Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Francisco
No. 15 Baseball Picks Up 14th Comeback Victory
4/25/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 15 Fresno State rallied for five runs in the eighth inning and scored on a wild pitch in the ninth to post a dramatic 6-5 come-from-behind victory against San Francisco on Tuesday night at Pete Beiden Field. It was the Bulldogs' 14th comeback win of the season and they improved to 33-12 overall. The Dins saw their record fall to 24-22.
The eighth-inning rally began when Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.) singled up the middle with one out. Nick Garcia (Jr., Lakewood, Calif.) then walked and pinch hitter Ben Fritz (Fr., San Jose, Calif.) earned a free pass two batters later to load the bases with two outs. San Francisco starting pitcher Ian Perio followed with a balk that moved the baserunners up and allowed Gemoll to score. Pinch hitter Dave Hafiz (Fr., Woddbury, Minn.) then reached on a fielding error by catcher Rigo Lopez that plated Garcia. The Dons brought in John Herbert from the bullpen and he served up a pinch-hit, three-run home run to Jason Papi (Sr., Fresno, Calif.) that knotted the game at five. It was Papi's first career home run at Fresno State.
Bullldog reliever Hans Smith (Sr., Central Point, Ore.) retired the side in order in the ninth, which allowed Fresno State to complete the thrilling comeback. Josh Labandeira (Jr., Porterville, Calif.) led off the inning with a bunt single. Anthony Acevedo (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif.) then moved Labandeira to second with a sacrifice bunt. Gemoll was walked intentionally by San Francisco reliever Jason Martina one batter later. Labandeira moved to third on Garcia's fly out to center. Gemoll then dashed for second base on the 1-1 pitch to Mike Bowlin (Sr., San Jose, Calif.), but the offering sailed over the head of Lopez and Labandeira darted home with the winning run.
Smith picked up the win in relief and improved to 8-1 for the season. He allowed one run on three hits in 2.2 innings pitched. Nick Moran (So., Elk Grove, Calif.) started and allowed a pair of runs on six hits and struck out five in five innings of work.
Labandeira paced the offense by going 2-for-5 with a double and the game-winning run. Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) and Gemoll each had one hit and extended their career-best hitting streaks to 16 and 15 games, respectively. Creighton also reached base in his 34th consecutive contest. Garcia was 1-for-4 and he extended his hitting streak to a season-best eight games.
"He sure hit the ball well," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said about Papi's home run. "It was a clutch hit for us. He has been hitting the ball well in practice and I wasn't surprised he did it. He is a strong guy and he caught the ball just right. He hit a couple out during batting practice before the game."
Martina picked up the loss for San Francisco. He allowed the winning run on one hit and walked one in dropping to 2-2 for the season. Perio pitched well for the Dons, allowing four runs (one earned) on five hits in 7.2 innings. He walked three and struck out six.
"Their pitcher was awfully good tonight," Bennett said. "He didn't throw the ball hard, but he did a good job of pitching. We had a couple of bad at bats, but you have to give credit to the pitcher for that."
The eight-game homestand continues on Friday, April 28, when the Bulldogs host San Jose State (29-16, 14-7) in the beginning of a three-game WAC series. The two teams enter the weekend series tied atop the conference standings at 14-7. Right-hander Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) is scheduled to make his 15th start of the season for the 'Dogs. Graham is 6-4 with a 4.64 ERA this year. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. at Beiden Field.
