Fresno State Athletics
All Eyes on the Bulldogs
2/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 19, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. To open the 2008 season the Bulldogs will host UC Davis in a four-game series at Beiden Field beginning on Friday at 6:05 p.m. Both Friday and Sunday's games can be heard live on KMJ Radio.
The Bulldogs are favored to be the first Western Athletic Conference team since Arizona State (1975-78) and just the second team in WAC history to win three-straight regular season and conference tournament titles.
Fresno State won its 29th conference championship and made its 30th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and many pieces from that team return for 2008.
Only Brian Lapin and Ozzie Lewis left early for the Major League Draft and the `Dogs lost Loren Storey and Brandon Miller to graduation. Steve Susdorf, who was also drafted, decided to return for his senior season and has since been named the Western Athletic Conference Pre-Season Player of the Year.
Six position starters and four starting pitchers, nine total pitchers, return including senior Clayton Allison who was the Pre-Season WAC Pitcher of the Year.
Along with Susdorf and Allison, Danny Grubb, Tanner Scheppers, Jason Breckley, Todd Sandell and Erik Wetzel also earned Pre-Season All-WAC Honors.
The Bulldogs have a lot of talent back and are looking to take the next step in 2008 and push past the NCAA Regionals and reach the ultimate goal, a trip to the College World Series in Omaha. The coaching staff and players know a lot is expected of them and believe they have the talent to live up to those expectations.
"We like our club and we have high expectations for the 2008 season," said head coach Mike Batesole. "We have some solid players returning. If the leadership among our juniors and seniors continues to develop and we come together as a team, we have a chance to be very good."
THE SCHEDULE
To say that the Bulldogs schedule is grueling this year is an understatement. The NCAA pushed back the start date of the season from the beginning of February until the end of the month, which forces all teams to play four games on the weekend and up to seven games a week.
Collegiate Baseball Magazine ranked the Bulldogs No. 21 in their pre-season poll, the `Dogs second highest pre-season ranking by the Magazine in school history. Baseball America Magazine gave the Bulldogs their highest pre-season ranking of the year at No. 18. Eight of the Bulldogs opponents were also ranked in the top 25 or received votes, including: San Diego, Long Beach State, Cal, Gonzaga, Santa Clara, Hawai'i, Louisiana Tech and Nevada.
"One of the challenges of scheduling is to predict which teams will be outstanding opponents for us to play two and three years out," said Batesole.
The Bulldogs also play tough games against UC Davis, Cal Poly and San Francisco before WAC play begins.
The 30th Annual Pepsi Johnny Quik Classic has a full line-up this year with Indiana, New Mexico State, Gonzaga, Utah and Portland all participating at Beiden Field, March 10-15.
"With the current draft structure it is tough enough to predict your own team's future success. That said, our 2008 schedule sets up very well for us both in quality of opponents and in format. Our preseason schedule is demanding with early series against Big West, WCC and Pac 10 teams along with the Pepsi-Johnny Quik Classic. The format consisting of Tournaments and four-game weekend series will prepare us well for the challenges of the new WAC format as well as the WAC Tournament and NCAA Playoffs."
INFIELD
The Bulldogs have depth at every position as they return all four infielders and two catchers from 2007. Junior, Danny Grubb, a 2007 All-WAC, WAC All-Tournament team and NCAA San Diego Regional team member along with Senior, Ryan Overland, who shared duties behind the plate return at the catcher position. Freshman Jake Johnson, who was named one of the top 125 high school players in California by Baseball America, will also look to break into the lineup. "The best defender will start," said Batesole.
After a strong freshman season in which he appeared in 55 games, Alan Ahmady returns to first base. He hit seven home runs while batting .288.
His former high school teammate from Clovis West, Jordan Ribera, will look to earn a spot in the lineup as a freshman. Ribera set a Clovis West record with 13 home runs and had 53 RBI's with a .433 batting average his senior year.
"Ahmady has come a long way defensively and continues to improve at the plate," said Batesole. "Ribera had a solid Fall and continues to swing the bat well."
Returning at second base is junior Erik Wetzel, who led the 2007 team in hitting (.346), at bats (266), runs (58), triples (five) and walks (36) while earning first team All-WAC honors.
Freshman Nick Hom from the Bay Area will look to earn some starts as well. At De La Salle High School in Benicia, Calif., he hit .407 and had 35 RBI's his senior year.
"Wetzel is developing into the premier second baseman in the West," added Batesole. "Hom is learning second base while becoming a Division I hitter."
