Fresno State Athletics
Baseballers To Begin Second WAC Series On Thursday Night.
3/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 2, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 19/20/23 (Baseball Weekly/Collegiate Baseball/Baseball America) Fresno State (11-4, 2-1) looks to break its two-game losing streak this weekend as it hosts Hawai'i-Hilo (10-12, 1-2) in a three-game WAC series. First pitches Thursday and Friday are scheduled for 7 p.m. and Saturday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start.
The Bulldogs will send Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) to the mound Thursday. Graham is 2-1 with a 3.42 ERA this season. Fresno State is slated to start left-hander Beau Hintz (So., Stockton, Calif.) on Friday night. Hintz, who is 2-1 with a team-best 1.80 ERA, will make his fourth start of the season. Shawn Hannah (Sr., Clovis, Calif.) is scheduled to start Sunday's finale for the Bulldogs. Hannah will bring a 2-2 record and a 4.34 ERA into the contest.
Hawai'i-Hilo, 9-37 a season ago, won its WAC opener against San Jose State on Feb. 26, 5-2, but was swept by the Spartans in a doubleheader Monday evening (5-0, 6-3). This is the first year the Vulcans have been members of the WAC (baseball only). The Vulcans have struggled at the plate in 2000, hitting only .232 as a team. However, they do pose a threat on the basepaths, as they have swiped a WAC-best 45 bases in 58 attempts. Brandon Chaves and Brian Rooke both lead the WAC with 13 stolen bases. Senior Kaholo Rickard leads the Vulcan pitching staff with a 4-0 record and a 0.79 ERA in his seven appearances (six starts). Senior left-hander Thomas Ford also has been solid on the mound, posting a 3-1 record and a 1.75 ERA in his six starts this season.
Fresno State leads the all-time series that dates back to the 1994 season, 3-1. The Bulldogs won last year's meeting 15-2 on March 26 at the Hawaii Easter Tournament. Fresno State also swept a two-game series on May 2-3, 1994, by scores of 8-2 and 6-3. The Vulcans' lone victory in the series came on April 25, 1995, when they captured a 3-1 decision on the islands. This weekend is the first time the teams have met in WAC play.
