Fresno State Athletics
Baseball Hosts No. 2 Rice This Weekend For Three
5/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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T.W.I.B.B.
Fresno State will return home this weekend to face Rice in a three-game series. All three games can be heard on KMJ AM 580 with Paul Loeffler and Steve Hosey or by visiting the official athletics website at www.gobulldogs.com.
What Just Happened
The Bulldogs swept Nevada for the second time this season with 5-1, 8-5 and 7-3 wins at Peccole Park. Junior Ben Fritz put on another show against the Wolf Pack, but this time at the plate going 4-for-9 with three runs scored and five RBI including two doubles and two home runs in the doubleheader last Saturday. On the mound, Fritz was solid once again, going 7.2 innings while allowing just one run on four hits and striking out five. On Sunday, Casey McGehee ignited the Bulldogs going 3-for-5 with two runs score and two RBI, including a home run. It took nearly the entire pitching staff to battle against Nevada's Darrell Rasner on Sunday, but in the end the bullpen finished going 6.1 innings allowing just one run. FS turned three double plays to nullify various Wolf Pack rallies. In the end RHP Chad Edwards picked up his first win of the season going the final 4.2 innings in game three. Edwards closed out all three games in the series allowing just one run in 6.2 innings of work.
All-Time Against Rice
Rice holds a 13-11 lead against Fresno State all time. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs were swept at Reckling park, being outcored 37-11 in the series. Casey McGehee was the only Bulldog to collect more than three hits in the series with six. Last season FS took two out of three from Rice at Beiden Field after being swept at Rice.
Bulldogs in the WAC...
The Bulldogs are 16-8 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 second in batting average with .373... Chris Patrick is tied for sixth with 46 runs scored ... McGehe is tied for ninth with 44 runs scored ...Fritz is tied for fifth with 15 doubles ... McGehee is second with 118 total bases ... Fritz is 10th with 100 total bases ... McGehee is sixth with a .544 slugging percentage ... McGehee is tied for second with 81 base hits ... Brandon Esparza, Joey Myers and Brad Harper are tied for third with two triples ... McGehee is eighth with a .418 on-base percentage ... Fritz is tied for sixth with 25 walks ... McGehee and Fritz are sixth and seventh with 48 and 46 RBI, respectively ... Fritz is tied for fifth with nine home runs ... McGehee and Brian Pierce are tied for sixth with eight home runs each ... Fritz is tied for seventh with a 3.40 ERA ... Runyon is first with 112 strikeouts ... Fritz is eighth with 84 strikeouts ... Sean Ruthven is tied for seventh with two saves ... Fritz is second in batting-average-against, with a .225 mark ... Runyon and Fritz are one and three in innings pitched with 127 and 103.1, respectively ... Runyon is tied for first with nine wins ... Fritz is tied for sixth with eight wins.
Countdown to 1,300
Bob Bennett needs one more win to become the seventh baseball coach in NCAA division I history to reach the plateau. The Bulldogs drew three wins closer, sweeping Nevada last weekend. This weekend, the Bulldogs will have their chance against No. 2 Rice.
It Must be the Chad
Freshman RHP Chad Edwards, who missed most of the season with a foot stress fracture, has been an immediate factor in the Bulldog bullpen. In his first appearance ever as a Bulldog on April 21 against Nevada, Edwards found himself in a bases-loaded, one-out situation and only a two run lead. The Gosford, Australia native composed himself and retired the next two batters to earn a save. Last week against Nevada on the road, Edwards closed out all three games going 6.2 innings while giving up just one run and striking out five. He earned his first win of his career last Sunday, pitching the final 4.2 innings against Nevada. This season Edwards has given up just two runs with one being earned in 12 innings pitched.
