Fresno State Athletics
Baseball Preview: at San Jose State [May 1-3]
4/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Matt Burkholder
mburkholder@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
Games 46-48: Fresno State Bulldogs (21-24, 11-10 MW) at San Jose State Spartans (11-34, 4-17 MW)
First Pitch: May 1-3 - Fri: 6 pm; Sat: 1pm ; Sun: 1pm
Stadium: Municipal Stadium
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 341 (LF), 391 (CF), 340 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 154-81
Last Meeting: FS defeated SJSU, 6-3 (March 22, 2015)
Radio: AM 940 ESPN (Fri.) & AM 790 ESPN "The Deuce" (Sat., Sun.)
Play-by-play: Paul Loeffler
Video: Mountain West Network (Friday Only)
Live Stats: Statbroadcast.com
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
· Fresno State enters Friday's game having lost three-straight to drop three games under .500, matching the most games the 'Dogs have been under .500 this season.
· Fresno State holds the Mountain West four-seed with an 11-10 conference record entering the weekend series at San Jose State.
· Nine of the final 10 games on Fresno State's schedule are conference games.
· Fresno State is 2-7 in MW road games.
· The Bulldogs swept San Jose State in Fresno, March 20-22, earlier this season.
· Taylor Tempel leads the team with a .357 batting average and is on a six-game hitting streak.
Fresno State vs. San Jose State - The Series
· Fresno State has now played San Jose State in 21 consecutive seasons.
· The first Mountain West series between Fresno State and SJSU was in San Jose last season, May 2-4. The Spartans won the series 2-1.
· Fresno State overtook the Mountain West series advantage 4-2 earlier this year with a three-game sweep over the Spartans, March 20-22 in Fresno.
· As head coach of the Bulldogs, Mike Batesole owns a 14-12 record when facing San Jose State on the road, dating back to his first season in 2003.
· Fresno State has played San Jose State more than any other school in its history - 235 games in a 64-year span (records starting in 1951).
· Fresno State has faced SJSU in the postseason one time - 1955 - it was three games; the Bulldogs won two of three.
Playing the Elite
The Bulldogs last trip on Tuesday to play California, a team ranked No. 13 by Collegiate Baseball, marked the 25th game this season that Fresno State has faced an opponent that was either ranked or receiving votes by one of the four major polls on the day of the game - Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. The Bulldogs hold an 11-14 record in those games, and have a Top 10 victory that was earned at then-ranked No. 8 USC on March 17. All those games have resulted in an RPI of 73 (as of April 30) with a 21-24 overall record.
Road Games vs. Beiden Field
Fresno State has won two of its last three games on the road, but carry a 4-17 road record to Municipal Stadium Friday night to kick off the three-game series against San Jose State. Before falling 4-1 at Cal on Tuesday (April 28), the Bulldogs closed out a road trip to Air Force with a 6-5 win (April 19) and followed that with a 8-0 shutout win on April 22 when Sacramento State hosted the Bulldogs at Raley Field - that marked the first time Fresno State won consecutive road games this season. Statistically, the numbers drop on the road with a .243 team batting average and 5.95 team earned run average vs. a .294 team batting average and 3.55 team ERA at Beiden Field where they are 17-7.
Keys to Victory
Key components to wins this season starts with runs of course - Fresno State is 17-6 when the offense manufactures five or more runs. Getting off to a fast start - when Fresno State scores in the first inning they are 8-3, and even if it's not the first inning, if the Bulldogs are the first to score, they are 15-6 this season. The long ball - when Fresno State homers, its meant victories. The Bulldogs are 15-4 in games they've left the yard.
Kenny Corey Can Swing the Bat
Redshirt freshman Kenny Corey has been one of Fresno State's most productive first-year players among the 14 on this season's roster. Corey picked up his 15th career start last time out at California, and was one of three players to steal a hit from the Bears ace Jeff Bain that limited the Bulldogs to three hits in 8 2/3 innings. When getting the start, Corey owns a .381 batting average (16-for-42) and has seven RBI. He has a season average of .338 (24-for-75) in 37 games played. Corey has one of the better averages with runners in scoring position (.440, 11-for-25) and is 6-for-19 against two outs (.316). Corey has played in the most games among the first-year position players and is second to Korby Batesole in starts, 15 to 23.
All Not Lost in a Loss
Fresno State might have suffered a 4-1 loss to California last time out, but the Bulldog pitchers gave Fresno State a reason to feel positive, especially the two freshmen that went three innings each. In the loss that true freshman Ricky Thomas took in the start, he allowed four hits (two of which were bloop singles) while two earned runs crossed the plate in the first, and an unearned run scored in the second before a perfect third was tossed. Anthony Arias rebounded from a rough Saturday start at home against San Diego State (April 25) with three perfect innings at Cal. He went through nine batters with just 38 pitches, 27 of which were strikes. Jake Shull and Garrett Mundell each chipped in an inning to close out the game. The four pitchers combined to not allow a hit from the third inning forward.
