Fresno State Athletics
Baseball Opens 2006 Regular Season At Cal Poly
1/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 23, 2006
Fresno, Calif. -
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ON DECK
Fresno State opens the 2006 season this week with a road trip to Cal Poly. The Bulldogs start the year as the No. 21 team in the nation as listed by Baseball America, and feature two returning starters in Doug Fister and Eddie Romero along with newcomer Andy Underwood, a two-time winner of the California JC Pitcher of the Year award. The Cal Poly series will begin on Friday Night at 6 p.m. at Baggett Stadium. The teams will then play two afternoon contests over the weekend on Saturday and Sunday, with both games slated to start at 1 p.m. All three games will be broadcast on KMJ 580, with Paul Loeffler calling the action and 1988 All-American Steve Hosey providing analysis.
IN THE HOLE
The road start for the Bulldogs continues next week as the team travels to UCLA for a three-game set. The Bruins split a series with the Bulldogs in Fresno last season, winning the first and last games in the second week last year. The games will have staggered starts, as Friday night's game begins at 6 p.m., Saturday's will start at 4 p.m., and Sunday's game begins at 1 p.m. All three games will be carried on KMJ. The Bruins are led by Hector Ambriz, a two-way player that pitches and plays DH on the days when he doesn't start. The split last season evened the all-time series between the teams at 27 games apiece.
SCOUTING CAL POLY
The Mustangs enter 2006 coming off of a second-place finish in the Big West, and are receiving votes in every preseason poll, including holding at one spot behind the Bulldogs in the Collegiate Baseball poll. Both teams are recovering from the loss of a first-round draft pick with the Bulldogs' Matt Garza (25) and Cal Poly's Garrett Olsen (48). The Mustangs have two returning starters from last year in Gary Daley and Bud Norris, however, and also return first baseman Jimmy Van Ostrand, a .345 hitter. The Mustangs finished last season with a 36-20 record, the least losses the team has had since joining Division I, which included a series sweep of the Bulldogs in Fresno, the first time the Bulldogs had been swept by Cal Poly in the history of the series, which the Bulldogs hold a large advantage, with 87 wins to Cal Poly's 35.
