Fresno State Athletics
No. 17 Diamond Men To Play TCU This Weekend.
4/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2000
FORT WORTH, Texas - No. 17/19/21 (USA Today Baseball Weekly/Baseball America/Collegiate Baseball Magazine) Fresno State returns to WAC play this weekend as it travels to TCU for a three-game series. The two teams are scheduled to start the series on Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. (PDT). First pitches on Saturday and Sunday are slated for 11 a.m. starts at TCU Diamond.
The Bulldogs (25-9, 8-4) are coming off Tuesday's 4-0 loss at Cal Poly. It was the third time they had been shut out this season. Fresno State enters the weekend series in a three-way tie atop the WAC standings. Both Hawai'i and San Jose State have identical 8-4 conference marks and the two squads will square off in the Bay Area this weekend in a pivotal three-game set.
TCU (13-23, 4-7) has lost three of its past five games and are coming off a pair of losses on Tuesday against Oklahoma. The Sooners picked up a 16-13 victory in the first game, which was resumed after it was suspended on Feb. 22. Oklahoma then won the nightcap by a score of 5-2. The Horned Frogs, who are second in the league in hitting (.293), have lost seven of their last nine conference tilts.
Right-hander Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) is scheduled to make his 12th start on Friday night for the Bulldogs. Graham will bring a 5-3 record and a 3.78 ERA into the contest. TCU is slated to counter with Chris Bradshaw (3-3, 3.47 ERA). Righty Shawn Hannah (Sr., Clovis, Calif.) will make his usual Saturday start in Game 2 of the series. Hannah is 5-2 with a 3.41 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts)this season. The Horned Frogs have not yet named a starter for the series' middle game. Either southpaw Beau Hintz (So., Stockton, Calif.) or right-hander Nick Moran (So., Elk Grove, Calif.) will start the series finale for Fresno State. Hintz is 3-3 with a 3.22 ERA in his eight outings (seven starts) and Moran is 1-0 with a 4.24 ERA in nine appearances (one start). TCU is scheduled to start Shawn Thompson (3-3, 4.43 ERA).
The all-time series dates back to the 1987 season and the two clubs have split the eight all-time meetings. TCU won 2-of-3 games at Pete Beiden Field last season by counts of 7-1, 6-7 and 14-8. Fresno State won 2-of-3 games at TCU Diamond in 1997 and the two squads split a pair of meetings in 1987. High scores are the rule of thumb in the series, as the average combined score is 15.1 runs per game.
