Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawaii Hilo
Baseball Defeats Hilo 4-3
4/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Oscar Lopez and Brad Harper each belted their 14 double of the season to lead the Bulldogs past the Vulcans 4-3, before 2,650 at Pete Beiden Field. Fresno State scored three runs in the fourth to take a two run lead over Hilo, and added what would turn out to be the winning run in the bottom of the fifth. Bob Runyon pitched a solid 6 1/3 innings striking out five Vulcan en route to his sixth win of the season. Runyon improves his record 6-1, while Ben Fritz earned his sixth save of the season.
Hawaii-Hilo scored one run in the top to take an early lead on the Bulldogs. Darren Chu hit a high sacrifice fly into center scoring Nalei Sooto giving the Vulcans a 1-0 lead.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Bulldogs scored three runs to take a two run lead over Hawaii-Hilo. Sophomore Ben Fritz stepped to the plate with one out and runners on second and third. With two strikes Fritz drilled his second bomb of the season to score Brandon Gemoll and Harper giving the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead over the Vulcans.
Fresno State added one run in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead into the top of the sixth. Centerfielder Joey Myers led off the inning with a single and then advanced to third on a single down the right field line by Lopez. The following batter Josh Labandeira hit a high sacrifice fly into left to score Myers handing the Bulldogs a 4-1 lead.
The Vulcans scored two runs in the top of the seventh to trim the lead to one run. Darren Chu singled to the right centerfield wall scoring Billy Rayl and Sooto cutting the Bulldogs lead to 4-3. The Fresno State defense held the Vulcan scoreless the remainder of the game handing the Bulldogs a 4-3 victory over Hawaii-Hilo.
Fresno State improves its overall record to 32-19 and their WAC record to 15-11, while Hilo drops to 5-33 overall and 3-21 in the WAC.
The Diamond Dogs' and the Vulcans will be back in action Monday evening at 7 p.m. in the friendly confines of Pete Beiden Field.
