Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada
Prior and Lambert Lead 'Dogs to Series Win
4/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Andrew Rich
arich1221@mail.fresnostate.edu
GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. -- A big swing of the bat from Joe Prior, and great pitching from Jimmy Lambert propelled Fresno State to a 3-1 win over Nevada on Sunday afternoon at Beiden Field.
With the win, the Bulldogs (18-18, 9-6 MW) took the weekend series from the Wolf Pack and became the first team to win a series over Nevada (27-9, 13-5) this season.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Prior stepped to the plate with a man on and hit a sinking line drive that just cleared the top of the left field wall to give Fresno State a 2-1 lead. The home run was the first of the sophomore's Bulldog career and was RBI's number 15 and 16 on the season.
Prior gave Fresno State an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when he hit a sacrifice fly to score Kenny Corey and push the lead to 3-1.
"Joey had a great day," Fresno State head coach Mike Batesole said of Prior. "If we can get him going it changes the lineup and makes it one more hitter deeper. This second half of conference, he could be our best hitter."
The big day from Prior backed up a career-high eight solid innings from the sophomore starting pitcher Lambert. He allowed just four hits and the one run, and struck out three. Lambert got the Wolf Pack to fly out 18 times in his eight innings of work.
Kevin Viers provided a spectacular defensive play in support of Lambert in a crucial situation in the sixth inning. With the tying run at third base and the score still 2-1, the first baseman Viers dove and snagged a hard line drive off the bat of Kewby Meyer to end the inning and keep Nevada off the scoreboard.
Lambert closed his day by working his way out of a huge jam in the top of the eighth. He loaded the bases with three walks, but then got Meyer to fly out to center to end the threat.
Freshman Ricky Thomas picked up his first save of his career with a shutout ninth inning. Viers' defense once again helped the Bulldogs during that stretch. After Thomas walked the leadoff hitter in the inning, Jordan Pearce smoked a line drive that Viers snagged and then he touched first base to double off the runner for the first two outs of the ninth.
"The pitchers are making great pitches and we have to do whatever we can to save runs and keep the zeroes on the board," Viers said. "If that means making a diving play or a routine play, it doesn't matter, we still have to make the play."
The Bulldogs are now 8-1 at Beiden Field against Nevada since the two teams moved to the Mountain West in 2013. The win also pushed the Bulldogs' record at Beiden Field in 2015 to 16-5.
"This field is built for us," Batesole said of the home-field advantage Fresno State has enjoyed this season. "Playing in front of these fans, they love us and they root for these kids hard. It is a nice feeling and that's a big part of it. It's not just nine against nine because you can add another 2,000 behind us."
The Bulldogs will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to San Luis Obispo to take on Cal Poly at 6 p.m.
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