There’s no getting around the analytics – every swing in practice is recorded by ball sensors or bat sensors.

“We utilize it every day in practice and our hitters, who probably four months ago didn’t know anything about any of that stuff, could give you a class on hitting analytics, what they mean and the metrics,” Lisle said. “They’ve learned a lot about hitting, as well, and it’s going to change the way they approach games and how they attack pitches.

“The things we’ll see increases in are plate discipline and making better decisions. I think you’ll see more power. My philosophy is do damage and get on base. We spend a lot of time focusing on those two things.”

Galvan sees the difference

Galvan, who last season hit .336 with an OPS of 1.041 and led the Bulldogs with 10 home runs and 45 RBI, found through the data analysis that she had a tendency to pull off pitches as she ripped her bat through the zone.

She also learned how to increase her bat speed, joining Lisle’s 80 mph club.

“It’s a big thing to get in there, because in softball if you hit 68, 70 mph on the ball it’s more likely going to go out,” Galvan said.

“He tells us not to take each swing for granted, to swing our hardest on each swing. There are probably six or seven of us in (the club), and maybe like five or six that are 78, 79. But those numbers help us tremendously, not only from a hitting standpoint, but from a mentality standpoint.”

The data is posted after every session for instant feedback and a more competitive environment in the batting cage.

“It’s very competitive,” Galvan said. “Every day he gives us the top five hitters and when you’re not in the top five, it’s, ‘OK, I’m going to prove this machine wrong.’ A lot of people stay after practice, come in before practice.”

Bottom line: “It’s pretty cool, all this technology,” Galvan said.

“We’ve kind of made a competition within drills, within settings, that I believe is just going to make us that much more competitive when we get to game mode,” Garza said, who enters her fourth season at Fresno State with a 103-66 record, an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2017 and a spot in the National Invitational Softball Championship last season.

“Being able to see that growth over the past four months, we’re getting better. We’re getting stronger. We’re driving the ball farther and now it’s just to see if that shows up on game day.”

Fifth in preseason poll

The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West in a preseason poll of conference coaches, though only one point out of a third-place tie with Colorado State and UNLV.

Six teams including Fresno State received at least one first-place vote.

The Fresno State pitching staff returns its top two starters in Hailey Dolcini and Danielle Lung with a rising redshirt freshman in Dariana Orme.

The lineup starts with outfielder McKenzie Wilson, who last season hit .393, set a school and Mountain West record with 39 stolen bases and was freshman of the year in the conference.

The preseason is 26 games – five tournaments including weekends at home Feb. 20-23 and March 5-8, plus a single game at 2019 NCAA qualifier Stanford.

the Mountain West season is eight three-game weekend series.

Olympic ties

Another highlight is an April 7 exhibition at Margie Wright Diamond against the Canadian Olympic team, which will be working out in Fresno. The Canadians are scheduled to play Mexico in a series April 10-12 at Fresno State.

The U.S. Olympic team has a Fresno State tie: Former Bulldogs All-American and four-time Olympian Laura Berg is an assistant coach. She is the head coach at Oregon State.

The 2020 U.S. roster has altered the college landscape: Olympians Rachel Garcia and Bubba Nickles (from Merced) are taking redshirt seasons after leading UCLA to the 2019 national title as juniors.