Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal Poly
Baseball Rallies Late For Ninth Consecutive Win
2/23/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 23, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - Catcher Brad Harper's (So., Madera, Calif.) single through a drawn-in infield plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning and gave No. 23 Fresno State a come-from-behind 6-4 victory against Cal Poly Tuesday night at Pete Beiden Field. The Bulldogs improved to 9-2 and their winning streak now stands at nine games. It is the longest winning streak by Fresno State since March 9-21, 1997, when the Bulldogs won 10 consecutive games. Cal Poly saw its record fall to 3-8.
"Brad's hit was a really big hit for us," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said. "He had an opportunity earlier in the game and didn't get the job done. Brad has been swinging the bat well the past few games and has caught exceptionally well all season."
Cal Poly scored a pair of runs in the first and fourth innings on two-run home runs off of Bulldog starter Mike Hernandez (Fr., Fresno, Calif.). However, Fresno chipped away at the 4-0 deficit by plating two runs in its half of the fourth, single tallies in the fifth and seventh and two runs in the eighth on Harper's single to complete the come-from-behind victory.
Hernandez earned a no-decision in his first collegiate start. He allowed four runs on five hits and struck out four Mustangs. Zach Minor (So., Elk Grove, Calif.) relieved Hernandez in the fifth and struck out two in three scoreless innings of work. Ben Fritz (Fr., San Jose, Calif.) entered the game in the eighth and shut out the Mustangs on a pair of hits over the final two innings to pick up his first collegiate victory. It was his first appearance since the season opener on Jan. 28 against then-No. 1 Stanford.
"Minor and Fritz did a great job for us tonight," Bennett said. "That was big because the pitchers needed to get some work tonight. It was especially key because this wasn't a runaway game. Everything meant something tonight."
Josh Labandeira (So., Porterville, Calif.) paced the Bulldog offense by going 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs. Labandeira extended his hitting streak to nine games. Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.) was 2-for-4 with a towering two-run home run in the fourth, his second of the season. It was his seventh multi-hit game of the year. Mike Bowlin (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) added a pair of hits and scored once.
"Offensively, we had a lot of people do good things for us tonight," Bennett said. "Labandeira had another great game. Prieto had a good at bat and so did Lopez in the eighth inning to set things up. I thought Monte's at bat was key for us."
Mustang starter Jared Blasdell pitched well in his first start of the season, allowing three runs on five hits in five innings of work. Dion Light, the fourth pitcher of the night for Cal Poly, allowed two runs on one hit and walked two in picking up his first loss of the season. Light's record dropped to 1-1.
With the victory, Bennett now stands at 1,199 career wins. He will be shooting for his 1,200th career victory in Friday's WAC opener at No. 21/22 Rice. He will become only the 10th coach in NCAA Division I history and the second this season to reach the milestone with his next victory. The three-game series at Reckling Park is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. (PST) Friday. First pitch Saturday is slated for noon (PST) and Sunday's game is schedule for 11 a.m. (PST).
