Box Score

FRESNO, Calif. - In a battle for first place in the WAC, it was Fresno State (29-13, 7-1 WAC) who came out on top in the first of a three game series. Hawai`i (23-15, 7-2 WAC) lost, 5-1 at Bulldog Diamond on the Fresno State campus, in front of a crowd of 1,711.

Fresno State pitcher Robin Mackin (22-8) picked up the win, throwing her 11th shutout of the year. Mackin spaced three hits, walked two, and struck out seven.

For UH, Justine Smethurst got the loss, throwing 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, with four walks and two strike outs. Paula Blanning came in relief and threw the last 1.2 innings. She gave up one run on three hits, with one walk and a pair of strike outs.

Hawai`i had a promising start to the game. In the top of the first, Valana Manuma led the inning off with a single to shallow leftfield. Two batters later, with one out, Brandi Peiler drew a walk and then Tyleen Tausaga followed by getting hit by a pitch that forced the bases to be loaded with only one out. But the next batter, Tanisha Milca hit a ground ball to the shortstop who gunned down Manuma at the plate. Then Mackin got a swinging strike out to end the inning unscathed.

The Bulldogs came right back in the bottom of the first to post the game's first run. Haley Perkins reached on a one-out walk. The next batter, Merryann Barr, hit a single to left, putting runners on first and second for Kristin Sylvester who hit an RBI double to the rightfield fence. Perkins scored from second, but on the play, Barr tried to get a triple out of it, but did not realize that the lead runner, Barr, had held at third. Sylvester then got tagged out 9-4-5-6 for the second out of the inning. Smethurst got out of the inning with a ground out to Clare Warwick at third.

In the bottom of the third, the WAC's leading hitter and FSU's All-America shortstop, Christina Clark, led the inning off with a double to the leftcenterfield gap. The following hitter, Perkins, hit another double to left-center, driving in Clark from second. Smethurst then got the next three outs with a line-out to third, a ground ball to third, and a line drive to a leaping Manuma at short to end the inning with the score 2-0 after three innings of play.

The Bulldogs' then extended their lead in the bottom of the fifth. The first two batters of the inning, Clark and Perkins, both walked. Barr then hit a ground ball to Richie Anne Titcomb at second who got the force out at two, which left runners at the corners. Smethurst then walked Sylvester to load the bases. Nichole Willis then hit a single up the middle to drive in Clark. Then the FSU pitcher, Mackin, helped herself out with a chopper single over the Manuma to score Barr. Blanning then entered the game with full base and one out. She struck out the first batter she faced and then got the last batter to ground out to Manuma at short who got an unassisted force out at two to end the inning. The score after five had Fresno State up 4-0.

FSU added a single in the bottom of the sixth. The Bulldogs got three singles to lead the inning off. The first a low looping single to right by Shannon Garvin. The second was a ground ball single by Clark. And the third was a ground ball single to right by Perkins to load the bases. Blanning then walked Barr, scoring Garvin. But then, with the bases still loaded and no outs, she bore down and got clean-up hitter, Sylvester, to strike out swinging. The number five batter, Willis, squibed a ground ball to Manuma who made the play at home, cutting down Clark at the plate on the force out. Then Ashley White flew out to right for the final out of the inning. The Bulldogs led 5-0 after six.

The Rainbow Wahine didn't give up though. Tausaga led the seventh inning off with a double down the leftfield line. Two batters later, with two outs, Kristi Yoshizawa hit a ground ball that pulled the first baseman towards second. She made an error fielding it and the ball rolled away from her. On the play, a sprinting Tausaga came all the way from second to score UH's first run of the game, and Yoshizawa advanced to second on the throw home. But that's how the game would end, with the score 5-1 in favor of Fresno State.

The top two WAC teams will face off again tomorrow in a doubleheader starting at 1:00 p.m. It will be the senior day at the ballpark for the Bulldogs. Their game can be followed on Fresno State's website with their Gametracker link, and also be heard through a link on their website, www.gobulldogs.com.

Leading Hitters
Hawai`i
Manuma, V.: 2-3
Tausaga: 1-1, double, hit by pitch, walk

Fresno State
Clark: 2-3, two runs, double
Perkins, H: 2-2, one run, double, RBI
Sylvester: 1-3, double, RBI

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