Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UC Riverside
Diamond 'Dogs welcome UC Riverside to Fresno [Feb. 24-26]
2/23/2017 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Fresno State baseball team continues its 11-game homestand to begin the season hosting UC Riverside in a three-game series at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team continues its 11-game homestand to begin the season hosting UC Riverside in a three-game series at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Games 5-7: UC Riverside (2-1, 0-0 Big West) at Fresno State (2-2, 0-0 MW)
First Pitch:Â Feb. 24-26 - Fri: 6:05 p.m., Sat: 2:05 p.m., Sun: 2:05 p.m.
Stadium:Â Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface:Â Grass
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Series tied at 1-1
Last Meeting:Â Fresno State defeated UC Riverside 2-1 (March 24, 2012 in Fresno, Calif.)
Radio:Â AM 940 ESPN
Play-by-play:Â Paul Loeffler
Video:Â N/A
Live Stats:Â GoBulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Weekend Promotions
Friday: 70's Night and Coaches Night.Â
- Fresno State football head coach Jeff Tedford, Fresno State wrestling head coach Troy Steiner and Fresno State water polo head coach Natalie Benson will throw out ceremonial first pitches.
Saturday: 80's Night and Youth Jersey Saturday
- Kids wearing youth jerseys get into the game for free.
Sunday: 90's Night and Salute to Sunday
-Â All military and veterans get into the game for free.
Bulldog Headlines
• The Bulldogs opened up their 89th season as a program on the diamond last weekend against Pac-12 foe Oregon splitting its four-game series winning the season-opener 9-1 and the second game 8-3 before falling 13-1 and 3-2 in the final two games.
• The 'Dogs won their ninth straight season and home opener on Saturday taking down Oregon, 9-1 in front of 2,122 fans.
• It was the fewest runs allowed in a season opener since 2016 when the 'Dogs only allowed one run to Creighton in a 2-1 victory for the 'Dogs.
• Junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week for his standout performance against the Ducks on Saturday.
• On Monday, the 'Dogs held A Night to Remember honoring Fresno's Japanese-American baseball history and announced the retirement of Bulldog baseball legend Fibber Hirayama #3 jersey later this season.
• New football, wrestling and water polo head coaches Jeff Tedford, Troy Steiner and Nicole Benson will throw out ceremonial first pitches on Friday evening as all three will embark on their first seasons with their respective programs in 2017-18.
Fresno State vs. UC Riverside - The Series
• Fresno State and UC Riverside have only met twice with both meetings coming in 2012.
• A two-game series in Fresno, the Highlanders won the first game 5-1 before the Bulldogs came back to win the second game 2-1.
• The two teams will also met later this season for a weekday game on May 3 in Riverside.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/23/17)
• .278 Batting Average: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV - .358]
• .376 Slugging Pct: No. 5 [Leader, UNM- .618]
• .342 On base Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV - .455]
• 5 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 [5th nationally]
• 20 Runs: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV - 40]
• 37 Hits: No. 3 [Leader, UNLV - 54]
• 19 RBI: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV - 36]
• 7 Doubles: No. 3 [Leader, UNLV- 9]
• 0 Triples:  [Leader, 3 teams- 1]
• 2 Home Runs: No. T-5th [Leader, UNM- 8]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/23/17)Â
• 4.75 ERA: No. 5
• .211 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 1 saves: No. T-1
• 33 strikeouts: No. 3
• 19 Earned runs allowed: No. T-6
• 26 Hits allowed: No. 2
• 30 walks allowed: No. 7
• 4 doubles allowed: No. T-1
• 0 triples allowed: No. T-1
• 2 home runs allowed: No. 4
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/23/17)
• .986 Fielding Percentage: No. 1
•  53 Assists: No. 1
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/23/17)
Batting Average: Jesse Medrano - T-8th (.400)
Hits: Medrano - T-7th (6)
RBI: Austin Guibor - 6th (5)
Doubles: Aaron Arruda - T-1st (2)
Home Runs: Guibor & Arruda - T-5th (1)
Sacrifice bunts: Jared Akins - 1st (2)
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - T-8th (1.50)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 4th (.095)
Innings pitched: Thomas & Rickey Ramirez - T-5th (6.0)
Strikeouts: Thomas - 3rd (9)
          Ramirez - T-5th (6)
Saves: JJ Santa Cruz - T-1st (1)
Ricky Tyler Thomas earns Mountain West Pitcher of the Week
Junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week by the conference office on Monday. He helped the Bulldogs to a season-opening 9-1 win over Oregon last Saturday tossing six innings allowing two hits, one earned run, while allowing no walks and stiking out nine.
