Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose State*
Bulldogs Outlast San Jose State For 9-8 Win
5/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 13, 2006
Fresno, Calif. - A matchup between two of the best pitchers in the WAC unexpectedly turned into a high-scoring affair, but the Bulldogs put the higher total on the board to win their seventh straight game. Eddie Romero picked up his 11th win of the year, tying him for the national lead in that category, and Brandon Burke got his fourth save of the season.
In what has been a common occurrence in this latest winning streak, the Bulldogs got on the board in the first inning. Nick Moresi beat out an infield single, batting in the second spot, and Kent Sakamoto singled to right to put runners on the corners for cleanup hitter Beau Mills. Mills came through for his only hit in the game, smacking a double off the wall to give the Bulldogs a two-run lead after both runners came around to score.
The lead grew even more in the fourth inning. Mills led off the inning with a four-pitch walk, and scored when a Christian Vitters single bounced off a charging Greg Fyfe's glove in left field. That play also moved Vitters into scoring position, who came home on a Brian Lapin hit make the score 4-0. Erik Wetzel singled with two outs to again put runners on the corners, and once again, the next batter came through as this time Ozzie Lewis doubled to bring home both runs scored to put the Bulldogs ahead by six.
Fresno State's first trouble came in the fifth, as Eddie Romero had cruised through three of the first four innings, and had escaped the second courtesy of a double play from Mills to Wetzel to Sakamoto. Raul Campos singled to start the fifth, and Brody Massman hit the only home run of the game in the next at-bat, making the score 6-2.
The next inning led to more issues for the Bulldogs as Greg Fyfe reached on an error to begin the frame, and consecutive hits from Brian Chase and Nick Epidendio brought two Spartans home and left another in scoring position with no outs. Romero struck out Sam Hall for his fifth K of the game, but allowed a double to Campos as San Jose State pulled within one. Brandon Burke then entered the game for the `Dogs, and the sophomore put out the fire with a strikeout and a groundout, preserving the win for Romero.
Going right back to work on extending the lead, Fresno State used some small ball to put a run across in the bottom half of the sixth, and added two more in the seventh. A two-out rally following the stretch began when Vitters singled to right center, and a Chase Moore dribbler stayed fair to put two runners on. Brian Lapin was hit to load the bases, and Frank LoNigro came through in the pressure situation, hitting a ball to the deepest part of the park, bouncing over the fence in center-field for a two-RBI ground-rule double.
Burke made his way through two uneventful innings, and returned for the ninth inning to lock down his fourth save of the year. For the second time in the game, however, the Spartans led off the inning reaching on an error, and Burke beaned the next batter to put two on with no outs. A single by Ryan Angel loaded the bases for San Jose State, and a double-play ball slipped by Vitters at short, scoring two runs. Another run came home as the Bulldogs finally picked up the first out with a 54 fielder's choice, but in trying to save the run, Angel scored from third ahead of Wetzel's throw at second. Down by just a run with the winning run at the plate, the Bulldogs got out of what had been a tough inning defensively by a great play, as Nick Moresi ran down a shallow fly ball in center field and gunned down Fyfe at first before he could tag up to end the game.
With the win, the Bulldogs move into a tie with Hawai'i for first place in the WAC at 14-6 overall. For the current series, the Bulldogs will try for the sweep tomorrow, as Andy Underwood takes the mound against San Jose State's Josh Amberson. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05, which will follow a ceremony honoring seniors Doug Fister, Chase Moore and Kent Sakamoto in what will be their final regular-season home game.
