Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Creighton
Fresno State Captures PJQ Classic Title In Extra Innings
3/11/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 11, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 19 Fresno State won its 11th Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic championship in dramatic fashion with a 12-inning, 5-1 victory against Creighton Saturday night at Pete Beiden Field. The Bulldogs improved to 19-5 with the victory and the Bluejays saw their 12-game winning streak come to end and dropped to 15-2 for the season.
Both starting pitchers - right-hander Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) and left-hander Dan Gooris - matched each other for eight innings in an old-fashioned pitching duel. Graham faced the minimum through seven innings and carried a no-hitter into the eighth before Dan Lawler singled to right field to lead off the inning. Gooris was just as dominant, scattering seven hits in his eight innings of work while striking out six. He allowed only one run, a Brad Harper (So., Madera, Calif.) solo home run in the sixth. Graham allowed his lone run in the bottom of the ninth, when Vince Pietro plated Rhett Dwyer with a two-out single to center field. Graham allowed only three hits in his nine innings of work, striking out one.
Fresno State erupted for four runs in the 12th against Creighton reliever Cory Slining to put the game out of reach. Nick Garcia (Jr., Lakewood, Calif.) led off the inning with his team-leading 10th double of the season. Mike Bowlin (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) then followed with an infield single to second base. Harper was intentionally walked two batters later to load the bases with one out. Tony Guzman (Jr., Clovis, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to drive in the first run and Classic Most Valuable Player Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) singled to through the right side one batter later to extend the lead to 4-1. Josh Labandeira (Jr., Porterville, Calif.) then followed with an RBI single up the middle to drive in the final run of the inning.
Hans Smith (Sr., Central Point, Ore.) relieved Graham in the 10th and was dominant. Smith's first 17 pitches went for strikes and 22 of his 23 pitches found the strike zone. Smith shut out the Bluejays on one hit and struck out five en route to his fifth victory of the season against no defeats. Slining, who relieved Gooris in the ninth, picked up his first loss of the season. He allowed all four of the 12th-inning runs on five hits, struck out two in his four innings of work and saw his record fall to 3-1 for the season.
The Bulldogs rapped out 12 hits on the night, with Labandeira leading the way with a 3-for-6 performance, his 10th multi-hit contest of the season. Anthony Acevedo (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif.) and Garcia each added a pair of hits. It was Garcia's 11th multi-hit game of 2000 and it extended his hitting streak to seven games.
"First of all, this was a wonderful game to watch for the fans and a great game to play in for both us and Creighton," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said. "Gooris pitched well and Tom matched him pitch for pitch. We just played a great game defensively and did a good job of hitting. Hans was super. He came in, matched up to the situation and did a tremendous job for us.
"This was one of those game where there is no loser. Creighton played great all week and this wasn't a case of them losing the game, it was just a case of us winning it. I think they played well all this week, including tonight."
In Saturday's other action, Gonzaga (8-7) defeated Temple (0-9-2) by a score of 9-8 in seven innings in the seventh-place game, UNC-Asheville (4-8) routed Southern Illinois (8-6) by a final count of 11-4 in the fifth-place game and Bowling Green (3-5-1) held off Indiana State (7-6-1) by a score of 10-7 in the third-place game.
Fresno State returns to action on Friday, March 17, when they host Hawai'i in the final three games of its season-long 13-game homestand. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday at Pete Beiden Field.
