Fresno State Athletics
Top-seeded 'Dogs primed for deep postseason run
5/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
By: Travis Blanshan
tblanshan@csufresno.edu
GoBulldogs.com
Fresno State MW Tournament Notes 
| Tournament Central
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Fresno State opens the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday afternoon as the number one seed facing an opponent to be determined at 2 p.m. PT at Santa Ana Star Field.
Mountain West Baseball Championship Tournament: May 25-29, 2015
Format: Double Elimination
Game 1 First Pitch: May 26 - Thu: 2 p.m. PT vs. TBA
Stadium: Santa Ana Star Field (1,000)
Surface: FieldTurf
Dimensions: 350 (LF), 420 (CF), 350 (RF)
Radio: AM 790 or AM 940 -- TBA
Play-by-play: Paul Loeffler and David Lombardi
Video: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: GoBulldogs.com
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
• Fresno State enters this week's Mountain West Tournament as the No. 1 seed - its best-ever seed - after winning the regular season title outright last Friday.
• It is the first MW title the `Dogs have won since joining the league in 2013 and is the first regular season conference title Fresno State has won since winning the WAC in 2011.
• The `Dogs won 9 of 10 MW series only dropping a series at New Mexico (April 8-10).
• Fresno State has won 10 of its last 14 games dating back to April 30.
• The Bulldogs have the second-highest RPI in the Mountain West at No. 82.
•The `Dogs claimed 10 MW weekly honors in 2016 with sophomore pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas leading the way with three pitcher of the week honors.
• The `Dogs 3.28 ERA, 462 strikeouts, .252 opponents' batting average, 184 earned runs allowed, 485 hits allowed, 74 doubles allowed, eight triples allowed and 20 saves lead the Mountain West.
• Thomas leads the MW in opposing batting average (.216) & strikeouts (99), while ranking second in ERA (1.94), innings pitched (97.2), earned runs allowed (21) and wins (9).
• Junior pitcher Jimmy Lambert, a candidate for MW Pitcher of the Year, suffered his first loss of the season on Friday to USF. He continues to lead the MW in wins (10) and runs allowed (28), while ranking third in ERA (2.37), innings pitched (95.0) & strikeouts (75).
Mountain West Tournament History
• Fresno State will play in its fourth-ever Mountain West postseason tournament this week and enters this year's tournament as the top seed - its best ever.
• Fresno State owns a 5-6 all-time record in MW tournament games.
• As the No. 3 seed, the `Dogs went 2-2 in the 2015 tournament winning the first two games over UNLV and San Diego State before losing to New Mexico and SDSU.
• As the No. 5 seed, Fresno State opened the 2014 tournament with a 4-3 win against Nevada, and dropped the next two.
• As the No. 4 seed, Fresno State opened the 2013 tournament vs. Nevada and fell 4-3 in 12 innings, won the next two, and then fell to San Diego State.
• Fresno State hosted the 2013 MW tournament, its first year in the conference.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2016 (as of 5/24/16)
• .289 Batting Average: No. 4 [Leader, AFA - .322]
• .408 Slugging Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM- .488]
• .361 On base Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - .410]
• 68 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 [5th nationally]
• 318 Runs: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 426]
• 546 Hits: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 635]
• 283 RBI: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 393]
• 97 Doubles: No. 4 [Leader, UNM- 135]
• 13 Triples: No. 7 [Leader, NEV- 28]
• 34 Home Runs: No. 3 [Leader, UNM- 57]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2016 (as of 5/24/16)
• 3.28 ERA: No. 1 [27th nationally]
• .252 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 20 saves: No. T-1 [UNM - 20]
• 462 strikeouts: No. 1
• 184 Earned runs allowed: No. 1
• 485 Hits allowed: No. 1
• 178 walks allowed: No. 3 [Leader, NEV - 156]
• 74 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 8 triples allowed: No. 1
• 24 home runs allowed: No. T-1 [AFA - 24]
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2016 (as of 5/24/16)
Slugging percentage: Aaron Arruda - 5th (.561)
Doubles: Jake Stone - T-6th (17)
Home Runs: Arruda - 4th (10)
RBI: Arruda - 7th (43)
Walks: Austin Guibor - 4th (35)
Sacrifice flies: Jake Stone - T-2nd (7)/15th in NCAA
Sacrifice bunts: Guibor - 1st (12)/28th in NCAA
Strikeouts: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 1st (99)/30th in NCAA
Jimmy Lambert - 3rd (75)
ERA: Thomas - 2nd (1.94)/ 25th in NCAA
Lambert - 3rd (2.37)
Innings pitched: Thomas - 2nd (97.2)
Lambert - 3rd (95.0)
Earned runs allowed: Thomas - 2nd (21)
Walks allowed: Thomas - T-3rd (16)
Doubles allowed: Gonzalez - T-1st (6)
Starts: Edgar Gonzalez - 1st (15)/2nd in NCAA
Wins: Lambert - 1st (10)/10th in NCAA
Saves: Tim Borst - T-2nd (8)
Appearances: Borst - 1st (27)
Bulldogs wins Mountain West regular season title
Fresno State clinched its first Mountain West regular season championship last Friday when Air Force knocked off New Mexico 1-0. The `Dogs completed MW play with a 21-9 record, one game ahead of a two-way tie between New Mexico and Nevada at 20-10 for second place. The Bulldogs finished a MW-best 12-3 at home and were one of three teams with a top MW road record of 9-6.
