Fresno State Athletics
Baseball Travels to San Jose State for Key Series
4/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 11, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. - With only two games separating Fresno State (20-16, 8-4 WAC) and San Jose State in the WAC standings, this weekend's series will be key for both. The Bulldogs managed to sneak a 2-1 edge over the Spartans (26-12, 6-6 WAC) in their first series at Beiden Field, which was largely due to a 7-6 victory in the second game.
That win set the momentum for Fresno State who went on to win the next 10 games. The last three series the two teams have played have all resulted in 2-1 advantages for Fresno State.
In the first series, the Bulldogs were led by juniors first baseman Brian Pierce (Fresno, Calif.) and second baseman T.J. Boyd (Kingsburg, Calif.). Pierce went 3-for-8 with two runs and two RBI, including a home run. Boyd torched Spartan pitching, going 5-for-8 with three runs and one RBI, including a homer.
Junior RHP Ben Fritz (San Jose, Calif.) earned WAC Pitcher of the Week after throwing a complete game against SJSU in game three. Fritz allowed just two runs and struck six batters.
The Spartans were led by catcher Adam Shorsher and second baseman Gabe Lopez, who were both recently selected to Baseball America's midseason All-America team. Lopez was 5-for-12 with three RBI and a run scored in the series. Shorsher carried the load for the Spartans, however, going 5-for-11 with five runs and three RBI, including a solo homer in every game of the series.
The first game will be on Friday at 7 p.m. in San Jose State's Municipal Stadium.
