Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal Poly
Bulldogs Outlast Cal Poly, 5-4
2/24/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 24, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Sophomore righthander Matt Garza shut out Cal Poly over the final 2.1 innings to earn his first career save and lift Fresno State to a 5-4 win over the Mustangs Tuesday at Beiden Field.
The Bulldogs won their second straight to improve to 5-7 while the Mustangs fell to 13-5-1. Coupled with an 8-2 victory over Cal Poly Feb. 10, Fresno State clinched a sweep of the two weekday contests against the Mustangs this season.
Fresno State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, keyed by a two-out three-run double off the bat of senior catcher Brandon Marcelli. Freshman infielder Christian Vitters drove in Marcelli with a single up the middle to cap the rally. Cal Poly starter Tony Saipe (0-1) yielded four runs on five hits and three walks while striking out two over 3.1 innings to record the loss.
Bulldog sophomore outfielder Richie Robnett socked his second home run of the season with a screaming line drive over the right field fence to lead off the fifth. Robnett (2-3) also singled and walked to tally his team leading sixth multi-hit game of the year.
The Mustangs chipped away at the four-run deficit with single runs in the second and fifth. Cory Taillon delivered a run scoring double in the second to give the club its first run of the game. Taillon (3-4) collected three hits for the game to lead the Mustangs at the plate. Fresno State sophomore righty Rudy Quinonez balked home Matt Guiliano in the fifth to cut the lead in half. Quinonez (1-2) tossed 1.2 innings in relief, scattering a run on two hits to notch his first victory. of the season After Robnett's round tripper extended the Bulldogs' lead to 5-2, the Mustangs trimmed the lead to one with two runs in the seventh highlighted by a RBI double from Sam Herbert.
Cal Poly threatened in the ninth with one out back-to-back singles by Grant Roberts and Matt Guiliano, placing runners at first and third. Garza squelched the rally, striking out Sam Herbert who was called for batter interference on the third strike. Herbert was ruled to have interfered with Marcelli's attempt to throw out Guiliano who was trying to steal second on the play. With the ruling, Guiliano was automatically out on the play.
Fresno State embarks on its second and final non-conference road series of the season when it travels south to face UC Santa Barbara this weekend. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 2 p.m. with 1 p.m. starts on Saturday and Sunday.
Cal Poly 010 010 200 - 4 12 0Fresno State 400 010 00x - 5 9 0Griffin, Quinonez (5), Ball (7), Garza (7), and Marcelli; Saipe, Hobson (4), Moser (6), and Taillon. W- Quinonez (1-2). L- Saipe (0-1). S- Garza (1). Hrs: FS: Robnett (2); CP: None. T: 3:22. Att: 2128.
