Boxscore I Boxscore II

RUSTON ? Jessica Elson barely missed a few pitches before; however, with a full count and two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, she didn?t miss again.

The Plano, Texas, native hit a walk off two-run home run over the left field fence to give Louisiana Tech (17-27, 5-9 WAC) a dramatic 2-1 win over No. 22 ranked Fresno State (32-14, 10-2 WAC) in game one of the Friday doubleheader.

The win snapped Fresno State?s 11-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs rebounded in game two to win 5-3 but the loss still couldn?t dampen the spirits of the Tech players and coaches who defeated Fresno State for the first time in 17 tries since the program joined the Western Athletic Conference in 2001.

?The thing I was really proud of was that we put forth such an effort to find a way to win,? said Tech head coach Sarah Dawson. ?(Robin) Mackin had our number for most of the day but our girls made the adjustment and fought through. There was never a moment where we gave up.?

Elson?s home run ? only her second of the season ? came just three pitches after she had crushed a Mackin pitch over the left field wall just barely foul. However, the junior third baseman dug in and came up with the 11th hour heroics.

?I was just trying to give us a chance,? Elson said. ?I was just trying to hit it hard. I was in shock. It was the best softball moment of my life. I looked over and saw my teammates jumping up and down and saw their faces. It was priceless.?

Fresno State?s lone run in the game came in the top of the fourth inning on a RBI single to left field by Jenna Cervantez, giving the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. It would be the only offense Fresno State would muster in the contest.

Freshman pitcher Krissi Oliver?s job on the mound allowed the Techsters to stay within striking range of the WAC-leading Bulldogs. Oliver allowed only one earned run while scattering seven hits in the complete game-victory, her 10th of the season.

?Krissi did a good job of throwing strikes,? Dawson said. ?I saw a lot of girls grow up tonight. I thought Krissi threw beyond her experience.?

Elson led Tech with two hits while Regan Clark added the only other hit of the game for Tech.

Mackin (24-9) picked up the loss, allowing the two earned runs on three hits and two walks in 6.2 innings of work. The setback snapped a personal seven-game win streak for the Fresno State freshman hurler.

Fresno State came out in game two and scored a run in the top of the first inning before Tech answered with two runs in their half of the frame. Emma Barnes scored on an RBI fielder?s choice by Rochelle Sandberg and then Danielle Sheridan scored from third on a wild pitch by Mackin.

The Bulldogs retook a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning, scoring on three hits. Tech answered with a lone run in the bottom of the fourth inning as Elson scored from third on another wild pitch.

The game remained tied 3-3 until the top of the seventh inning when Fresno State scored two runs on four hits off of Oliver, who came on in relief of starter Kristin Rupp in the fifth inning.

Clark and Carly White led Tech offensively in game two with a pair of hits while Sheridan added one hit.

The two teams will complete the three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Lady Techster Softball Complex.