Fresno State notebook: Bulldogs gear for final preseason softball tournament

After its own Fresno State Classic tournament was shortened by last weekend’s rainstorms, the Bulldogs softball team is extra hungry to play a full slate of games as it heads to San Diego for its final preseason tournament.

The No. 24-ranked Bulldogs (15-6-1) will play five games in three days at the San Diego Classic II, starting with a doubleheader Friday against Long Beach State (15-9) and BYU (14-10). Fresno State plays two games Saturday, against Ohio State (11-6) and Princeton (3-10), before a single game on Sunday against San Diego (9-15).

Likely the most anticipated matchup of the weekend is against BYU, which beat the Bulldogs 8-7 to eliminate them from the 2015 NCAA Eugene Regional.

Fresno State coach Trisha Ford said the Bulldogs have a lot to work on if they intend to return to the postseason, especially on the road. Fresno State is 4-5-1 in games not played at Margie Wright Diamond.

“We are better this year than we were last year,” Ford said. “But we still have yet to come close to what I think of what we’re capable of.

“We have not put together a complete game yet. We’ll have great pitching and not great defense. Or we’ll have two of the three. We’ll hit well, play pretty good defense, but our pitching isn’t there. So it’s still finding that magic of getting all three aspects going.”

The Bulldogs split two games at the shortened Fresno State Classic, beating Weber State and losing to No. 7 Washington on Saturday. Friday and Sunday games were canceled because of rain.

Fresno State has maintained a spot in the national rankings five consecutive weeks.

Baseball – Fresno State (11-6, 2-1 Mountain West) will look to reverse its six-game losing streak Friday when UNLV (7-8, 2-1) rolls into Beiden Field for a three-game conference series.

First pitch is at 6:05 p.m. Game two is set for 6:05 p.m. Saturday, and game three is at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Bulldogs suffered their fifth one-run loss of the season, 3-2 against Oklahoma.

Swimming – Bulldogs freshman Ugne Mazutaityte will compete at the NCAA Women’s Swimming and Diving National Championships starting Friday. The championships are at Georgia Tech’s McAuley Aquatic Center in Atlanta.

Mazutaityte will compete in the 100-yard backstroke on Friday and the 200-yard backstroke on Saturday. Preliminary swims begin at 7 a.m. Pacific time both days, with finals at 3 p.m. The championships will be aired live on ESPN3.

Two weeks ago, the native of Lithuania was named the 2015-16 Mountain West Freshman of the Year after she won the 200-yard backstroke league title.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 6:38 PM with the headline "Fresno State notebook: Bulldogs gear for final preseason softball tournament."