Senior Todd Sandell had a break out year at shortstop in 2007 after switching from third base. He led the the 2007 `Dogs with 18 doubles. "Sandell had a solid first year at the shortstop position," Batesole said.
One of the bright young stars of the team will be Danny Muno. The freshman from Thousand Oaks, "is our shortstop of the future," said Batesole. "Danny will get a lot of at bats and move around defensively."
Muno batted .400 his senior year at Loyola High School in Thousand Oaks, Calif.
The freshman star from last year at third base returns for his second year. Tommy Mendonca appeared in every game in 2007 and was named to the NCAA San Diego All-Regional Team. He will look to continue that success from the end of last season and make a name for himself in the WAC.
"Mendonca has continued to play outstanding defense this Fall," said Batesole. "Look for him to take the next step offensively and become the player he showed flashes of as a freshman."
Gavin Hedstrom will be the main utility player and look to provide even more depth at every position for the Bulldogs. He appeared in 19 games in 2007 and proved he can enter the game at any time, at almost any position.
"With 60 games in 13 weeks, the utility role becomes extremely important in 2008," added Batesole. "Hedstrom will play all four infield positions well and we may see him in the outfield on occasion."
OUTFIELD
Steve Susdorf is the lone returning outfielder from last season. He was also named First-Team All-WAC and to the NCAA San Diego Regional All-Tournament teams in 2007. With 130 career RBI's, Susdorf is just 70 away from the school record of 200, set by Todd Johnson (1990-93).
Susdorf will look to lead the outfield as three newcomers, freshmen Trent Soares, and Muno, along with transfer Blake Amador, will battle with Hedstrom and sophomore Steve Detwiler for the final two positions.
Detwiler played in 32 games as a freshman and hit .318. Soares is another local product out of San Joaquin Memorial High School where he was named All-State his senior year. Amador played at Modesto Junior College for two years after playing for one season at UNLV.
"We return our MVP in Susdorf," Batesole said. "That leaves two other outfield positions to be won. Soares, Amador and Detwiler along with Muno and Hedstrom will battle for the opening day nods."
PITCHERS
The most depth for this team is in its' pitching. Three of the top returning WAC pitchers from last season are in the starting lineup, Scheppers, Allison and Wilson. All three were named First-Team All-WAC in 2007.
Scheppers also earned NCAA San Diego Regional All-Tournament Team honors. He had a 4.74 ERA and started in 15 games.
The Pepsi Johnny Quik MVP, Allison was also named to the WAC All-Tournament Team as he had a season-best win-loss record for the Bulldogs at 10-5.
Wilson was named to the 2008 Brooks Wallace Player of the Year Award Watch list. He had a team-high 105 strikeouts last season. Wilson also led the WAC with a 3.19 overall ERA and 1.46 ERA in WAC play.
The Bulldogs also return Kris Tomlinson, Sean Bonesteele, Jason Breckley, Brandon Burke, Jake Hower and Holden Sprague, and add freshmen Jake Floethe, Gene Escat and transfer Justin Miller to the mix.
Tomlinson, Bonesteele, Hower and Sprague combined for over 90 innings pitched last season. These four will most likely come out of the Bullpen but also had a few starts between them last year. They bring the bulk of the depth to the pitching staff.
Breckley and Burke shared the closing duties in 2007 as they earned six and five saves, respectively, to rank them in the top ten in the Fresno State single season record books. Burke has 11 career saves which currently ranks fourth in school history.
Miller, who joins the Bulldogs from Bakersfield College, will look to break into the starting rotation as he went 9-2 with a 2.03 ERA last season.
Floethe helped Acalanes High School in Lafayette, Calif., post a 25-1 record his senior year as they were named one of the top 50 high school teams by Sports Illustrated.
Escat, from Hanford, Calif., was a three-year baseball letterwinner at Hanford High School.
"We like our starting pitching, with all three starters (Allison, Wilson and Scheppers) back," said Batesole. "We expect that they will begin the season as our starters with the fourth and fifth spot to be won by either Burke,
Bonesteele or Miller. The relief roles will develop as we work our way through March. We will lean heavily on returning right-handers Beckley, Sprague and Hower as well as our left-hander Tomlinson. Newcomers Escat and Floethe will need to develop quickly."
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The Fresno State baseball team opens the 2008 home season at Beiden Field with a 4-game series against UC Davis beginning Friday, February 22 at 6:05 p.m. The `Dogs will play a doubleheader on Saturday, February 23 beginning at 2:05 p.m. and a single game Sunday, February 24 at 2:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (559) 485-TIX, in person at the Bulldog box office or at Beiden Field on game day.
