Fresno State Athletics
Bob Bennett Day highlights San Diego State series
5/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
FRESNO, Calif. - On a weekend where Fresno State will honor former legendary head coach Bob Bennett with a pre-game stadium dedication on Saturday, the Bulldogs will host San Diego State for a three-game Mountain West series.
Game 47-49: San Diego State (13-30, 5-14 MW) at Fresno State (30-16, 17-7 MW)
Fresno State Notes 
| SDSU Notes
Probable Pitching Matchups:
Friday: Dominic Purpura (1-2, 4.38) vs. Ricky Tyler Thomas (7-3, 2.21)
Saturday: Brett Seeburger (0-1, 4.65) vs. Jimmy Lambert (9-0, 2.52)
Sunday: TBA vs. Edgar Gonzalez (2-1, 3.49)
Weekend Promotions:
Friday: Greek Night - First 100 greek members through the gates get a free Greek Tank!
Saturday: Bob Bennett Stadium Dedication / Youth Jersey Saturday
- Don't miss the biggest baseball game of the year as we honor legendary coach Bob Bennett
- It will be a historic night as the home of Fresno State Baseball becomes Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
-It's Youth Jersey Saturday so all kids wearing their youth team jersey get into the game for FREE!
5:55 - 6:05 p.m. - Ceremony on field
6:06 p.m. - Ceremonial First Pitch
6:12 p.m. - Bulldogs take field
6:15 p.m. - First pitch
Sunday: Mother's Day / Salute to Sunday
- Come out the ballpark and celebrate Mother's Day!
- Don't miss another Salute to Sunday as we honor our military and veterans!
- All military and veterans get into the game for FREE!
- Kids don't miss your chance to run the bases after the game!
First Pitch: - Fri: 6:05 p.m., Sat: 6:15 p.m., Sun: 1:05 p.m.
Stadium: Beiden Field (5,757)
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series: Series tied at 92-92
Last Meeting: San Diego State won 5-4 (March 6, 2016 at SDSU)
Radio (Fri. & Sat.): AM 940 ESPN
Radio (Sun.): AM 790 ESPN2
Play-by-play: Paul Loeffler
Video: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: GoBulldogs.com
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
• Fresno State beat Saint Mary's 3-2 on Tuesday thanks to a walk-off home run by junior Scott Silva to give the Bulldogs their second walk-off win of the season.
• The `Dogs swept Air Force in Grand Junction, Colo., over the weekend winning a doubleheader April 30 11-6 & 5-1 before taking the final game 4-2 on May 1.
• The `Dogs have now won seven of eight MW series, including its third on the road for the most MW road series wins since joining the conference in 2013.
• Junior outfielder Austin Guibor was named the Mountain West Player of the Week on Monday (May 2) to become the sixth Bulldog to claim a MW weekly honor this season.
• The `Dogs 3.34 ERA, 384 strikeouts, .250 opponents' batting average, 154 earned runs and 19 saves lead the Mountain West.
• Sophomore southpaw Ricky Tyler Thomas leads the MW in ERA (2.21), opposing batting average (.206), innings pitched (77.1), strikeouts (79) and earned runs allowed (19).
• Junior pitcher Jimmy Lambert is one of two pitchers in the nation with 11+ starts to be a perfect 9-0. He leads the MW in walks allowed (11) and runs allowed (24).
• Senior outfielder Brody Russell is second in the MW in batting average (.415), fourth in slugging percentage (.644) and fifth in doubles (15).
Fresno State vs. San Diego State - The Series
• Fresno State and San Diego State have met 184 times; the second-most played opponent for the Bulldogs trailing only San Jose State (247).
• The series is tied at 92-92 after the Bulldogs took two out of three games in San Diego on March 4-6, 2016 winning the first two games of the series before losing the series finale 5-4 for the first loss of the season.
