Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
'Dogs to play first midweek tilt Tuesday hosting Pacific
2/27/2017 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresh off winning the series finale over UC Riverside on Sunday in wild fashion, the Fresno State baseball team plays its first midweek contest on Tuesday hosting Pacific at 6:05 p.m. at Bob Bennett Stadium at Pete Beiden Field.
Games 8: Pacific (4-2, 0-0 WCC) at Fresno State (3-4, 0-0 MW)
First Pitch:Â Feb. 28 - Tue: 6:05 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 Fresno State leads 96-46
Last Meeting: Pacific defeated Fresno State 7-3 (April 12, 2016 in Fresno, Calif.)
Radio:Â N/A
Play-by-play:Â N/A
Video:Â N/A
Live Stats:Â GoBulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Promotion
Tuesday:Â Faculty and Staff NightÂ
- All Fresno State faculty and staff get into the game for free!
Bulldog Headlines
• The Bulldogs won one of three games over the weekend against UC Riverside winning Sunday's series finale 5-4.
• The 'Dogs played a Mountain West-record 18 innings on Friday falling to UCR 4-3 and dropped a 6-4 contest on Saturday.
• Junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas, who was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week last week, continued his impressive start to the season on Friday tossing seven innings allowing one hit, no earned runs, two walks and struck out a career-high 15. He is one of four nominees for the Golden Spikes Gold Standard Performance of the Week.
• The 'Dogs pitching staff combined for 29 team strikeouts on Friday setting a new school record and it was the second-most strikeouts in a single game in NCAA history.
• The Highlanders struck out 17 Bulldogs to combine for 46 strikeouts in the game, a mark that also ranks second all-time in NCAA history.
• Junior pitchers Rickey Ramirez and Fred Schlichtholz had career-highs over the weekend as Ramirez set new bests for innings pitched (8.0) and strikeouts (11), while Schlichtholz also set new top marks in both categories with 6.0 innings pitched and nine strikeouts.
Fresno State vs. Pacific - The Series
• Fresno State & Pacific will meet for the first of two meetings this season. The 'Dogs go to Pacific Apr. 19.
• It will be the two team's 143rd meeting all-time.
• The 'Dogs lead the series 96-46.
• Pacific beat the Bulldogs twice last season winning 15-6 at home before coming to Fresno a week later & came away with a 7-3 win.
• The 'Dogs are 1-5 against Pacific under Coach Batesole, with a 1-2 record at home.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/27/17)
• .262 Batting Average: No. 5 [Leader, UNLV - .325]
• .378 Slugging Pct: No. 6 [Leader, UNM- .455]
• .328 On base Pct: No. 6 [Leader, UNLV - .404]
• 7 sacrifice bunts: No. 2
• 32 Runs: No. 6 [Leader, SDSU - 49]
• 70 Hits: No. 3 [Leader, SDSU & UNLV - 82]
• 30 RBI: No. 6 [Leader, UNLV - 43]
• 16 Doubles: No. 1
• 3 Triples: No. 2 [Leader, NEV - 4]
• 3 Home Runs: No. T-5th [Leader, AFA- 11]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/27/17)
• 4.00 ERA: No. 3
• .202 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 2 saves: No. T-1
• 81 strikeouts: No. 1
• 32 Earned runs allowed: No. 4
• 50 Hits allowed: No. T-1
• 30 walks allowed: No. 7
• 7 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 1 triples allowed: No. T-2
• 2 home runs allowed: No. 1
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 2/27/17)
• .981 Fielding Percentage: No. 1
•  90 Assists: No. 1Â
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2017
Batting Average: Jared Akins - 8th (.364)
Slugging percentage: Aaron Arruda - 10th (.606)
On-Base percentage: Akins - 7th (.462)
Hits: Jesse Medrano & Arruda - T-5th (10)
RBI: Arruda & Austin Guibor - T-3rd (7)
Doubles: Scott Silva - T-1st (4) (33rd in the nation)
Home Runs: Arruda - T-5th (2)
Sacrifice bunts: Akins & Medrano - T-2nd (2)
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 2nd (0.69)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 4th (.071)
Innings pitched: Rickey Ramirez - 1st (14.0)
       Thomas - T-2nd (13.0)
Strikeouts: Thomas - 1st (24) (3rd in the nation)
          Ramirez - T-2nd (17)
Saves: JJ Santa Cruz & Dominic Topoozian - T-1st (1)
Taking a look at the Pacific Tigers                                     Â
Pacific is off to a 4-2 start to the 2017 season coming off a sweep at home over Cal Poly over the weekend winning games over the Mustangs 2-0, 16-0 and 8-3. The Tigers opened up the season at Mountain West foe San Diego State winning one of three, while allowing 11 runs in each of the two losses.
Leading the way early this season is freshman James Free who is hitting .500 in the first six games with nine hits in 18 at-bats leading the team with four doubles, six RBIs, two runs scored and has a slugging percentage of .722. WCC Preseason all-conference selection Danny Mayer is hitting .316 and already has three home runs. Junior Ryan Schalch is hitting .300 having started all six games for Pacific with six hits, including the team's lone triple, and has scored a team-high seven runs.
On the mound, freshman southpaw pitcher Kyle Ostrowski will make his collegiate debut on Tuesday after not appearing in the first six games of the season. A native of Tinley Park, Ill., he was a 34th-round selection of the Seattle Mariners in the 2015 MLB Draft.
The Tigers are hitting .265 as a team and have a 3.81 ERA while holding opponents to a .273 average.
Bulldogs set new single-game marks
Fresno State and UC Riverside set a new single-game high for innings played by a Mountain West school on Friday evening with 18 innings. A game that last five hours and three minutes, the 'Dogs posted a new program record for team strikeouts with 29 which ranks second all-time in NCAA history. The Highlanders added 17 strikeouts of their own as the 46 combined strikeouts also ranks second all-time in NCAA history.
Thomas puts up a standout performance
Junior left-hander Ricky Tyler Thomas had a standout performance in Friday night's contest against UC Riverside tossing seven scoreless innings allowing only one hit in the contest while striking out a career-high 15.
A Golden Spikes Golden Performer of the Week, Thomas walked his first two batters of the season and hit a batter, but settled down after allowing four baserunners in the first three innings, to retire the final 12 batters he faced, striking out 10.
As of Monday, Thomas ranks third in the nation with 24 strikeouts and is eighth in strikeouts per nine innings (16.62). On the season, he is 1-0 with a 0.69 ERA in two starts throwing 13.0 innings while allowing three hits, one earned run and has 24 strikeouts.
Akins off to a hot start from the plate
Junior outfielder Jared Akins, a junior college transfer from Glendale Community College, has found early success from the dish as he leads the team with a .364 average with eight hits in 22 at-bats. He has a pair of doubles, a run scored, a stolen base and has a team-leading .462 on-base percentage.
'Dogs striking first                                           Â
The Bulldogs have scored first in six of their first seven games this season with the lone exception being on Saturday when UC Riverside took a 5-0 lead before a late-inning four-run rally by the 'Dogs fell short.
Up next:Â The Bulldogs close out their 11-game homestand to start the season this weekend starting Mountain West play hosting Nevada (2-6) starting Friday at 6:05 p.m.
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