It is the first Mountain West regular season or tournament title the Bulldogs have won since joining the league in 2013 and the sixth regular season title under Coach Batesole joining WAC regular season championships in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011.
Fresno State reaches the most regular season wins since 2011
Having won 10 of its last 14 games of the regular season, Fresno State has won 36 games this year for its highest number of regular season wins since 2011. The 36 regular season wins are the third-highest in the Batesole era.
2006 - 39 regular season wins; 45 total wins
2011 - 37; 40
2016 - 36; ?
Jimmy Lambert drops first contest of 2016 falling to 10-1
Junior starting pitcher Jimmy Lambert dropped his first game of the season last Friday (May 20) tossing 6.0 innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs, issued one walk and struck out six as the Bulldogs dropped a 7-3 decision to San Francisco.
A National College Baseball Hall of Fame National Pitcher of the Year candidate, Lambert won 10 of his first 13 starts of the season as all three of his no-decisions were extra-inning affairs (March 12 at #3 Texas A&M, April 9 at New Mexico & May 7 vs. SDSU).
One of 20 pitchers in the country with 10 or more wins, Lambert has seen great run support in his 14 starts as the `Dogs have scored 92 runs for an average of 6.6 runs per game.
Ricky Tyler Thomas leading the MW in four pitching categories
Another Bulldog pitcher having a standout season is sophomore left-hander Ricky Tyler Thomas. He currently leads the Mountain West in four pitching categories, including opposing batting average (.216) and strikeouts (95).
He also leads the MW and ranks 20th in the nation in WHIP (0.95) and is 21st in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.19) having thrown 99 strikeouts while only allowing 16 walks.
Fresno State claims 10 Mountain West weekly honors
The Bulldogs had six players combine to claim 10 Mountain West player of the week honors in 2016. Thomas led the way with three pitcher of the week honors over the final eight weeks. Lambert claimed two of the first three of the season, while senior outfielder Brody Russell also picked up two honors. New Mexico with six was the second-most followed by Air Force and Nevada with four each. UNLV had three and SDSU had one.
Thomas selected to pitch for the USA Collegiate National Team this summer
After a standout summer last season with the YD Red Soxs in the Cape Cod League and a strong season with the Bulldogs this spring, it was announced last Friday (May 20) that the San Diego southpaw would represent the USA this summer with the Collegiate National Team playing overseas against Chinese Taipei, Japan and Cuba.
Lambert & Russell named Gregg Olson Award Semifinalists
Junior pitcher Jimmy Lambert and senior outfielder Brody Russell were two of 43 semifinalists chosen for the Gregg Olson Award given to the top amateur who elevates his game to an elite level throughout the season.
Russell on 2016 offensive tear before sustaining injury
Russell was on absolute offensive tear from March 18-April 22 hitting .472 (42-89) over those 22 games with 13 doubles, a triple, three home runs, 19 runs scored, 23 RBIs along with a .742 slugging percentage & a .505 on-base percentage before a wrist injury has sat him on the sideline for the past 17 games.
Tight battles a common theme of 2016
The Bulldogs have found themselves in some very close contests this season with half of their games being decided by one or two runs. The `Dogs are 11-9 on the season in one-run contests and 5-3 in two-run games posting a 16-12 overall record. Fresno State was 13-4 at home in such contests and only 3-8 on the road.
Fresno State ranks second in wins west of Texas
As of May 25, Fresno State ranks second in schools west of Texas in victories trailing only West Coast Conference member BYU who has 37 wins. The `Dogs 36 victories lead the MW and are matched by UC Santa Barbara out of the Big West. Seattle leads the WAC with 35 and Arizona sits atop the Pac-12 with 34.
`Dogs finish 26-7 at home to match most home wins since 2011
The Bulldogs 26 home wins matched the most since 2011 when Fresno State went 26-5 on its home field. The 26 home wins also match 2005 and are tied for the second-most home wins in the Batesole era only trailing the 34 home wins in 2006.
Fresno State ranks second in the Mountain West in the RPI
The `Dogs find themselves 82nd in the RPI on May 25 to rank second in the Mountain West. New Mexico (60), Nevada (95), UNLV (126), Air Force (186), San Diego State (188) and San Jose State (228) round the Mountain West.
Bulldogs vs. Top 100 RPI-ranked team
The `Dogs are 9-8 on the season, including 8-1 at home, against top 100 ranked teams in the RPI . Fresno State has faced the likes of Texas A&M (4), Creighton (41), Long Beach State (42), New Mexico (60), Oklahoma (70), Saint Mary's (74) & Nevada (95).
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