• Fresno State is 8-13 vs. SDSU since joining the MW in 2013 going 3-7 at home, including a 1-2 mark in 2015.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2016 (as of 5/5/16)
• .288 Batting Average: No. 4 [Leader, AFA - .314]
• .410 Slugging Pct: No. 3 [Leader, UNM- .480]
• .362 On base Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - .409]
• 63 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 [3rd in the nation]
• 265 Runs: No. 3 [Leader, UNM - 351]
• 446 Hits: No. 3 [Leader, UNM - 520]
• 234 RBI: No. 3 [Leader, UNM - 323]
• 83 Doubles: No. 3 [Leader, UNM- 108]
• 11 Triples: No. 7 [Leader, NEV- 19]
• 28 Home Runs: No. 2 [Leader, UNM- 45]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2016 (as of 5/5/16)
• 3.34 ERA: No. 1
• .250 Opposing bat avg: No. 1
• 19 saves: No. 1
• 384 strikeouts: No. 1
• 154 Earned runs allowed: No. 1
• 397 Hits allowed: No. 2 [Leader, AFA - 367]
• 150 walks allowed: No. 4 [Leader, NEV - 125]
• 63 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 7 triples allowed: No. 1
• 23 home runs allowed: No. 3 [Leader, AFA - 18]
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2016 (as of 5/5/16)
Batting average: Brody Russell - 2nd (.415)/13th in NCAA
Slugging percentage: Russell - 4th (.644)/35th in NCAA
Doubles: Jake Stone - T-2nd (16)/ 33rd in NCAA
RBI: Russell - 7th (35)
Walks: Guibor - 5th (29)
Sacrifice flies: Jake Stone - 1st (6)/9th in NCAA
Sacrifice bunts: Guibor - 1st (12)/12th in NCAA
Strikeouts: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 1st (79)/29th in NCAA
Jimmy Lambert - 5th (57)
ERA: Thomas - 1st (2.21)/ 77th in NCAA
Lambert - 3rd (2.52)
Innings pitched: Thomas - 1st (77.1)
Lambert - 4th (75.0)
Earned runs allowed: Thomas & Edgar Gonzalez - T-1st (19)
Walks allowed: Lambert - 1st (11)
Doubles allowed: Gonzalez - 1st (6)
Starts: Edgar Gonzalez - 1st (13)/2nd in NCAA
Wins: Lambert - 1st (9)/T-1st in NCAA
Saves: Tim Borst - T-2nd (8)/41st in NCAA
Appearances: Borst - 1st (23)
Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
On Saturday, Fresno State will honor legendary Bulldog baseball head coach Bob Bennett naming Fresno State's baseball facility, Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
The field honors Bob Bennett, who served as the head baseball coach at Fresno State in 1967 and returned in 1970 for 33 seasons until the Fresno State legend retired after the 2002 season. In that span, the winningest coach in Fresno State baseball history racked up 1,302 victories and stands as one of 20 Division I head coaches' to-date to own 1,300 or more wins in a career.
Bennett closed his 34-year career by posting 26 consecutive winning seasons -- the skipper owned just two seasons that were not above a .500 winning percentage throughout his tenure. Bennett took Fresno State to two College World Series (1988, 1991), advanced to 21 NCAA regionals (hosted eight) and claimed 17 conference championships.
Taking a look at the San Diego State Aztecs
San Diego State enters this weekend's series with the Bulldogs with a 13-30 overall record and a 5-14 mark in the Mountain West entering the weekend in sixth place.
The Aztecs are coming off a win over 17th-ranked Cal State Fullerton at home on Tuesday winning 7-2 for their third win against a ranked foe this season. SDSU is only 4-12 away from home losing 10 of its last 12 road games and has won just one MW road game.
SDSU ranks near the bottom of most offensive categories in the MW coming in sixth with a team batting average of .270. The Aztecs are fifth in slugging percentage (.373) and runs scored (214), while checking in sixth in on-base percentage (.346), RBIs (186) and doubles (60). The Aztecs are second in sacrifice flies (23) and fourth in home runs (21).
