Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
University of San Francisco
Diamond 'Dogs travel to San Francisco for Wednesday afternoon contest
3/14/2017 2:43:00 PM | Baseball
Wednesday afternoon's contest at San Francisco will be the 'Dogs first trip to USF since 2008.
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team, winners of six of its last eight games, hits the road for a midweek contest at San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. It will be the 'Dogs first trip to USF since 2008.
Game 16: Fresno State (8-6, 2-1 MW) at San Francisco (10-6, 0-0 WCC)
First Pitch:Â Mar. 15 - Wed: 2:30 p.m.
Stadium:Â Benedetti Stadium (1,000)
Surface:Â AstroTurf
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF), 405 (CF), 300 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 76-19
Last Meeting: San Francisco defeated Fresno State 6-3 (May 21, 2016 in Fresno, Calif.)
Radio:Â N/A
Play-by-play:Â N/A
Video:Â TheW.TV
Live Stats:Â GoBulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
• The Bulldogs won their second consecutive series over the weekend winning two out of three games over Mid-American conference opponent Eastern Michigan. The 'Dogs fell 15-11 on Friday before taking the final two games over the Eagles 10-2 and 6-3.
• The 'Dogs, who opened the season with 14 of their first 15 games at home, will hit the road for their first extended road trip of 2017 traveling to San Francisco on Wednesday and Air Force over the weekend.
• Fresno State is 76-19 all-time against San Francisco, but the Dons were able to defeat the 'Dogs twice in 2016.
• It will the first time Fresno State has played at San Francisco since 2008 when they dropped a pair of contests falling 13-8 and 7-6.
• The 'Dogs currently rank 12th in the nation in sacrifice bunts (12) and are 23rd in hits allowed per 9IP (7.27).
• Junior pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas currently ranks third in the nation in strikeouts (42), 16th in strikeouts per 9IP (13.83), 39th in WHIP (0.77) and 52nd in hits allowed per 9IP (4.94).
Fresno State vs. San Francisco - The Series
• The Fresno State/San Francisco series dates back to 1957 with the Bulldogs leading 76-19.
• The two teams met in the final regular season series of 2016 in Fresno with the Dons winning two the three games.
• Coach Batesole in 12-12 in 24 matchups all-time against the Dons with an 0-2 mark on the road.
• The two teams met 46 times between 1977 and 1984 when both schools were members of the Northern California Baseball Association and were joined by Nevada, Pacific, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara and San Jose State.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State 76-19
Last Meeting: May 21, 2016 (Fresno, Calif.) - L, 6-3
Current Streak: L2
Last Fresno State Win: May 19, 2016 (10-1) - Fresno, Calif.
Last San Francisco Win: May 21, 2016 Â (6-3) - Fresno, Calif.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/13/17)
• .303 Batting Average: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - .358]
• .431 Slugging Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM- .586]
• .379 On base Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - .441]
• 15 sacrifice bunts: No. 2 [Leader, NEV - 17]
• 89 Runs: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 147]
• 155 Hits: No. 5 [Leader, UNM - 191]
• 81 RBI: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 134]
• 33 Doubles: No. 3 [Leader, UNM - 47]
• 7 Triples: No. 2 [Leader, AFA - 8]
• 6 Home Runs: No. 6 [Leader, UNM- 21]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/13/17)
• 4.07 ERA: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 3.55]
• .226 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 5 saves: No. 1
• 142 strikeouts: No. 1
• 61 Earned runs allowed: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 56]
• 109 Hits allowed: No. 1
• 73 walks allowed: No. T-6th [Leader, UNM - 41]
• 13 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 3 triples allowed: No. 3 [Leader, SDSU - 1]
• 7 home runs allowed: No. 1
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/13/17)
• .973 Fielding Percentage: No. 3 [Leader, SDSU .981]
• 167 Assists: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV- 186]
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2017
Batting Average: Jesse Medrano - 8th (.363)
On-Base percentage: Austin Guibor - T-10th (.435)
Hits: Aaron Arruda - T-8th (22)
RBI: Arruda - T-6th (15)
Runs: Guibor - T-5th (15)
Doubles: Jesse Medrano - T-2nd (7)
Sacrifice bunts: Â Korby Batesole - 1st (5)
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 2nd (1.32); Moore - 4th (2.70)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 1st (.155)
Hits allowed: Moore - 1st (10); Thomas - 2nd (15)
Earned runs allowed: Thomas - 1st (4)
Innings pitched: Thomas - 2nd (27.1)
       Rickey Ramirez - T-4th (26.0)
Strikeouts: Thomas - 1st (42) (3rd in the nation)
          Ramirez - 3rd (27)
Saves: Edgar Gonzalez & JJ Santa Cruz T-2nd (2)
Taking a look at the San Francisco Dons
The Dons have gotten off to a strong start in 2017 as they come into Wednesday's contest versus the 'Dogs 10-6 on the season after finishing 22-34 in 2016. USF has a 4-1 mark at home and a 4-5 record on the road and have picked up a pair of neutral site wins over Albany and Winthrop in South Carolina. The Dons started off the year winning three out of four games against Northern Colorado at home and topped Grand Canyon in the first two games of their three-game series last weekend at home before falling on Sunday 5-4.
