Fresno State Athletics
No. 10 Dogs Face San Diego
3/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 25, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team continue its stretch of 11 home games at Beiden Field with a four-game series against San Diego. The Bulldogs homestand continues April 1-3 with a three-game series against San Francisco before starting the 2011 WAC season on the road at San Jose State on April 8.
Fresno State vs. San Diego
The Bulldogs face the Toreros for the 21st time in school history. The Dogs lead the series 15-5. The last time Fresno State and San Diego met on the diamond was in 2010 and the Toreros won, 10-7.
About the Toreros
San Diego is 4-14 on the season and faced five opponents ranked in the Top 25 in the country. The team is hitting .239 with 28 doubles, seven doubles and 60 RBIs. Zack Kometani leads the team with a .333 batting average. He has seven doubles and 16 RBIs. The Pitching staff has an ERA of 5.64 and a total of 124 strikeouts. Calvin Drummond has a 1-3 record in five starts. He has an ERA of 3.90 with 18 strikeouts.
Dogs Against the West Coast Conference
Fresno State has an overall record of 303-128 against schools in the West Coast Conference. The Bulldogs have played all seven schools in the WCC. The Dogs also have a winning record against every WCC school. Fresno State plays three WCC schools in 2011 and have a 3-0 record after playing Pepperdine. The Dogs host San Diego this weekend and San Francisco next week.
Ranking the Dogs
The Bulldogs broke into the Top 10 of Baseball America's Top 25 poll. The Dogs moved up seven spots to No. 10 and it is the highest regular season ranking under head coach Mike Batesole. Currently, Fresno State is ranked in all four major baseball polls. Collegiate Baseball has the Dogs at No. 20. The Bulldogs moved up two spots to No. 17 in the USA Today Coaches poll. The fourth poll the Bulldogs are ranked in is the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association at No. 21.
Bulldogs Versus Ranked Opponents
The Bulldogs compiled a record of 5-1 against teams that are currently or were in the top 30 polls. Both CSU Bakersfield and Nebraska broke into the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll the week that they faced the Dogs. The Roadrunners were ranked No. 30 and the Huskers were ranked No. 29. Fresno State also had two wins over now ranked No. 23 Oregon State. The last ranked team the Dogs faced was then No. 25 New Mexico State last season.
And the Winner is...
Outfielder Brennan Gowens became the first Bulldog to earn WAC Hitter of the Week honors for the week of March 14-20. The junior hit .727 with a triple, two home runs and 10 RBIs. He also recorded a stolen base and had a fielding percentage of 1.000. Greg Gonzalez has been selected the Verizon Wireless WAC Pitcher of the Week twice this season.
Charles in Charge
Charlie Robertson leads the league and team in saves. The junior has recorded eight saves in eight appearances. So far, the right-hander has recorded a save every time he has hit the mound. Robertson has not allowed a run in 10.1 innings. He also has limited the opponents to only three hits. Robertson is six away from breaking the single season record for saves of 13 set by Brandon Burke in 2008. Burke also holds the career save record at 24.
The Middle Men
The Bulldogs relievers have been very effective in 2011. The Dogs have four players with substantial innings out of the bullpen this season and have a combined ERA of 1.72. Charlie Robertson, Taylor Garrison, Cody Kendall, J.D. Salles and Josh Poytress have a combined 47 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched and have allowed only nine earned runs.
Home Field Advantage
Fresno State will play 35 games at Pete Beiden Field in 2011. The Bulldogs are 11-1 at home this season and since 2003 the Dogs have had a winning record at Beiden Field. Under Batesole, the Dogs are 180-100 at home. The best home record in Batesole's tenure came in 2006 when the Bulldogs went 34-1 at Beiden Field.
940 KYNO New Home of Fresno State baseball
Fresno State Athletics announced that it will partner with 940 KYNO in airing the 2011 baseball season. 940 KYNO will be the new home of Bulldog baseball for the next three years. Paul Loeffler will remain the voice of Fresno State baseball. Ray O'Canto will return for his fourth season as the color commentator.
Series Happenings
On Saturday, all youth baseball and softball players in 8th grade or younger get in to the game free with a paid adult. And on Sunday, all veterans and active military get into the game for free. Children are welcome to play catch in the outfield or run the bases following the game.
"We Are Your Team!" Fresno State continues its home stand this week with games against San Diego. The Bulldogs face the Toreros on March 25-27 for a four-game series. Log on to gobulldogs.com for tickets.
