Fresno State Athletics
MW champion Bulldogs rack up postseason hardware
5/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Travis Blanshan
tblanshan@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
Mountain West Release
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Eight Fresno State baseball student-athletes along with head coach Mike Batesole garnered Mountain West postseason honors, as announced by the conference on Wednesday. All selections were voted upon by the league coaches based off conference-only statistics.
Jimmy Lambert, Ricky Tyler Thomas, Brody Russell and Aaron Arruda were tabbed first-team selections, while Tim Borst, Rickey Ramirez, Scott Silva and Jake Stone were selected for the second-team. In addition, Lambert was selected as the Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year and Batesole picked up Mountain West Coach of the Year honors.
Joining WAC Coach of the Year honors in 2008 and 2010, Batesole notched career win number 700 earlier this season on February 20 in a 2-1 win over Creighton. Now in his 14th season at Fresno State, the 2008 National Coach of the Year also picked up his 450th win at Fresno State on February 28 in a 6-1 victory over Youngstown State.
The Anaheim, Calif., native, who played baseball collegiately at Oral Roberts from 1983-85, led the 'Dogs to their sixth regular season conference championship in the last 11 years joining WAC regular season titles in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
"It means that we have worked exceptionally hard," said Batesole on earning his third career Conference Coach of the Year honor. "It means that we have great support from our administration, Dugout Club and alumni. It feels great to know we have recruited the right student-athletes and they have performed outstanding on the field this season."
Lambert becomes the 10th Pitcher of the Year honored by a conference in program history. The fourth one to play under Batesole, Lambert joins Ben Fritz (2002), Matt Garza (2005), Tanner Scheppers (2008) and Greg Gonzalez (2011) who each earned the honor in the WAC. Rich Bordi (1979 & 1980), John Emerson (1983) and John Hoover (1984) picked up four honors in a six-year stretch in the NCBA and Bobby Jones was honored by the Big West in 1991.
"This is something every pitcher in this conference strives to achieve," said Lambert. "It is an honor to receive this award and would not have been possible without my coaches and teammates. It feels great to bring this award back to Fresno State!"
Also a semifinalist for the Gregg Olson Award given to the college baseball's breakout player of the Year, the San Dimas, Calif., native posted a perfect 8-0 mark in 10 MW starts. In 68.0 innings of work, the junior limited MW offenses to 20 earned runs, issued only 15 walks while striking out 55 and posted a 2.65 ERA. His eight wins led the MW, while his strikeouts tied for second and his ERA ranked third.
Lambert shares the honor with Air Force right-handed junior Griffin Jax who went 6-1 with a 2.21 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 69.1 innings.
After combining for 10 All-Mountain West selections in their first three years in the league, including five in 2015, the 'Dogs raised the bar again this year with the most all-conference players since 2011.
"To be recognized with eight All-Mountain West student-athletes means we must have won a lot of games this season," said Batesole on the 'Dogs representing nearly a one-third of the two All-MW teams. "They won both on the road and at home. This is a special team and let's hope they go out and have a special week at the Mountain West Tournament."
All eight 'Dogs honored are first-time honorees with Thomas, Russell and Arruda joining Lambert on the first-team. After an eight-year stretch from 2004-2011 in the WAC that annually saw at least four first-team players and a combined 41 first-team selections, Fresno State has had a combined seven over the last five years.
Only a sophomore, Thomas sat atop or shared the top spot in the MW in conference games in ERA (2.02), innings pitched (71.1), earned runs allowed (16), walks allowed (10), strikeouts (67) and shutouts (1). A three-time MW Pitcher of the Week, Thomas' season highlight came on April 22 when the San Diego native tossed a complete game two-hit shutout in a 6-0 win at home over San Jose State.
Russell ranked among the top offensive sluggers in the MW for nearly three-quarters of the season before a wrist injury has kept him on the sideline since April 24. Playing in 20 of 30 MW games with 19 starts, the senior outfielder hit .494 with 40 hits in 81 at-bats. With nearly half of his hits going for extra-bases, Russell posted 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs, scored 17 runs and drove in 25 RBIs.
He posted 14 multi-hit games, including a stretch from March 20-April 16 with 11 multi-hit games in a 12-game stretch. Helping the 'Dogs pummel San Jose State 13-4 on March 24, Russell had a career day going 5-for-6 from the dish with a double, three runs scored, five RBIs and stole a base.
Completing the first-team for the Bulldogs is sophomore infielder Arruda. The Fresno native appeared in 27 games making 24 starts. He ranked 15th in MW games with a .343 average collecting 35 hits, nine doubles, seven home runs, 26 RBIs and 20 runs scored. He ranked fourth in the league with a .637 slugging percentage and seven home runs.
Senior Borst made 13 relief appearances in MW games going 2-1 with a 1.82 ERA. In 24.2 innings on the mound, the Moreno Valley, Calif., notched 25 strikeouts while only allowing 24 hits, seven runs, five earned and held opponents to a .273 batting average. He had three four-strikeout performances and only allowed an earned run in four appearances.
Sophomore Ramirez was also a standout relief pitcher for the 'Dogs making 12 MW appearances. In 20.0 innings of work, Ramirez allowed 12 hits, one earned run, issued four walks and struck out 20. He picked up a win on May 7 against San Diego State in a 1-0 10-inning win over the Aztecs and notched four saves.
A junior college transfer from Fresno City College, Silva ranked seventh in the MW with a .367 average posting 33 hits in 90 at-bats. Appearing in 23 games, the Clovis native started 19 games and added six doubles, two home runs, 12 RBIs and scored 21 runs. He had a pair of four-hit performances, including a 4-for-5 game on April 1 against Air Force smacking a grand slam and totaled six RBIs.
Rounding out the 'Dogs All-MW selections is junior outfielder Stone. Starting all 30 MW games, the Carlsbad, Calif., native was 14th in batting average hitting .344 from the dish. He ranked third in league games with three triples, was fourth in doubles (13), eighth in runs (26), ninth in hits (42) and 14th in RBIs (22).
Matching Russell with 14 multi-hit games, Stone had five three-hit outings. He had a 3-for-4 performance on March 24 at San Jose State smacking three doubles and scoring three runs. He had a triple and a home run on May 13 at UNLV and added a double and home run on March 19 also against UNLV.
The Bulldogs open the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday afternoon at Santa Ana Star Field at 2:00 p.m. PT against an opponent to be determined.
Mountain West Coach of the Year
Mike Batesole, Fresno State
Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year
Jimmy Lambert, Jr., RHP (along with Griffin Jax, Jr., RHP, Air Force)
First-Team All-Mountain West
Lambert, Jr., RHP
Aaron Arruda, So., 1B
Brody Russell, Sr., OF
Ricky Tyler Thomas, So., LHP
Second-Team All-Mountain West
Tim Borst, Sr., RHP
Rickey Ramirez, So, RHP
Scott Silva, Jr., 2B
Jake Stone, Jr., OF
"Fun. Family. Forever." - The official home of the Fresno State Bulldogs is 940 AM ESPN Radio. Stay connected with the Bulldogs on Facebook (Fresno State Athletics), Instagram (FresnoStateAthletics), Twitter (@FresnoStateBSB) and Snapchat (FSAthletics).