It was Thomas' 10th career game pitching at least six innings and allowing one or less earned runs and it was his sixth career game with nine-plus strikeouts.
Thomas only allowed four Oregon base runners all evening with the only two hits the Ducks able to manage being a two-out single in the first inning and a two-out solo home run in the fifth inning. He retired 13 batters in a row in between the two hits, including notching eight strikeouts, while striking out the side in the fourth inning.
This is Thomas' fourth career Mountain West Pitcher of the Week after he claimed three weekly awards in 2016 on his way to earning First-Team All-Mountain West honors.
Taking a look at the UC Riverside Highlanders
UC Riverside is off to a 2-1 start to the 2017 season after splitting a pair of games in Tempe, Ariz., against Big Ten foe Nebraska on Feb. 17. All three games for the Highlanders this year have been low-scoring one-run affairs as they took the opener from the Huskers 4-3 before falling 5-4. Returning back to California on Tuesday for a matchup with UCLA, UC Riverside escaped with a 3-2 win over the Bruins at Jackie Robinson Stadium.Â
Leading the way early this season is senior Mark Contrera who is hitting .500 in three contests getting six hits in 12 at-bats along with three RBIs and four runs scored. The outfielder hit a two-run home run against the Bruins in the eighth inning that turned out to be the game-winner. The Highlanders are only hitting .192 as a team and only have two extra-base hits in 99 at-bats.Â
On the mound, the Highlanders have a staff ERA of 3.00 allowing only nine earned runs this season to go along with 23 strikeouts and have held opponents to a .184 batting average. All three weekend starters return for the Highlanders as Richard Delgado, Hazahel Quijada and Ryan Lillie along with relievers Alex Fagalde, Jared Morton and Angel Landazuri.Â
Landazuri started the Highlanders' win over UCLA tossing six innings allowing only five hits, two runs, one earned, and struck out three. Lillie has made two appearances and picked up the save over the Bruins while throwing a team-high eight strikeouts.
2017 Diamond 'Dogs are a very seasoned bunch
This year's Bulldogs will be a very experienced group as 82.9% (481/580) of the starts from 2016 return this season. The 'Dogs 14 returning position players have appeared in 1,147 games with the eight returning pitchers making 172 career appearances, including 43 starts. Â Â
Entering this weekend, the Bulldogs five four-year players along with experienced junior Nick Warren, Korby Batesole and Aaron Arruda have combined to play in 951 games as the five seniors of Ryan Dobson, Austin Guibor, Jesse Medrano, Jake Stone and Joe Prior have 669 games of experience with 462 starts between them.
Rickey Ramirez settles into new starting role                              Â
Junior Rickey Ramirez made only his second career start on Sunday and tossed a career-high six innings limiting Oregon to four hits, three earned runs and struck out a career-best six batters. It was only the second career start for the right-hander from Marysville, Calif., who has made 42 career appearances at Fresno State and earned Second-Team All-Mountain West honors in 2016.
Newest Bulldogs begin to make their marks
Seven of the Bulldogs 11 newcomers made appearances on Opening Weekend as junior college transfer outfielder Jared Akins appeared in all four games starting three and freshman catcher Carter Bins played in two games starting one. On the mound, freshman Ryan Jensen made two relief appearances, and fellow freshman Davis Moore made his first career start on Monday throwing four innings allowing only two hits and struck out two.
Old 'Dogs make their return to the mound
In addition to the newest Bulldogs making their debuts, a pair of veterans also made their long-anticipated returns to the mound as redshirt senior Dominic Topoozian and junior Fred Schlichtholz both returned fter missing significant time in 2016. Topoozian, who was out the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, pitched the final two innings of the 'Dogs 8-3 win over Oregon allowing only two hits and struck out three. Schlichtholz, who was limited to two innings in 2016, started the second game of Sunday's doubleheader throwing four innings and picked up a strkeout.
Up next: The Bulldogs host Pacific (1-2) on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m. for Faculty and Staff Night as all faculty and staff get into the game for free.
"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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