Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
6-6
Eastern Michigan
3-11
'Dogs drop opener to Eastern Michigan, 15-11
3/10/2017 11:36:00 PM | Baseball
Junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas had his fourth straight start with nine-plus strikeouts on Friday evening in the Bulldogs' 15-11 loss to Eastern Michigan.
"Some days you have to give the other teams credit and they took some great at-bats and they did not quit," said head coach Mike Batesole postgame. "Both teams were pounding it out combining for 32 hits and that is a lot of offense. It's hard to give seven free baserunners, but we had our best defense and pitchers in there at the end and sometimes you come up on the short end."
Fresno State (6-6) had a stellar day from the plate as a team matching their season-high with 15 hits as junior first baseman Aaron Arruda led the way tying his career-high with three hits, including a double, and added two runs and two RBIs. Senior outfielder Jake Stone hit his first home run of the season with a two-run jack in the third inning and senior Scott Silva also added his first home run of the season, scored two runs and drove in two RBIs. Stone, Zach Ashford, Korby Batesole, Austin Guibor and Jesse Medrano each had two hits apiece as Medrano had a pair of doubles and Ashford added his second triple of the season.
Junior left-handed pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas continues his outstanding start to the season as he put together his fourth consecutive nine-strikeout performance working six innings as he limited Eastern Michigan to seven hits, four runs, one earned and allowed one walk. The San Diego native now has 42 strikeouts on the season and maintains a stellar 1.32 ERA.
On a night that saw plenty of offense, including a combined 12 extra-base hits, the 'Dogs were able to jump on the board in the first inning on a RBI groundout by Silva that drove in Guibor. An RBI groundout by freshman catcher Carter Bins in the second inning gave the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead as Eastern Michigan (3-11) got on the board in the top of the third with a single run.
Holding a 2-1 lead, a three-run third inning gave the 'Dogs a 5-1 lead as Silva led off with a home run to left field and after a one-out walk to Arruda, Stone followed with a two-run shot to right field. The Bulldogs built a 7-1 lead after the fourth on back-to-back RBI doubles by Jared Akins and Arruda.
The Eagles continued to fight back with a three-run frame in the top of the sixth capitalizing on a pair of Bulldog errors to score three unearned runs. The 'Dogs answered right back with four runs in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 11-4 getting RBIs from Akins, Arruda and a pair from Medrano.
Eastern Michigan refused to go away exploding for a six-run seventh inning as the Eagles used a three-run home run from pinch-hitter John Montgomery to bring the visitors within 11-10. A single run in the eighth tied the game at 11 apiece before four more runs in the ninth put the MAC opponent ahead 15-11.
The 'Dogs were unable to generate much offense in the final three innings being held without a hit and only one baserunner.
Fresno State and Eastern Michigan play game two of the series on Saturday evening at 6:05 p.m. It is Youth Jersey Saturday as all kids who wear their youth team jersey get into the game for free.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: BEATON, Matthew (1-1)
L: Gonzalez, Edgar (0-1)
Batting:
2B: STIDHAM, Jeremy 3
3B: GILL, Marquise 1
HR: MONTGOMERY, John 1
RBI: LUBIN, Drake 1 ; MONTGOMERY, John 3 ; WILLIAMS, Brennan 1 ; PETERSON, Jordan 2 ; STIDHAM, Jeremy 1 ; GILL, Marquise 1 ; PEGGS, Drake 4
SF: PETERSON, Jordan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LUBIN, Drake 1 ; MONTGOMERY, John 1 ; WILLIAMS, Brennan 1 ; MIODUSZEWSKI, Mike 1 ; PETERSON, Jordan 1 ; STIDHAM, Jeremy 3 ; GILL, Marquise 1 ; OWINGS, Zachary 2 ; JONES, Nick 1 ; PEGGS, Drake 1 ; HAGER, Devin 2
SB: STIDHAM, Jeremy 1 ; OWINGS, Zachary 1
HBP: MIODUSZEWSKI, Mike 1 ; GILL, Marquise 1 ; OWINGS, Zachary 2
Batting:
2B: Akins, Jared 1 ; Arruda, Aaron 1 ; Medrano, Jesse 2
3B: Ashford, Zach 1
HR: Silva, Scott 1 ; Stone, Jake 1
RBI: Silva, Scott 2 ; Akins, Jared 2 ; Arruda, Aaron 2 ; Stone, Jake 2 ; Medrano, Jesse 2 ; Bins, Carter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Guibor, Austin 2 ; Silva, Scott 2 ; Akins, Jared 2 ; Arruda, Aaron 2 ; Stone, Jake 1 ; Ashford, Zach 1 ; Batesole, Korby 1
CS: Guibor, Austin 1 ; Ashford, Zach 1
HBP: Medrano, Jesse 1
