Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawaii
Diamond Men Rally To Defeat Hawai'i
4/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 16, 2000
HONOLULU - No. 18 Fresno State fell behind early but rallied for a 9-2 victory against Hawai'i on Sunday afternoon at Rainbow Stadium. The Bulldogs, who posted their 12th come-from-behind win of the season, improved to 29-11 overall and 11-6 in the WAC. The Rainbows dropped to 22-21 overall and 9-8 in conference play.
Hawai'i got the board first with a run in the second inning against Fresno State starting pitcher Shawn Hannah (Sr., Clovis, Calif.). The Bulldogs responded with two runs in the fourth and a tally in the sixth after the two teams exchanged runs in the third. Fresno State put the game out of reach with a four runs in the seventh and a run in the eighth.
Hannah was solid in his 11th start of the season. He scattered nine hits and allowed a pair of runs in the 113-pitch performance. Hannah walked two and struck out four in improving to 6-2 for the season.
"I thought Hannah pitched really well," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said. "He had a little spurt with control problems early, but he refocused and it was one of the best ballgames he has pitched for us. He finished a crucial game and really had to bear down after they took the lead early on."
The Bulldogs pounded out 15 hits in the game, as eight of the nine starters on offense had at least one hit and six had at least two safeties. Oscar Lopez (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) led the offense by going 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBIs. Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) was 2-for-5 with three RBIs and he extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games. It was his sixth consecutive game with two hits and he now has reached base by either hit, walk or hit by pitch in 29 consecutive games. Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.) went 2-for-5 and extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games.
"We did a better job of staying aggressive," Bennett said. "You have to make some adjustments when you play at a big ballpark like this. We hit a lot of pop flies yesterday and today we kept the ball down. When you play here, you have to hit line drives because fly balls don't do you any good."
Hawai'i starter Randon Ho picked up the loss, as he allowed six runs (four earned) on 11 hits in 6.1 innings of work. Ho's record dropped to 5-6 for the season. A quartet of Rainbow relievers combined to allow three runs (one earned) on four hits over the final 2.2 innings.
Bennett moved into sole possession of ninth place on the NCAA Division I victories list with the win. Bennett, who now has a career record of 1,218-697-4 (.637) in his 32 seasons at Fresno State, was tied with Al Ogletree (Texas-Pan American).
The series concludes on Monday night at Rainbow Stadium. Nick Moran (So., Elk Grove, Calif.) is scheduled to start for the Bulldogs. Moran will bring a 1-1 record and 4.28 ERA into the contest. He will be opposed by Hawai'i right-hander Rich Snider (6-6, 4.10 ERA). The game is scheduled to get underway at 9:35 p.m. (PDT) and can be heard via the Internet at www.broadcast.com.
