Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Sacramento St
Baseball Falls to Sacramento State 4-3
5/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2001
FRESNO, Calif. - Jeff Groeger pitched a complete game seven-hitter to lead Sacramento State to a 4-3 victory over Fresno State before 3,101 at Beiden Field. The win drops the Bulldogs to 35-21 while the Hornets improve to 23-30.
Both Fresno State starter Zach Minor and Groeger settled into a groove immediately, with neither pitcher allowing much through the first three innings. But Sacramento State broke through in the top of the fourth when Joe Evans slammed his 14th home run of the year to give the Hornets a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs bounced back to tie the game in their half of the fifth. Ben Fritz led off with a double down the left field line. He advanced to third on a Nick Garcia fly out and scored when Tobey Riday-White singled through a drawn-in infield. The next batter, Tony Guzman, hit a ground rule double over the wall in center, putting runners on second and third with only one out. But the next two batters, Oscar Lopez and Brandon Gemoll, both popped up to end the threat.
The score stayed 1-1 until the top of the seventh, when Sacramento State broke through for two runs. Evans led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Dave Lusk. A Mario Celillo single drove in Evans to make it 2-1 Hornets. Celillo eventually wound up at third base with two outs when a passed ball allowed him to score, making it 3-1.
Fresno State cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the eighth with a two-out home run over the wall in right center by Josh Labandeira. The homer was the senior's 14th of the season.
But Sacramento State responded with a run of its own in its half of the ninth. Grant led off with a single, at which point Minor was replaced by Francisco Nieves. The reliever promptly threw wildly on a pickoff attempt at first base, allowing Grant to advance to third with nobody out. Evans then singled to left field to score Grant, making the score 4-2.
The Bulldogs closed out the scoring when Riday-White unleashed a very long home run that hit halfway up the light tower over the left field wall. However, it was to be the only run FS would manage in the last of the ninth.
Groeger wound up scattering seven hits while striking out six and walking two. He ran his record to 6-7. Despite a strong performance in which he allowed only two earned runs in eight-plus innings of work, Minor took the loss and dropped to 7-4.
Next for Fresno State is a three-game WAC series at Pete Beiden Field against first place Rice. The Owls and Bulldogs will hook up in game one Friday at 7 p.m.