Living Dangerously
Fresno State has been involved in 15 games with a run differential of two or less this season. In those games the Bulldogs are 11-4 with a 10-3 conference mark. Eight different Bulldog players have had the game-winning or eventual game-winning RBI in those games: Carl Lipsey, Casey McGehee, Brian Pierce, Tobey Riday-White, Brandon Esparza, Brad Harper, Ben Fritz and Scott Beshears. Riday-White leads the pack with three game-winning RBI in the 11 wins this season, burning Louisiana Tech twice, including a walkoff single in their final meeting and one against Nevada. The only other walkoff base hit came in the first game of the home series against Louisiana Tech when McGehee singled in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Twice the game-winning base hit has been a home run. In the first game ever against Louisiana Tech Brian Pierce belted a solo home run that proved to be the difference in a 2-0 game. More recently, Scott Beshears also hit a solo home run at Hawai'i that was the difference in the Bulldogs' 7-6 win. Three of the four losses in these games came in the away series against San Jose State. Fresno State fell 6-5, 6-4 and 7-5 in three straight games including a 10-inning affair in the 6-5 loss, which ended in the bottom of the 10th. The Bulldogs' only other loss came in the third game of the season when they dropped a 2-1 decision against Santa Clara. Fritz went the distance in that game, but suffered his first loss of the season. Despite not having a game-winning RBI in the 15 games, Chris Patrick has been the Bulldogs' best hitter with a .377 batting average, two home runs and eight RBI, including five doubles. On the mound, Fritz and Runyon have come through with a combined 7-2 record. Both share the same ERA of 2.45 in those games including three shutouts between them. Both have the same amount of innings (42.2) pitched and strikeouts (40) in five starts each.
Chris Patrick's Day
Sophomore shortstop Chris Patrick had another solid series against Nevada last weekend going 4-for-12 with two runs scored and three RBI. Two weeks ago in the home series against Sacramento State, Patrick set a career high with four hits in a game. Three weeks ago at Beiden Field Patrick had a career day against Nevada, driving in four and scoring four. He also hit his fifth homer of the season to help the Bulldogs defeat Nevada 16-14. Earlier in the year Patrick had a career-high 12-game hitting streak. So far this season, he is second on the team in hits (67), first in runs scored (46) and second with a .307 batting average.
Versatile in Style
Junior Ben Fritz has proven to be Mr. Versatility once again for the Bulldogs. Fritz leads the starting staff with a 3.40 ERA, he is batting .280 and first on the team with nine home runs. Fritz torched Nevada once again this season driving in six runs in the series, including hitting two home runs. Against Hawai'i three weeks ago, Fritz had his best hitting series of the season going 8-for10 with three runs and two RBI. In the first series against Nevada, Fritz had a career day on the mound, pitching his second shutout this season while striking out a career-high 15. He was selected as one of four "Louisville Slugger's" National Players of the Week. Earning the Ted Gavrilis Award for the being the MVP in the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic. He had 13 RBI during the week and pitched a complete game gem against Oral Roberts in the semifinals. During the week of March 4-10, Fritz earned WAC Pitcher of the Week, having beaten San Jose State 5-2. Fritz recorded his second win of the season by beating Stanford 7-5, going 7.2 innings. In his win against Cal State Fullerton, Fritz gave up four runs in the first inning, but then shut out the Titans for the next eight to pick up his first win. Fritz is second in wins (8) and complete games (7).
Super Sophomore Part II
McGehee continued his consistency last weekend going 6-for-13, while extending his hitting streak to 29 games, which is a career high and tops on the squad this season. The 29-game hitting ties him for the second longest in school history with former Bulldog Tom Goodwin. In the third game against Nevada last weekend, McGehee blasted his eighth home run of the season while finishing the day 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. McGehee also proved to be Mr. Clutch in the first game of the LaTech series two weeks ago, driving in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth in a scoreless ballgame. During the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic with .458 batting average including 10 runs scored and seven RBI. McGehee is now batting .366 this season and is second on the team with seven home runs. In the second game of the series against San Jose State earlier this season, McGehee sparked the Bulldogs with a three-RBI performance including hitting his fourth home run of the season. McGehee has been the Bulldog's second most productive hitter, driving in 46 runs so far this season. With men in scoring position, he is the toughest out on the team (40 AB min.), batting .485 (32-for-66).
The Runyon File Part II
RHP BobRunyon earned his team-high ninth win last weekend against Nevada. He struck out at least ten batters for the third consecutive start with 11. Runyon pitched his eighth complete game of the season with a 11-1 win against Sacramento State two weeks ago, striking out 12 batters, which marked the third time this season he has struck out double-digit batters and established a new career high. In his first outing against LaTech earlier this season, Runyon had a no-hitter going through six innings and wound up facing just 29 batters, which is two over the minimum. Runyon earned WAC Pitcher of the Week honors for his stellar performance. In the championship game of the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic, Runyon defeated Pacific with a complete game in which he only allowed two runs and struck out a eight batters. Runyon once again is leading the pitching staff this season. Runyon leads the team in innings pitched (127), strikeouts (112) and is second in ERA (4.39- min. 35 IP). Runyon's first win of the season came on opening day when he went six innings to defeat Santa Clara. His 112 strikeouts already surpassed his total of 93 from last season.
