Fresno State softball: Villalpando leads ’Dogs to seventh straight win
The Fresno State softball team continued its unbeaten start to the Mountain West season with an 11-5 series-opening win at New Mexico on Friday, receiving a stellar offensive performance from Alyssa Villalpando to match a string of shutout innings from senior ace Jill Compton.
The Bulldogs (25-9-1, 7-0), ranked No. 23 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll and No. 25 by ESPN.com/USA Softball, previously swept Boise State and San Diego State in conference play and are winners of 9 of their past 10 overall.
Villalpando set the tone, smashing a two-run homer to deep center in top of the first. It was her eighth of the season.
She drove in five runs and scored one more time in the fourth en route to a 5-for-5 night while setting a season team-high for hits in a game.
Villalpando, the team’s starting third baseman, added a two-run, bases-loaded single in the fifth and an RBI single in the fourth, and was part of a five-hit, five-run rally in the sixth.
Paige Gumz went 4 for 5, with two RBIs including a run-scoring single in the sixth that helped seal the victory.
The Lobos (18-15, 3-4) got back within one in the second on Michala Erickson’s three-run homer.
However, Compton then found her rhythm, shutting out New Mexico over the next four innings. She retired the next nine batters she faced after Erickson’s blast, five of those by strikeout.
Compton went the distance to earn the win, improving to 15-4 this season. She gave up six hits and five runs (three earned) to go with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Fresno State collected 17 hits and has recorded 10 or more in each of the past seven games. The Bulldogs were 8 for 15 with two outs and 7 of 16 with runners in scoring position, compared to 2 for 11 and 1 for 7 for the Lobos.
The three-game series continues at noon Saturday at Lobo Field.
Women’s tennis – Fresno State opened the Mountain West portion of its schedule with a 4-3 win against UNLV on Friday at Wathen Center , snapping the Rebels’ 19-match winning streak to start the year.
The Bulldogs (14-8), ranked No. 39 nationally, clinched the team victory on the top singles court, with Mayar Sherif Ahmed defeating Carol Yang 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
The No. 22-ranked doubles team of Mayar and Rana Sherif Ahmed beat 66th-ranked Yang and Aiwen Zhu 6-2.
Equestrian – Three Bulldogs were named to the 2016 All-America teams announced Thursday. First-team selections were sophomore Hunt Seat rider Sierra Swaffar and junior Western rider Taylor Brown. Sophomore Taylor Dixon was named to the Horsemanship’s second team.
Fresno State (4-9) will compete at the NCEA National Championships scheduled for April 14-16 in Waco, Texas.
This story was originally published April 8, 2016 at 8:43 PM with the headline "Fresno State softball: Villalpando leads ’Dogs to seventh straight win."