Battling Back: The story of Fresno State relief pitcher, Mark Reece

By: Evan Harley
Communications Student Assistant

The lights are on, the crowd is cheering, and everyone is expecting you to enter the game pounding the zone with commanding accuracy – it's the life of a relief pitcher; more importantly, it's the life of Fresno State relief pitcher Mark Reece.

Reece has been playing baseball since age three and can't remember a time in his life when sports weren't everything to him.

"My parents always had me playing basketball, baseball, football, and soccer, but towards the end of high school the main focus was always on baseball," said Reece.

The passion of baseball stuck with Reece, and after spending a year at Nevada out of high school as a relief pitcher putting up great numbers as a freshman, he decided to transfer to Fresno State the next year.

"There's much more of a community driven atmosphere [at Fresno State]," said Reece. "The mood and the precedent that Fresno State has set – the expectation to win championships – is different here than from other colleges."

Since Reece was young he has battled through the troubles of patellar tendonitis in both of his knees. The problems worsened after his first season at Fresno State and the limitations from his injury became too much for him to handle.

"I had a poor range of motion, struggling in lifts or even trying to just walk up stairs," said Reece. "On nights where I had pitched, I'd struggle to sleep… surgery was the next step."

Reece had surgery on both knees in his first off-season of Fresno State baseball, but he bounced back and recovered stronger than ever.

In his 2015 and 2016 season, he posted impressive numbers with a combined 44.1 innings pitched and a solid 3.86 ERA.

Now, he's entering his last season at Fresno State, hoping to win another conference championship with his Bulldog brothers.

"For me, as a relief pitcher, whenever your name is called you have to be ready to come in and compete – doing whatever you can to get the 'W'," said Reece.

"If we can focus and take it one game at a time, I like our chances of making it back to Omaha this year."

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.

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Battling Back: The story of Fresno State relief pitcher, Mark Reece

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