Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawaii
Baseball Takes Series From Hawai'i
4/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 28, 2002
HONOLULU - Fresno State (25-22, 13-8 WAC) got another solid pitching performance as senior RHP Zach Minor (Walnut Creek, Calif.) pitched his first complete game of the season. Minor pitched himself out of jams the whole day, but grinded out the 6-1 victory against Hawai'i (15-28, 4-14 WAC) Sunday afternoon at Les Murakami Stadium. It marked the first road series win for the Bulldogs since sweeping Louisiana Tech March 22-25.
"We did a good rebounding after the tough loss on Friday. There can be a lot of distractions on the island, but we just kept our focus where it had to be," said junior Ben Fritz (San Jose, Calif.).
Fritz, who made his second straight start at designated hitter, doubled in a run in the sixth inning to break the scoreless tie. One batter later, junior first baseman Brian Pierce (Fresno, Calif.) drove in two more runs on a foul sacrifice fly that brought in Fritz and sophomore third baseman Casey McGehee (Santa Cruz, Calif.).
Fritz finished the series going 8-for-10 with three runs scored and two RBI.
"I was seeing the ball well this series. I always try to take the same approach at the plate and make hard contact," said Fritz.
UH cut the Bulldog lead to 3-1 in the seventh inning with an RBI single by shortstop Julian Russell off Minor. The run was unearned due to a passed ball earlier in the inning.
The Rainbow also threatened in the second inning with a bases-loaded, no-out rally, but Minor held his own striking out the next batter for the first out. Junior outfielder Brendon Suga (Mililani, Hawaii) took care of the rest recording the double-play fly-out, gunning down the third base runner at home.
The Bulldogs added insurance runs in the eighth inning on a two-RBI single by senior catcher Brad Harper (Madera, Calif.) that brought in Pierce and Fritz.
McGehee extended his hitting streak to 23 games going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, which came in the ninth inning.
With the win Minor improves to 5-3 this season, striking out four batters and walking two on seven hits.
Fresno State returns to Pete Beiden Field next weekend for a three-game non-conference series against Sacramento State, starting Friday at 7:05 p.m.
