Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Sacramento St
No. 22 Baseball Crushes Sacramento State
5/2/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 2, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. - No. 22 Fresno State scored early and often and rode the right arm of Zach Minor (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) to an easy 15-2 victory against Sacramento State on Tuesday night at Pete Beiden Field. The Bulldogs ended their season high three-game losing streak and improved to 34-15 overall, while the Hornets saw their record drop to 19-27 for the season.
Fresno State opened the scoring in the second inning when Brad Harper (So., Madera, Calif.) launched his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot, off Sacramento State starting pitcher Matt Nielsen. The Bulldogs then added seven runs in the third off Nielsen to extend the lead to 8-0. The 'Dogs added two runs in both the fourth and sixth and three in the seventh for an insurmountable 15-0 lead. The Hornets ended Minor's shutout bid by scoring a pair of unearned runs in the eighth to complete the scoring.
Minor was outstanding in his second start of the season. He limited the Hornets to six singles and a walk and struck out six in eight innings of work. After allowing the first two hitters of the game to reach base, Minor retired 21 of the next 24 hitters he faced, including 13 in a row from the third to seventh innings. He improved to 2-0 for the season. Ben Fritz (Fr., San Jose, Calif.) tossed a scoreless ninth in relief of Minor.
"Minor did well tonight," Fresno State head coach Bob Bennett said. "He used his fastball more tonight and he has to do that to be successful. He also had a good slider. He kept the ball down and was effective. He really didn't run into trouble until the eighth inning. I thought about splitting things up tonight, but when he carried a shutout into the fifth and sixth, I decided to give him a chance to do it."
Anthony Acevedo (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif.) led the offensive attack that featured 15 hits, including six for extra bases. Acevedo was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and one RBI. The four hits tied his career high and it was his third, four-hit tilt of the season. Mike Bowlin (Sr., San Jose, Calif.) highlighted the evening by hitting a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the sixth, his first circuit clout of the year. Bowlin ended the night with two hits and three RBIs. Harper went 2-for-5 with a double, the fourth-inning homer and three RBIs. Brandon Gemoll (So., San Jose, Calif.) was 2-for-3 with a triple and three runs scored. It was Gemoll's team-leading 26th multi-hit contest of the season. Tom Creighton (So., Weldon, Calif.) added a pair of hits, a double and three RBIs from the leadoff spot.
"We rebounded well tonight," Bennett said. "We went back to the things we've been doing all year. Creighton opened the first with a base hit and we got some hits that loosened everyone up. Harper's home run helped us. Of course, anything helps when you go what we went through last weekend. Bowlin's hit was big because it broke open the game for us."
Nielsen picked up the loss, as he allowed eight runs on nine hits in three innings pitched. He walked two and struck out three. His record dropped to 1-5 for the season. Three Hornet relievers combined to allow seven runs (five earned) on six hits over the final five frames.
Fresno State returns to action on Thursday, May 4, when it hosts TCU in a three-game WAC series. It will be the Bulldogs' final home series of the season. Right-hander Shawn Hannah (Sr., Clovis, Calif.) is scheduled to take his 7-2 record and 2.87 ERA to the mound for the 'Dogs. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m. at Beiden Field.