16 One-Run Games
Of Fresno State's 24 losses, 11 are by one run. The Bulldogs have been involved in 16 one-run games in total this season and have a 5-11 record in those games. At 17-7 at home, five of the seven losses were by one run - Feb. 17 vs. Cal Poly (7-6), Feb. 24 vs. USC (3-2 F/10), March 14 vs. UC Davis (4-3), March 15 vs. UC Davis (1-0) and April 10 vs. Nevada (6-5). The Bulldogs have a recent history with close games having played in 17 of them (7-10) out of 57 games in 2014. In 2013, the 'Dogs played 12 (5-7) one-run games out of 56 games. The last season Fresno State owned a record above .500 in one-run games was in 2012 when they went 7-6.
Taylor Tempel Dominating Senior Season
Enough can't be said about Taylor Tempel's senior campaign. He leads the team with a .357 season batting average (No. 5 batting average in MW) and is on a six-game hitting streak. And with the road record that has plagued the Bulldogs, Tempel has stayed consistent, leading the team with a .333 batting average in 17 road games. The senior leads the team with 20 hits over the last 12 games, which is nine more than the next Bulldog, Kevin Viers (11). Tempel has eight multi-hit games over the last 12 games and recorded a single-game career-high three hits on April 19 at Air Force. Tempel leads the team with 14 multi-base hit games this year. Tempel also has had a knack for being clutch in two-out situations as he leads team with a .481 batting average (13-for-27). Tempel's senior season has been a stark turnaround after finishing his junior season with a .196 batting average in 38 games played and has been nominated for the Gregg Olson Breakout Player of the Year award.
New Face at Shortstop
True freshman Korby Batesole, who leads all first-year Bulldogs with 23 starts this season, has made the last nine starts at shortstop after receiving the first 14 starts of his career at second base. Since making his first start at short on April 10 vs. Nevada, he has been the starter in that position in nine of the last 11 games played. In those nine games, Batesole owns a .304 batting average and registered his first collegiate home run on April 24 vs. San Diego State at Beiden Field. On the field at short he's had 41 chances with 22 assists, 18 put-outs, turned four double plays and committed one error.
Captains Do What's Best for the Team
Since moving into a predominant reliever's role after a start at UC Santa Barbara (April 3), senior Garrett Mundell as thrived in his new role. The senior captain owns a 0.93 ERA since the start at UCSB over the last six appearances (one start at Cal Poly, 2.0 IP), starting with the April 10 game vs. Nevada. Excluding the two innings pitched in the midweek start at Cal Poly, Mundell has allowed one hit and struck out 12 over 7 2/3 innings in five relief appearances. Last time out at California, Mundell needed just six pitches to close out the bottom of the eighth, the only inning he pitched that game. His season ERA of 2.98 ranks as the fourth-lowest ERA in the Mountain West.
The Bulldogs are Covered
Fresno State baseball will be broadcasted on either ESPN 940 AM or ESPN 790 "The Deuce" for the remainder of the season - play-by-play provided by Paul Loeffler. And the Mountain West Network will have coverage of the Bulldogs on Friday at San Jose State, following Saturday and Sunday's games not being on the air, the remaining seven games after this weekend will all be streamed thanks to the MWN.
Scouting San Jose State
· San Jose State returns home from a 10-game road swing when it hosts Fresno State, the Spartans went 2-8 in those games.
· SJSU is 8-9 at home and has picked up Mountain West wins against conference leaders San Diego State (11-1 on April 12) and Nevada (5-4 on March 27).
· San Jose State went 2-6 against Nevada this season; they picked up their second win in the Sunday finale last weekend on April 26 behind a pair of freshman pitchers - Turtle Kuhaulua and Matt Brown. Making his first career start, Kuhaulua worked the first 5.1 innings before Brown came on to record his first collegiate save with a scoreless 3.2-inning performance.
· The Spartans feature one of the younger teams in the country; they have 25 underclassmen and have a 16-man freshman class.
· San Jose State is led by two seniors, outfielder Andre Mercurio and Kalei Contrades - they are the only two players on the roster in their fourth year at San Jose State.
· San Jose State ranks last in the conference in both team batting average (.241) and team earned run average (6.75).
· Sophomore Brett Bautista boasts the top batting average for SJSU with a .291 mark.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West [Through 45 Games]
· .270 Batting Average: No. 6 [Leader, NEV - .315]
· .384 Slugging Pct: No. 5 [Leader, NEV - .494]
· .348 On base Pct: No. 6 [Leader, NEV - .416]
· 221 Runs: No. T-5 [Leader, NEV - 380]
· 401 Hits: No. 6 [Leader, NEV - 512]
· 195 RBI: No. 6 [Leader, NEV - 354]
· 60 Doubles: No. 6 [Leader, NEV - 126]
· 13 Triples: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 17]
· 28 Home Runs: No. 2 [Leader, NEV - 44]
- information current for games played through April 30
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West [Through 45 Games]
· 4.62 ERA: No. 6 [Leader, NEV - 3.75]
· .258 Opposing bat avg: No. 1
· 296 strikeouts: No. 5 [Leader, SDSU - 387]
· 74 strikeouts looking: No. 5 [Leader, UNLV - 119]
· 388 Hits allowed: No. 2 [Leader, AFA - 360]
· 85 doubles allowed: No. 5 [Leader, UNM - 66]
· 14 triples allowed: No. T-6 [Leader, NEV - 9]
· 30 home runs allowed: No. 6 [Leader, AFA - 9]
· 178 walks allowed: No. 5 [Leader, UNLV - 139]
- information current for games played through April 30
"Be Bold!" - The official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs is 940 AM ESPN Radio.
