Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Cal Poly
Rally Stopped Short, 'Dogs Fall 7-6
2/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Matt Burkholder
mburkholder@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team rallied for six runs over the final two innings, only to fall short 7-6 to Cal Poly Tuesday night - snapping a three-game win streak.
Entering Tuesday, Bulldog fans witnessed three consecutive late inning rallies against UC Irvine, outscoring the 'Eaters 14-0 in their come-from-behind victories. The announced crowd of 1,862 - the largest since the 'Dogs hosted USC on March 2, 2013 - were just short of seeing a fourth-straight, on another heart-thumping night at Beiden Field.
In the bottom of the ninth, Manny Argomaniz took to the plate with the tying run at second and the winning run at first. The senior went down swinging, ending the comeback attempt.
"Give [our team] credit for coming back against a good team," said head coach Mike Batesole. "What you want to do is find a way to get the tying run to the plate, and we did a little better than that today."
After a Mustang throwing error extended the game, allowing Brody Russell to reach safely. Joe Prior connected for a two-RBI single to cut the deficit to 7-6 that set the stage.
For the first seven and half innings, Cal Poly owned the games' momentum, mounting a 7-0 lead. The Mustang offense tallied 16 hits for its seven runs against what was a staff night for the Bulldog pitchers. Fresno State used seven pitchers in total. Four did not surrender a run.
Ryan Dobson and Prior led Fresno State with two hits apiece, while Prior shared the RBI lead with Russell at two each.
Cal Poly freshman starter Andrew Bernstein (1-0) earned the win and teammate Danny Zandona picked up the save. Bulldog junior-transfer Dominic Topoozian (0-1) was charged with the loss.
"I like the way were playing," Batesole added. "We're playing really hard and that's the third (game) we've come back from a pretty good deficit. That's pretty impressive."
Next up for Fresno State is its first road trip of the season, and also a Mountain West conference matchup versus Nevada. The Wolf Pack will enter the series 4-0 after three victories against Abilene Christian and a Tuesday upset at No. 5 Texas Tech.
"Be Bold!" - The official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs is 940 AM ESPN Radio.