Sophomore infielder Alan Trejo leads the team from the plate hitting .322 on the season and also leads the Aztecs in hits (56), RBIs (29) and sacrifice flies (5). Sophomore outfielder Tyler Adkison leads the team with 19 extra-base knocks as nearly half of his 41 hits have gone for extra bases. He leads the club with 11 doubles and three triples and has added four home runs.
On the mound, the Aztecs have a staff ERA of 5.40 to rank fifth in the MW. Opposing teams are hitting .302 against them and have drawn 141 walks compared to 253 strikeouts. Friday night starter Dominic Purpura is 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA, while Saturday starter Brett Seeburger is 0-1 with a 4.65 ERA tossing 40.2 innings, making nine appearances with six starts.Jimmy Lambert stays perfect in 2016
Jimmy Lambert stays perfect in 2016
Junior starting pitcher Jimmy Lambert stayed perfect in 2016 on Saturday (April 30) tossing 6.0 innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, issued three walks and struck out four in the Bulldogs 5-1 game two win over Air Force to improve to 9-0 on the season.
He is one of 10 pitchers with leading the country with nine wins and is one of only three hurlers in the country joining Michael Rucker (BYU) and Kade McClure (Louisville) to have 11 or more starts and be a perfect 9-0. Lambert also leads the Mountain West in walks allowed (11) and runs allowed (24).
Thomas leading the MW in seven pitching categories
Thomas currently leads the MW in ERA (2.21), opposing batting average (.206), innings pitched (77.1), strikeouts (79) and earned runs allowed (19).
Thomas also leads the league and ranks 20th in the nation in WHIP (0.92). Additionally, he leads the conference and ranks 28th in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 6.08.
Viers moves into all-time top 10 in games played
Senior first baseman/designated hitter Kevin Viers played in his 207th game as a Bulldog in Tuesday's 3-2 walk-off win over Saint Mary's coming in as a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning and getting his seventh double of the season in the sixth inning.
He moves into a tie for ninth-place all-time in games played with Philip Romero and Tom Mendonca and with at least 12 games remaining in the season, looks to be primed to move into seventh-place passing Matt Curtis (1993-96) with 215 games played.
In his final season as a `Dog, Viers has appeared in 36 games after playing in 171 of the Bulldogs 172 games from 2013-15 missing only one game as a sophomore in 2014.
A career .237 hitter, Viers has 163 hits in 688 at-bats with 37 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs, 89 RBIs and 94 runs scored in his Bulldog career.
Bulldogs improve to 22-4 at home in 2016
With a win on Tuesday over Saint Mary's, the `Dogs won their 22nd game of the season to move to 22-4 at Pete Beiden Field in 2016. That is the most wins at home since the Bulldogs won 26 in 2011 and with seven more home games, the opportunity to win 29 games would be the second-most in the Batesole era trailing only 2006 (34-7).
`Dogs rank fourth in MW in extra-base hits
For the season, the `Dogs have 122 extra-base knocks to rank fourth in the MW behind New Mexico (170) and Air Force (133). Nevada (116), UNLV (103), San Diego State (94) and San Jose State (86) round out the MW teams.
`Dogs sacrificing for the team
Fresno State continues to lead the Mountain West and ranks third in the nation behind Mercer and Texas with 63 sacrifice bunts. Getting down at least one sacrifice hit in 35 of 46 games, the `Dogs have laid down at least one in 24 of its last 28 contests dating back to March 19 vs. UNLV.
Austin Guibor leads the MW and ranks 12th in the country with 12. Jake Stone is right behind him with 10 followed by Korby Batesole with seven and Brody Russell with six.
The `Dogs had a season-high five on March 22 in a 6-4 win at Saint Mary's and have got at least one sacrifice hit from 11 different players.
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