Fresno State Athletics
Baseball Hosts Sacramento State For Three-Game Series
4/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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T.W.I.B.B.
Fresno State will be at home for a three-game non-conference series against Sacramento State, which marks the final non-conference opponent for the Bulldogs in the regular season. All three games will be on KMJ 580 AM with Paul Loeffler and Steve Hosey. The audio is also available on www.gobulldogs.com.
Injury Report
There are no injuries to report this week.
What Just Happened
Fresno State took two games out of three from Hawai'i, 2-6, 5-4 and 6-1. Seniors Bob Runyon and Zach Minor delivered back-to-back solid pitching performances, each going the distance and picking up the wins. It was the first time this season Minor has pitched a complete game and first win since beating Louisiana Tech 3-2 on March 24. Runyon pitched his seventh complete game this season, tying Ben Fritz for most on the squad. In his last three starts, Runyon has allowed just five earned runs in 20 innings. At the plate, Fritz and second baseman Scott Beshears feasted on Rainbow pitching, batting .800 and .500, respectively. It was the best three-game stretch for Fritz at the plate this season, who came into the series batting .253 and finished with at .279. In his last five games, Fritz is batting .556 with four RBI, five runs and two doubles. Beshears is batting .455 with a home run, five runs and three doubles in his last five games.
All-Time Against Sacramento State
The Bulldogs hold a commanding 83-21 lead against the Hornets all time. In their only meeting last season, Sacramento State edged Fresno State 4-3. RHP Zach Minor suffered the loss in that game. The Hornets will come into Beiden Field looking to snap an eight-game losing streak, having been swept by Cal Poly over the weekend. The Hornets are also looking to break a nine-game road losing streak this weekend. Outfielder/RHP Chris Kinsey has been a one-man wrecking crew for the Hornets this season, batting .323 with 14 home runs and 43 RBI at the plate and having a 3-3 record with a 5.64 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 68.2 innings this season.
Bulldogs in the WAC...
The Bulldogs are 13-8 in the WAC so far and leading the way are McGehee, Fritz and Runyon. They rank in the top 10 in several categories. McGehee is third in batting average with .366... Chris Patrick is tied for suxth with 33 runs scored and Fritz is 10th with 38 ... Fritz is tied for sixth with 13 doubles ... McGehee is third with 102 total bases ... McGehee is ninth with a .534 slugging percentage ... McGehee is third with 70 base hits ... Brandon Esparza, Joey Myers and Brad Harper are tied for third with two triples ... Fritz is seventh with 23 walks ... McGehee is sixth with 41RBI ... Fritz is seventh with 38 RBI ... Brian Pierce are tied for fourth with eight home runs ... Fritz is ninth with a 3.57 ERA ... Runyon is tied for fourth with 71 srikeouts ... Seasn Ruthven is tied for seventh with two saves ... Fritz is secondin batting-average-against, with a .230 mark ... Runyon and Fritz are one-two in innings pitched with 109.2 and 95.2, respectively ... Fritz and Runyon are tied for fourth with seven wins.
Ben Fritz Named "Louisville Slugger's" National Player of the Week (April 15-21)
RHP/catcher Ben Fritz was selected as one of four "Louisville Slugger's" National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball. The junior hurler pitched his second shutout of the season against Nevada while striking out a career-high 15 batters. It was Fritz' seventh complete game of the season. He also was selected as the WAC Pitcher of the Week for the second time this season.
Countdown to 1,300
Bob Bennett needs five wins to become the seventh baseball coach in NCAA division I history to reach the plateau. The Bulldogs drew two wins closer, taking two out of three from Hawai'i last weekend.
What About Bob?
Bob Bennett remains as consistent today as he did when he took over the reigns in 1967. Coach Bennett earned his third career WAC Coach of the Year honor last season guiding the Bulldogs to their second consecutive 40+ win season. Since 1987 the Bulldogs have won at least 33 games. Bennett has guided Fresno State to 25 consecutive winning seasons.
