Fresno State Athletics
`Dogs Travel to UC Davis, Host CSUB
3/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team hits the road to face UC Davis on Tuesday March 31 at 2:30 p.m. The `Dogs then return home to host UC Davis on Wednesday April 1 at 6:05 p.m. before a three-game series against Cal State Bakersfield April 3-5. The games can be followed on gobulldogs.com.
Fresno State vs. UC Davis
The Bulldogs lead the overall series against UC Davis, 32-11. The last meeting between the teams was last season. The Bulldogs split the four- game series in 2008 losing 4-2 and 3-1 before winning 7-0 and 6-3.
About the Aggies The Aggies are 3-17 in 2009. UC Davis lost three games last weekend to Pacific 8-4, 11-7, and 15-9. The Aggies did earn wins over UCLA, then No. 11 Pepperdine, and Sacramento State. The Aggies pitching staff has an ERA of 6.71 and have a combined 123 strike outs in 173 innings. UC Davis is batting .251 with Ty Kelly leading the way with a .333 average. Kelly has nine doubles, a triple, and a home run.
Fresno State vs. Cal State Bakersfield
The Bulldogs and Roadrunners met earlier this season at the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic. The `Dogs won both games against the runners, 16-1 and 3-2. The Bulldogs lead the overall series 2-0.
About the Roadrunners
The Roadrunners are 4-17 this season. CSUB has earned wins over Portland, Utah and two over St. Louis. The Runners pitching staff has an ERA of 8.64 with 135 striekouts. Mickey Jannis is leading the team with 30 ko's. The team is batting .264 with 17 homers and 109 RBIs. Stuart Smith is batting .333 with five doubles, four home runs and 13 RBIs.
The Weekend Recap
Fresno State won three in a four-game series against the Lipscomb Bisons. The `Dogs lost the first game 10-6 and went on to win the next three, 13-11, 10-0, and 7-6. Freshman Derek Benny dominated on the mound, earning his first shutout victory and improving to 2-1 on the season. The Bulldogs rallied in the ninth inning, scoring five runs to win the final game of teh series. The Bulldogs are 13-10 on the season and have a three game winning streak heading into this week.
The Award Goes To...
Tom Mendonca and Derek Benny were named WAC Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for March 23-29. Mendonca hit .533 over the weekend with three home runs, two doubles, and eight RBIs. Benny threw a career-high nine innings striking out a career-high eight batters and facing the minimum 27 batters. He pitched his first complete game and shutout, allowing only two hits and not walking any batters.
Rally `Dogs
The `Dogs came from behind in the ninth inning to beat Lipscomb 7-6 on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth. It is the largest come from behind rally for Fresno State this season.
Hot `Dogs
The Bulldog offense has been hot the last few games. Three Bulldogs have hitting streaks intact. Tom Mendonca and Gavin Hedstrom have had hits in the last nine games. The nine game hitting streak is the longest this season. Hedstrom had the third longest streak last season with a 17 game hitting streak. Alan Ahmady has a six game hitting streak after this weekend.
Benny Nears Perfection
Freshman Derek Benny is the first pitcher in 42 years to face the minimum 27 batters in nine innings as the Bulldogs beat Lipscomb 10-0. He is the second pitcher in Fresno State history to accomplish and the last time it was done was in 1967. Benny threw a career-high nine innings for his first complete game shutout in his third start of the season. The righty struck out a career-high eight batters and didn't walk any batters. Lipscomb had been averaging 17.5 hits a game and Benny allowed a single in both the second and fifth innings. He posted a 0.00 ERA on the weekend improving his overall record to 2-1.
Mendonca Closes In On HR Record
Tom Mendonca hit three out of the park in the series against Lipscomb. The junior has 11 home runs on the season and 40 in his career. Mendonca passed Lance Shebult and former teammate Stephen Susdorf moving into second place on all-time record book. He needs four more home runs to move passed current all-time leader Guiseppe Chiramonte.
Take Me Out to the Ball Park
The Bulldogs are averaging 2,296 people at Beiden Field. A total of 27,555 fans have come out to Beiden Field to see the Bulldogs in action. Every home game has had over 2,000 fans and last year the `Dogs only broke the 2,000 mark once at Beiden in 2008. The average attendance at Beiden Field in 2008 was 1,692 and the average attendance is up nearly 600 in 2009.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs travel to UC Davis to battle the Aggies Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 pm. The `Dogs host the Aggies Wednesday at Beiden Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm. It's Why Not Wednesday presented by Golden One Credit Union and all tickets are buy-one-get-one FREE. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the Bulldog Ticket Office, calling 278-DOGS or online at gobulldogs.com.
