Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
No. 2 seed Sacramento State
Lightning Misses Bottle as 'Dogs Fall
5/25/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Box Score | Photo Gallery: Game 8 - Sacramento State 8, Fresno State 3 
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By Stephen Trembley
strembley@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
MESA, Ariz. ---Sometimes you can't quite catch lightning in a bottle twice.
After the Bulldogs' sophomore southpaw and expected starting pitcher Tyler Linehan aggravated an injury in warm-ups, head coach Mike Batesole called on senior Cody Kendall on short notice to make a key start on Friday evening at HoHoKam Stadium.
Despite the late change, the second-seeded Sacramento State Hornets were unfazed in sending the fifth-seeded Fresno State baseball team into the loser's bracket as the Bulldogs suffered an 8-3 loss on the third day of the 2012 Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
The scene began eerily similar to a week ago when Kendall tossed seven strikeouts in seven innings of work without walking a batter en route to WAC Pitcher of the Week honors. He had relieved Linehan, who threw just four pitches before exiting a game against LA Tech in the top of the first.
But this time, it was Kendall from the get-go and the Hornets buzzed ahead early with three runs in the first, added another in the second and four more in the fifth for an 8-0 lead over the 'Dogs.
Sac State starter Brennan Leitao retired 13 Bulldogs in a row after giving up a double down the right field line to Trent Garrison to lead off the second inning. Leitao then gave up back-to-back hits to Jake Alvarez, who ripped a one-out single and scored on senior Patrick Hutcheson's RBI double deep into the left center field gap, in the bottom of the sixth.
The 'Dogs chased Leitao in the seventh. He had issued free passes to Kenneth Wise and Austin Wynns, who both scored on a Jordan Luplow double to left center that cut the Fresno State deficit to 8-3. Leitao also beaned Chris Mariscal on the left arm before getting the hook.
That's when led Sac State head coach Reggie Christiansen, who earned WAC Coach of the Year this season after he orchestrated the worst-to-first revitalization in state's capital, turned to his bullpen to get out of the inning and finish off the Hornets' five-run victory that places the tri-conference regular season champion a win away from an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
A day after recording 20 hits against top-seeded New Mexico State and scoring 10 runs in a single inning, the Bulldogs posted five hits, but hit the ball hard on many other occasions only to have the balls stung by the Hornets.
With the loss, Fresno State (27-26) drops into an elimination game on Saturday afternoon against sixth-seeded Louisiana Tech at 3 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast live on AM 940 KYNO.
LA Tech (27-27) has already eliminated the first three teams to exit the tournament. The southern Bulldogs chased fourth-seeded Hawai'i 9-6 on Thursday, and then extended their season twice in earlier Friday action behind an offensive resurgence in bouncing NMSU 15-12 and third-seeded Nevada 18-5 in a run-rule shortened seven innings.
Fresno State won two out of three contests against LA Tech in the regular season closing series between the schools.
BULLDOG BONES
• Fresno State now owns a 24-4 record in the WAC Tournament games since 2006.
• Fresno State is now 82-31 during the month of May since 2006.
• Fresno State is 9-4 in May games this season, which is the program's best record for the crucial month since the 'Dogs went 10-3 in 2007 and 13-0 in 2006.
• Under head coach Mike Batesole, the Bulldogs are now 38-14 in postseason play, including both the WAC and NCAA Tournaments combined.
2012 WAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT (Mesa, Ariz.)
Wednesday, May 23
GAME 1: No. 5 Fresno State 8, No. 4 Hawai'i 2
GAME 2: No. 3 Nevada 4, No. 6 Louisiana Tech 3
Thursday, May 24
GAME 3: No. 6 Louisiana Tech 9, No. 4 Hawai'i 6 (Hawai'i Eliminated)
GAME 4: No. 2 Sacramento State 15, No. 3 Nevada 5 (8)
GAME 5: No. 5 Fresno State 15, No. 1 New Mexico State 8
Friday, May 25
GAME 6: No. 6 Louisiana Tech 15, No. 1 New Mexico State 12 (NMSU Eliminated)
GAME 7: No. 6 Louisiana Tech 18, No. 3 Nevada 5 (Nevada Eliminated)
GAME 8: No. 2 Sacramento State 8, No. 5 Fresno State 3
Saturday, May 26
GAME 9: No. 6 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 5 Fresno State - Elimination Game
GAME 10: No. 2 Sacramento State vs. Game 9 Winner (7 p.m. PT) -- (WAC Championship If No. 2 Sacramento State Wins)
Sunday, May 27 (If Necessary)
GAME 11: WAC Championship (Noon PT) -- (Winner Receives Automatic Bid to NCAA Tournament)
"Discover Fresno State Athletics!" - AM 940 KYNO is the flagship radio station for Bulldog Baseball.
