Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Sacramento St
No. 20 Fresno State Defeats Sacramento State
3/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2000
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - No. 20 Fresno State fell into an early 1-0 hole but rallied to defeat Sacramento State 3-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Hornet Field. The Bulldogs posted their 10th come-from-behind victory of the season and improved to 21-7 overall. The Hornets saw their record fall to 8-14 for the season.
After Sacramento State plated a run in the second inning off starting pitcher Ben Fritz (Fr., San Jose, Calif.), Fresno State responded with a pair of tallies in the fifth on a Brad Harper (So., Madera, Calif.) RBI double and Josh Labandeira's (Jr., Porterville, Calif.) RBI single. The Bulldogs added an insurance run in the sixth to complete the scoring.
Fritz made his second collegiate start and picked up a no-decision. He allowed one run on four hits in four-plus innings pitched. Zach Minor (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) relieved Fritz in the fifth with runners on first and second and retired the only two batters he faced. Mike Hernandez (Fr., Fresno, Calif.) relieved Minor and induced Aurielo Jackson into a inning-ending ground out to shortstop Oscar Lopez (Jr., San Diego, Calif.). Hernandez finished the game for Fresno State and struck out a career-best eight hitters to earn his second win of the season.
"All the pitchers did a good job today," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said. "Minor did a good job and Hernandez did an excellent job. This was a game that needed good pitching and we got it today."
Harper paced the offense by going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. Tony Guzman (Jr., Clovis, Calif.) added a pair of hits and scored a run for the Bulldogs. Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.), who was named WAC Player of the Week on Monday, led off the sixth with a single and extended his hitting streak to six games, tying a career high. Leadoff hitter Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) was 1-for-3 with two walks and has reached base by either hit, walk or hit by pitch in 26 of the 27 games he has played in this season.
Fresno State returns to action on Friday, March 24, when it hosts Rice in the beginning of a three-game series. Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) is scheduled to make his 10th start of the season for the Bulldogs. Graham is 3-3 with a 4.56 ERA this season. First pitch on Friday is slated for 7 p.m. at Pete Beiden Field.
