Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Santa Clara
No. 19 Diamond Men Hold On To Defeat Santa Clara
4/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 2, 2000
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - No. 19 Fresno State jumped out to an 8-0 lead and held on for 10-8 victory against Santa Clara on Sunday afternoon at Buck Shaw Stadium. The game was a makeup of the Feb. 13 contest that was postponed due to rain. The Bulldogs, who now are a perfect 7-0 against West Coast Conference foes this season, improved to 25-8 with the victory, while the Broncos saw their record fall to 11-24 for the season.
Fresno State got on the board early and often against Santa Clara starter Camden Kelley. The Bulldogs scored single runs in the first and second innings, added a pair of unearned runs in the third and plated four tallies in the sixth to take a commanding 8-0 lead. However, Santa Clara rallied for five runs in its half of the sixth to cut the lead to three. Both teams added single runs in the seventh before the Broncos scored a pair of runs in the eighth to pull within one. The Bulldogs plated an insurance run in the ninth to complete the scoring and hold on for the victory.
Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) started for the Bulldogs and picked up his fifth win of the season. Graham shut out the Broncos on three hits, walked three and struck out five in his five innings of work. He improved to 5-3 for the season. A trio of relievers followed Graham and allowed six runs (four earned) on six hits in 1.2 innings pitched before head coach Bob Bennett called for closer Hans Smith (Sr., Central Point, Ore.) with two outs in the seventh. Smith allowed two runs on three hits in his 2.1 innings of work but recorded his sixth save of the season and the 14th of his career. He moved into sole possession of second place on the career saves list. Bobby Jones is the all-time leader with 16 saves from 1989-91.
The Fresno State offense rapped out 11 hits on the afternoon, as eight of the nine starters registered at least one hit. Leadoff hitter Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) led the way by going 2-for-2 with three walks, a pair of runs scored and his team-leading third stolen base. Creighton reached base by either hit, walk or hit by pitch for the 22nd consecutive game and now has been on base in 31 of the 32 games he has played this season. Brad Harper (So., Madera, Calif.) was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and one RBI and extended his hitting streak to five games. Oscar Lopez (Jr., San Diego, Calif.) went 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI.
Kelley allowed eight runs (six earned) on eight hits, walked five and struck out five in dropping to 1-6 for the season. Three Bronco relievers allowed a pair of runs on three hits over the final three innings for Santa Clara.
Fresno State returns to action on Tuesday, April 4, when they travel to San Luis Obispo to play Cal Poly for the second time this season. The Bulldogs came from behind to defeat the Mustangs by a score of 6-4 on Feb. 22. First pitch from San Luis Obispo Baseball Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m.
