The Charlotte Morgan era for the Fresno State softball program is off to a promising start, going 3-1 in the 2026 Fresno State Kickoff Classic, with wins over both Idaho State and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville at Margie Wright on Friday and Idaho State again on Saturday afternoon.
“Overall, I think we did some good things, and then there’s some things that we need to definitely make sure that we’re doing, preparing them better for,” Morgan said. “Obviously game four today tested us. It’s these games that are tough to lose when you give up four runs when you’re one out away.”
Lauryn Carranco and Alyssa Loza allowed just one run on 10 hits over 23 combined innings pitched over the weekend. The latter of which was on the mound for the first time as a collegiate player.
“It’s new, it’s different and she’s just been all in and I’m really proud of the way that she’s come out, in both her starts, because that’s what we’re going to need from her,” Morgan said.
Shortstop Jerzie Liana led the Bulldogs offensively, picking up 7 hits. She and teammate Alyssa Ramirez drove in 5 runs apiece, steadying the middle of the Fresno State lineup.
“She’s very consistent. She’s one player that you’ll never know if she’s having a bad day or great day, very even killed, always locked in,” Morgan said.
Key players
- Lauryn Carranco: 2-0 (12 IP), 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 11 K
- Alyssa Loza: 1-0 (11 IP), 7 H, 1 R, 5 BB, 3 K
- Jerzie Liana: 7-12, 2 R, 2 2B, 5 RBI
- Alyssa Ramirez: 3-11, 5 RBI, HBP
- Jamie Hicks: 4-9, 1 R, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB
Game 1: Fresno State 8, SIUE 0 (5 innings)
Clovis native Lauryn Carranco made her Bulldog debut, one she had been dreaming about since she was little. She did not disappoint. The senior transfer struck out six and managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning as part of her five shutout innings performance.
Offensively, the Bulldogs backed Carranco by sending eight to the plate in the first inning, scoring three runs. Shortstop Jerzie Liana went 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored in her Fresno State debut. Designated hitter Jamie Hicks (3 RBI) delivered a two-run double to mercy rule walk off the Cougars in the fifth inning.
Game 2: Fresno State 9, Idaho State 1 (5 innings)
A pair of hits to lead off the bottom of the second inning from Hicks and Jayda Crosby set up Natalie Elias who brought Jamie Hicks across home plate via a fielder’s choice. The Bengals used three base hits to bring in a run to tie the game in the 3rd inning off of Bulldog freshman Alyssa Loza. It’s all they would get off of her. Loza would go five innings, allowing just a run on five hits in her collegiate debut. She also got her first strikeout.
Fresno State retook the lead in the bottom half of the frame on an RBI single to right from Hicks. The Bulldogs extended the lead to 4-1 with two more runs in the fourth, including an RBI single from Tiara Westbrook.
Alyssa Rebolledo doubled in two runs in the fifth to make it 6-1 before the bases were loaded for Jerzie Liana, who cleared the bases with a walk-off double as Fresno State began its season with back-to-back mercy rule victories.
Game 3: Fresno State 2, Idaho State 0
After a scoreless top half, Natalie Elias and Emma Martinez led off the bottom of the first inning with a pair of infield singles, before advancing into scoring position on a wild pitch. Jerzie Liana and Alyssa Ramirez would bring both in with a pair of grounders. Fresno State found themselves up 2-0 despite not hitting out of the infield.
Two runs was all Lauryn Carranco needed, who was no match for the Bengals offense, striking out five, while allowing just two hits in seven shutout frames to improve Fresno State to 3-0.
Game 4: SIUE 5, Fresno State 4
The Cougars managed to put a couple runners on in the third inning against Alyssa Loza, and a runner on third base in the fourth inning but had nothing to show for it against the freshman. With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Emma Martinez tripled into the right-center gap. Tiara Westbrook followed by doubling to almost the exact same spot, scoring Martinez to get Fresno State on the board.
The Bulldogs scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth but the Cougars responded by scoring five runs off the Fresno State bullpen in the top of the seventh, including 4 runs with two-outs. The Bulldogs went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning, dropping the final game of the day.
What’s next
Fresno State will host #25 Washington next weekend at Margie Wright Stadium for a three-game set, with two games on Friday, Feb. 13, beginning at 4 p.m. The series will wrap up on Saturday with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
This series will present a ‘special opportunity’ Morgan said, given that it’s a three-game series just like conference play.
“The one thing that I think we’re still trying to figure out is, like, what is this identity of the team? We can’t be too high and too low, and that’s something that I would like for us to be a little bit better on, because that’s controllable,” Morgan said.
Tournament recap written by Al Scott. Cover photo courtesy of Jazmin Alvarado (FSM).