Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
USC
'Dogs Suffer Extra Inning Loss to USC, 3-2
2/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State battled USC for 10 innings Tuesday night at Beiden Field, but fell short 3-2 to the undefeated Trojans in a hard-fought midweek game in front of a season-high 1,919 fans.
With scoring at a premium, the go-ahead run was issued on a bases loaded walk in the top of the 10th with Bulldog reliever Jake Shull on the mound. USC leadoff hitter David Oppenheim singled up the middle for the Trojans sixth hit of the game, which led to the game-winning run.
"You got to learn from losing and we're certainly in that spot," said head coach Mike Batesole. "Now that we've been exposed that we don't throw the ball over the plate enough, we know exactly what we need to fix. That's why you play a great schedule early."
In the sixth inning Taylor Tempel tied the game 2-2 with a solo home run in a pinch-hit at-bat facing two outs. It was his first long ball of the season, and fifth career. Tempel is hitting for a .545 average (6-for-11) over the last four games. The senior from Clovis High entered Tuesday's game ranked No. 5 in hitting in the Mountain West with a .389 average.
USC (9-0, 0-0 Pac-12) gained a 2-0 advantage in the top half of the third before Fresno State (3-5, 0-3 MW) answered with one run in the home half. Austin Guibor hit a triple down the right field line, scoring Ryan Dobson from first base to cut the Trojans lead in half.
"[Guibor] has been swinging the bat so well with such confidence that we moved him up in the order and let him go," Batesole said. "Good for him for answering the bell when he had that chance."
The Trojans starting pitcher, Brooks Kriske, fanned 10 Bulldog batters on a night Fresno State went down swinging 16 times. The Fresno State 1-to-5 hitters accounted for 12 of those K's.
In return, the Bulldog pitching staff recorded eight strikeouts as a staff, but walked 10 batters between the five pitchers that went to mound Tuesday night.
"The bottom line is you can't walk 10 batters every game," Batesole said. "We got 50 walks and 16 hit batters on season. That's 66 free base runners in eight games, almost eight free baserunners a game. We've done so well in every other area. We could be the team that's 8-0 if we throw the ball over the plate."
Fresno State will look to get back on track Friday night when they host its first conference series of season, a pairing with the UNLV Rebels. First pitch is 6:35 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night, and 1:05 p.m. for the finale on Sunday.
"Be Bold!" - The official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs is 940 AM ESPN Radio.