San Francisco is hitting .285 as a club with over 30 percent of its hits going for extra-bases. The Dons have hit 36 doubles (29th in nation), three triples and 11 home runs on the season for 50 of its 162 hits. USF has also been strong on the basepaths with 29 stolen bases to rank 19th in the country. USF is averaging 6.2 runs per game to rank second in the WCC and has scored over seven runs in seven games. Junior outfielder Brady Bate is hitting a team-leading .350 from the plate, while senior infielder Nico Giarratano leads the club in at-bats (68), hits (23), doubles (7), RBI (13) and total bases (36).
On the mound, the Dons have a 3.69 team ERA and are holding opponents to a .247 average and 4.6 runs per game. The staff has a 2.24 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 114 strikeouts while only allowing 51 walks and have held their opponents under three runs in seven games. Redshirt junior right-hander Brendan Jenkins will make his first start of 2017 after making six relief appearances thus far this season working 10.1 innings and has notched nine strikeouts.
The Dons were picked to finish sixth in the WCC Preseason poll after finishing fifth in 2016 with a 14-13 record as they narrowly missed out of the WCC Tournament. Head coach Nico Giarratano is in his 19th season at USF and has a 512-524-1 record in his tenure.
2017 WCC Preseason Baseball Coaches Poll
Team (First Place Vote) Â Â Â Â Â Â Pts.
1. San Diego (5)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 77
2. Gonzaga (3)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 73*
3. Pepperdine (2)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 63*
4. BYUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 59
5. Saint Mary's                       49
6. San Francisco                      40*
7. Loyola Marymount                 37
8. Pacific                               21*
9. Santa Clara                          20
10. Portland                             13
* Bulldog opponent in 2017
Offensive explosion against Eastern Michigan                                      Â
Fresno State finished off an outstanding series from the plate against Eastern Michigan combining for 27 runs and 43 hits in the three-game series and scored in 15 of their 25 half-innings over the weekend. The 'Dogs hit .394 from the plate as a team with nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. Sophomore Zach Ashford hit .700 from the plate going 7-for-10 with a triple and scored four runs. Junior Aaron Arruda also had seven hits, including a pair of doubles, and drove in six runs.
Stone on a 27-game on-base streak                                           Â
Senior outfielder Jake Stone is the lone 'Dog to hit safely and reach base in all 15 games this season and dating back to 2016 is currently on a 27-game hitting streak as he reached base safely in the 'Dogs final 12 games of last season.
Moore and Bins excelling as freshman                                        Â
Starting pitcher Davis Moore had his best start of the season on Sunday in a 6-3 win over Eastern Michigan tossing six innings allowing four hits, two earned runs and struck out two. He is now 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA on the season and is holding opponents to a .182 average from the plate in 16.2 innings. Fellow freshman Carter Bins is coming off a season-best three hit performance against EMU in Sunday and added a run and RBI..
Up next:Â The Bulldogs stay on the road for their first Mountain West series of the season traveling to Air Force (6-9, 0-6 MW) for a three-game series in Colorado. The 'Dogs and Falcons will play at 2 p.m. PT on followed by 12 p.m. PT start times on Saturday and Sunday.
"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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