Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nebraska
Graham Leads No. 21 Baseball Past No. 10 Nebraska
5/13/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 13, 2000
LINCOLN, Neb. - Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) retired the final 18 hitters he faced and tossed his first complete game of the season, leading No. 21 Fresno State to a 6-1 victory against No. 10 Nebraska on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs improved to 39-16 with the win, while the Huskers saw their four-game winning streak come to an end and dropped to 41-14.
Graham, who allowed three hits, needed only 85 pitches to complete the masterpiece. The 6-foot-7 right-hander faced only two over the minimum and did not walk a batter. He struck out five and improved to 7-5 for the season.
"Tom's performance was outstanding," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said. "To throw 85 pitches and retire the last 18 hitters against a team of that quality was outstanding. It was good to see him recapture his form. He hit almost every spot, didn't walk anyone and did anything he wanted to. He carried us earlier in the season and came up with a big win today."
"I was able to hit any spot I wanted to go to," Graham said. "I changed my game plan today. I usually work away from hitters, but with the wind blowing out, I decided to work inside. I had all three of my pitches working and Harper did a great job of calling the game. He always calls good games for me."
Nebraska scored the game's first run in the third inning on a pair of hits, but the Bulldogs responded with single tallies in the fourth and fifth and put the game out of reach with Mike Bowlin's (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) three-run home run in the sixth. The 'Dogs added an insurance run in the eighth, as Bowlin connected for his second homer of the afternoon.
"The offense did a good job," Bennett said. "Bowlin was outstanding today with his two home runs. We chipped away and did what we needed to do to win."
Bowlin hit two home runs in a game for the first time in his two-year career and tied his career high with four RBIs. He also extended his hitting streak to a career-high eight games. Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.) was 3-for-4 with a run scored. It was his team-leading 28th multi-hit game of the season. Seven of the nine starters on offense recorded at least one hit.
"This was a big win for us," Bowlin said. "It was a regional atmosphere against the No. 10 team in the nation. It showed we can compete with any team in the country, but we already knew we could. Today's victory just reinforced it."
Jamie Rodrigue started and picked up the loss for Nebraska. He allowed a pair of runs on four hits and struck out three in 4.2 innings of work. Rodrigue saw his 27.1 scoreless inning streak snapped in the fourth and his record dropped to 8-3 for the season. Steve Hale relieved Rodrigue in the fifth and allowed three runs on four hits in two innings pitched. Brandon Penas served up Bowlin's second home run of the day and Andy Bent tossed a scoreless ninth for the Huskers.
"I think a win tomorrow helps the committee make a decision for Fresno," Bennett said. "A win would make it tough for them not to give a regional to us. I think we qualify with our win-loss record and our record hosting regionals in the past is outstanding. We also outdraw anybody on the West Coast."
A victory tomorrow also would give the Bulldogs their first 40-win campaign since 1997 and Bennett his 13th in 32 seasons at Fresno State.
Right-hander Zach Minor (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) is scheduled to start Sunday's finale for the Bulldogs. Minor, who has not lost a decision since May 1, 1999, is 3-0 with 2.73 ERA this season. Nebraska will counter with left-hander Trevor Bullock (4-1, 3.13 ERA). First pitch from Buck Beltzer Field is scheduled for 11 a.m. (PDT). Click here to listen to the game live via the Internet.
