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Aggies Bitten Twice By Bulldogs, 10-0 And 9-0 Friday
May 1, 2009
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State was blanked twice by Fresno State, 10-0 and 9-0, both in five-inning contests Friday afternoon at LaRee and LeGrand Johnson Field. The Aggies fall to 10-37 overall and 3-17 in Western Athletic Conference play, while the Bulldogs improve to 33-18 overall and 15-5 in WAC action, continuing pressure on first-place Nevada for contention for the WAC regular-season title and the number one seed for next week's WAC Tournament. USU is now 11-21 all-time vs. Fresno State. The Bulldogs struck first in the top of the first inning. Haley Perkins started the game with walk. Haley Gilleland followed with another walk to put runners on first and second. A single by Ryane Petersen brought home Perkins, and Gilleland came around to score on on a single by Caitlin Stiglich. Lisamarie Coronado drove in the third run of the inning with a single that brought around Petersen to score. Fresno State broke the game open in the top of the fourth inning scoring five runs off of four hits to take an 8-0 lead. Utah State got two hits off of last season's WAC Pitcher of the Year, Morgan Melloh. In the bottom of the first inning freshman Gina Rawls got the first hit of the game. Junior Cami Jones added the second hit of the games for Aggies in the bottom of the fifth. Benson struck out three in the loss and falls to 1-23. The senior now has a team-leading 112 strikeouts this season. She now has 412 career strikeouts which places her third all-time in the USU record books. In game two, the Bulldogs continued its strong offense when Michelle Moses hit a two-out home run to centerfield to give Fresno State the 1-0 lead. Starting pitcher Kate Greenough was able to get the final out of the inning. The Bulldogs broke through with five runs in the top of the second Caitlin Stiglich started the inning with a walk. Alexis Lujan followed with one of the Bulldogs five hits of the inning. Lujan was eliminated from the base paths on a fielder's choice off the bat of Nicole Angene. Lisamarie Coronado drove home Stiglich with a single to left to give Fresno State the 3-0 lead. Angene and Brooke Phipps came around to score on a double by Haley Perkins who two hits in the game. The Bulldogs would scored five runs in the inning to take a 6-0 lead. USU got its first hit in the bottom of the second inning when sophomore Megan McDonald singled to left. In the bottom of the third, junior Emily Reilly singled to right with one out, but Melloh was able to retire the side with a pop up and a ground out to end the threat. Fresno State's tough offense tacked on three runs in the top of the fourth on three USU errors to give the Bulldogs the 9-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth, junior Simone Hubbard singled to right to lead off the inning. Michelle Workman pinch ran for Hubbard, and senior Aubrie Stroman walked to put runners on first and second. Melloh got the next three outs to end the inning and the game. USU was without starter freshman Rayna Bradshaw, while senior starter Jeanine Herndandez re-injured her knee in Friday's first game. The Aggies close out the regular season against Fresno State on Saturday, May 2.The final game of the series is Utah State senior day and the regular season finale. With the two losses Friday, Utah State has been eliminated from advancing to the WAC Tournament which will be held in Fresno State May 6-9. Game One (Five Innings) Team R H E Fresno State 10 13 1 Utah State 0 2 3
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