Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose St
No. 21 Diamond Men Lose At San Jose State
5/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 20, 2000
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose State received its second consecutive strong pitching performance and defeated No. 21 Fresno State by a final score of 7-2 on Saturday afternoon at Municipal Stadium. The Bulldogs were eliminated from the WAC title chase with the loss and dropped to 39-19 overall and 17-12 in conference play. In fact, the 'Dogs can finish no better than third place in the standings. The Spartans improved to 36-19 overall and 19-10 in league contests.
Fresno State lit the scoreboard first, plating a run in the first inning on Brandon Gemoll's (So., San Jose, Calif.) RBI single through the right side. The Spartans responded with a run in the third, three in the fourth and another in the fifth to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs added a tally in the sixth, but San Jose State added a pair of insurance runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
Right-hander Tom Graham (Sr., Modesto, Calif.) started for Fresno State and picked up the loss. Graham allowed four runs (three earned) on four hits in 3.1 innings pitched. His record dropped to 7-6 for the season. Five Bulldog relievers followed and combined to allow three runs on two hits over the final 4.2 innings.
Nick Garcia (Jr., Lakewood, Calif.) paced the Bulldog offense by going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. He extended his hitting streak to six games, his sixth streak of five games or more this season. Gemoll added a pair of hits and posted his team-leading 30th multi-hit game of the year.
Joey Baker went the distance for San Jose State and improved to 7-7 for the season. Baker allowed a pair of runs on six hits and struck out four Bulldogs.
Fresno State will try to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. A victory tomorrow would give Fresno State its first 40-win campaign since 1997 and the 13th of head coach Bob Bennett's 32-year career. Right-hander Zach Minor (So., Walnut Creek, Calif.) is scheduled to start for the Bulldogs. Minor is 3-1 with a 3.40 ERA this season. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.
