Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Hawai'i*
Bulldogs Fall To Hawai'i In Series Opener
4/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 7, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - The Bulldogs dropped their series opener against Hawai'i Friday night, falling 5-3 as Hawai'i ace Steven Wright pitched seven innings, striking out 10. The Bulldog lineup resembled the one from the beginning of the year, as Beau Mills and Nick Moresi both made their home return to the field, with Mills going 2-3 with a home run, his seventh of the year.
Classic small ball got the Rainbows on the board first in the second inning, as a leadoff single led to a run. After Esteban Lopez singled to get on base, a sacrifice bunt and a RBI from Eli Christiansen put the Rainbows on the board.
Fresno State evened the score in the fourth, finally reaching Wright. Beau Mills and Christian Vitters started the inning with back-to-back singles, and an error by Christiansen, the Hawai'i shortstop put runners on the corners with one run scored. Hawai'i flashed the glove to get out of the inning, as Jonathan Hee stabbed a Frank LoNigro liner and tossed the ball over to first to get out of the inning, doubling off Brian Lapin.
Three consecutive hits began the fifth for the Rainbows, as Hawai'i took the lead again off of a single from Eli Christiansen, a double into the gap from Joe Spiers, and a RBI single from Robbie Wilder. Doug Fister then settled down to get out of the frame, striking out DePree before getting Luis Avila to ground into a double play.
The Bulldogs had another chance in the fifth, as the Bulldogs put a run across and had the bases loaded after a hit, an error, a walk and a hit batsmen. A fly ball from Christian Vitters came up just short of doing damage, falling into DuPree's lap in center field to keep the Hawai'i lead at 3-2.
The final turning point of the game occurred in the top of the seventh inning. After retiring Joe Spiers to begin the inning, Wilder reached first after his third hit of the game, and DuPree hit a deep double into the gap. Right fielder Brian Lapin ran down the play, and through a cutoff by second baseman Erik Wetzel created a very close play at home, but the speedy Spiers was called safe to add another run for the Rainbows. A sacrifice run added the last insurance run for the Rainbows.
Beau Mills added a solo home run in the eighth inning to pull the Bulldogs within two, but after reliever Matt Daly put two runners on in the ninth, the Bulldogs were unable to bring them across following the entrance of closer Darrell Fisherbaugh, who recorded his seventh save of the season. Steven Wright got the win for the Rainbows, pitching seven innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one earned and walking two while striking out 10 Bulldog batters.
Fresno State returns to action tomorrow, as the Bulldogs host Hawai'i for game two of a three-game series. The action will be carried on CSTV nationally, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
