Baseball Falls To Alumni Squad 5-2

Jan. 26, 2002

FRESNO, Calif. - The alumni got back to winning ways as they silenced the Fresno State bats with a 5-2 victory. Last year the Bulldogs snapped a three-game losing streak against the alumni, but the alumni proved tough once again this year.

The game was preceded by the Old Timers game in which they tied 4-4. In between games the alumni held a special presentation to honor head coach Bob Bennett. Over 150 former Bulldogs came out and honored Bennett, who will coach his 34th and final season.

"Some of the stuff these guys did for me this weekend just blew me away emotionally. The presentation they had today surprised me and it's nice to see so many players come back. This is the biggest turnout we've had and it's just been a special day," said Bennett.

Once the game got under way, it was anything but special for the 2002 Bulldogs as alumni pitchers Bobby Jones (1989-91), Jeff Weaver (1996-98) and Denis Springer (1986-87) combined for six innings and only one run allowed. Jones picked up the win throwing two no-hit innings to start the game.

Bulldog starter senior Zach Minor (Walnut Creek, Calif.) was ruffed up going 1.2 innings giving up five runs with three being earned. The alumni scored all five runs in the second inning. Shawn Gilbert (1986-87), Jason Wood (1991), Matt Curtis (1993-96) and Terance Frazier (1988-92) all connected with hits in the inning to give the alumni a 5-0 lead.

The Bulldogs got strong relief pitching from sophomore Mike Hernandez (Fresno, Calif.), freshman Sean Ruthven (Alpharetta, Ga.) and junior Ben Fritz (San Jose, Calif.).

"I was pleased with our pitching. We had that one bad inning, but our pitching was strong today. We knew we weren't going to get many hits against Jones, Weaver and those guys. They might not be in top form but they throw hard and know how to locate their pitches," said Bennett.

Fritz was working various positions, as always, starting at first, moving to catcher and finishing as a pitcher.

"I'm used to it by now. I need a couple of ground balls to get me going at first, but there's always room for improvement. On the mound, I was just trying to challenge the hitters. I was mainly throwing my fastball and seeing if they could hit it," said Fritz.

The Bulldogs finally did put some runs on the board late in the game. Freshman second baseman Carl Lipsey (Fresno, Calif.) hit a triple in the sixth inning that drove in junior outfielder Joey Myers (Fresno, Calif.). The other run came on a solo homer by sophomore shortstop Chris Patrick (Fresno, Calif.) in the eighth inning.

Alumni 5, Fresno State 2             1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9       R   H  EAlumni      0  5  0  0  0  0  0  0  0       5   7  0Fresno State    0  0  0  0  0  1  0  1  0       2   7  1
W - Bobby JonesL - Zach MinorS - Mike Powell
E - Casey McGeheeHR - Chris Patrick

Fresno State Athletics

Baseball Falls To Alumni Squad 5-2

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