Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada
Bulldogs open Mountain West play at home vs. Nevada [March 3-5]
3/2/2017 1:15:00 PM | Baseball
FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State baseball team wraps up its 11-game homestand to begin the season kicking off Mountain West play hosting Nevada in a three-game series at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Games 9-11: Nevada (2-6, 0-0 MW) at Fresno State (4-4, 0-0 MW)
First Pitch: March 3-5 - Fri: 6:05 p.m., Sat: 6:05 p.m., Sun: 1:05 p.m.
Stadium: Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 100-60
Last Meeting: Nevada defeated Fresno State 25-6 (May 27, 2016 at the Mountain West Tournament in Albuquerque, N.M.)
Radio: AM 940 ESPN (All three games)
Play-by-play: Paul Loeffler
Video: Mountain West Network (Friday only)
Live Stats: GoBulldogs.com
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Weekend Promotions
Friday: Facial Hair Friday
- All fans with facial hair (real or fake) get into the game for free.
Saturday: Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Night
- There will be special season ticket holder packages.
Sunday: Camper Reunion Day
- Kids who have attended Fresno State baseball camps get into the game for free. All kids can run the bases after the game.
Bulldog Headlines
• The Bulldogs won their second straight game on Tuesday scoring a season-high number of runs in a 10-4 defeat over Pacific.
• The 'Dogs 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 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.
• Fresno State currently ranks first in the nation in double plays with 13.
Fresno State vs. Nevada - The Series
• Fresno State leads the all-time series against Nevada 100-60 for its fourth-longest played rivalry behind San Jose State, Cal Poly and Sacramento St.
• The 'Dogs went 3-1 against Nevada in 2016 sweeping the Wolf Pack at home and falling in the Mountain West Tournament.
• Both schools joined the MW in 2013, since that time Fresno State owns a 15-11 advantage in 26 games - the Bulldogs have not played any other team more over that span.
• Coach Batesole is 45-31 all-time against Nevada.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/2/17)
• .271 Batting Average: No. 3 [Leader, UNLV - .328]
• .395 Slugging Pct: No. 6 [Leader, UNLV- .453]
• .341 On base Pct: No. 5 [Leader, UNLV - .408]
• 9 sacrifice bunts: No. T-1 [6th nationally]
• 42 Runs: No. T-4 [Leader, UNLV - 64]
• 81 Hits: No. 3 [Leader, UNLV - 108]
• 40 RBI: No. T-3 [Leader, UNLV - 58]
• 19 Doubles: No. 1
• 3 Triples: No. 3 [Leader, NEV & SDSU - 4]
• 4 Home Runs: No. T-5 [Leader, AFA & UNM- 11]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/2/17)
• 3.78 ERA: No. 3 [Leader, SJSU - 3.56]
• .204 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 3 saves: No. 1
• 92 strikeouts: No. 1
• 34 Earned runs allowed: No. 2 [Leader, SJSU - 26]
• 57 Hits allowed: No. 1
• 45 walks allowed: No. 7 [Leader, UNM - 23]
• 8 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 1 triples allowed: No. T-2 [Leader, SJSU - 0]
• 4 home runs allowed: No. 1
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/2/17)
• .983 Fielding Percentage: No. 1
• 101 Assists: No. 1
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2017
Batting Average: Jesse Medrano - 10th (.375)
On-Base percentage: Jared Akins - 9th (.448)
Hits: Jesse Medrano - T-7th (12)
RBI: Austin Guibor - T-3rd (9)
Doubles: Scott Silva - T-1st (4)
Home Runs: Arruda & Guibor - T-5th (2)
Sacrifice bunts: Akins, Medrano & Akins & Korby Batesole - T-2nd (2)
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 1st (0.69)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 1st (.071)
Hits allowed: Thomas - 1st (3)
Earned runs allowed: Thomas - 1st (1)
Innings pitched: Rickey Ramirez - 2nd (14.0)
Thomas - T-3rd (13.0)
Strikeouts: Thomas - 1st (24) (3rd in the nation)
Ramirez - T-2nd (17)
Saves: JJ Santa Cruz, Dominic Topoozian & Edgar Gonzalez - T-1st (1)
Bulldogs in Mountain West Openers
Now in their fifth year in the Mountain West, Fresno State is 3-1 in MW openers defeating San Diego State in 2013 and 2016, Nevada in 2014 and fell to the Wolf Pack on the road in 2015. The last two Mountain West season openers have gone to extra innings.
• 2013 - vs. San Diego State - W, 1-0
• 2014 - vs. Nevada - W, 4-1
• 2015 - at Nevada - L, 9-8 (10)
• 2016 - at San Diego State - W, 3-2 (10)
Fresno State in Mountain West home-opening series
The Bulldogs are also 3-1 in Mountain West home-opening series sweeping Nevada in 2014 and UNLV and 2015 before taking two of three against the Rebels last season. The only series they dropped was in 2013 falling to San Diego State.
• 2013 - vs. San Diego State (W, 1-0, L, 11-6, L, 4-2)
• 2014 - vs. Nevada (W, 4-1, W, 5-3, W, 11-9)
• 2015 - vs. UNLV (W, 10-5, W, 2-1, W, 4-0)
• 2016 - vs. UNLV (L, 4-2, W, 6-2, W, 4-3)
'Dogs having great success against Nevada at home
Fresno State has also had great success against the Wolf Pack at home since moving to the Mountain West posting an 11-1 mark sweeping three of the four three-game series. The two teams only met in Fresno in 2016 as the 'Dogs won a pair of one-run games.
• 2013 - May 16-18 [W, 2-1 (10), W, 10-4, W, 6-4]
• 2014 - Feb. 21-23 [W, 4-1, W, 5-3, W, 11-9]
• 2015 - April 10-12 [L, 4-5, W, 14-10, W, 3-1]
• 2016 - April 15-17 [W, 5-4, W, 8-3, W, 7-6]
Taking a look at the Nevada Wolf Pack
Nevada has had a slow start to the 2017 season getting off to a 2-6 start, but the Wolf Pack have played stiff competition in Sam Houston State, Baylor and Virginia Tech.
Coming off a 37-24 season in 2016 and a second place finish in the Mountain West, Nevada lost many contributors from a year ago, including three MLB draft selections. The Wolf Pack do return Second-Team All-MW infielder Jordan Pearce along with senior infielder Justin Bridgman along with senior pitchers Trevor Charpie, Evan McMahan and Ty Pennington.
The Wolf Pack are hitting .262 as a club as junior college transfer outfielder Mike Echavia leads the team with a .400 average with four doubles and a team-high three stolen bases. Pearce is hitting .393 with a team-high 11 hits, eight runs scored and has drawn eight walks.
On the mound, the weekend rotation of Trevor Charpie, Mark Nowaczewski and Grant Ford have started six of the Wolf Pack's eight games with Nowaczewski leading the team with a 3.46 ERA tossing a team-high 13.0 innings and is tied with Charpie for a team-best 11 strikeouts.
The staff has an ERA of 6.94 while opponents are hitting .309 while allowing 34 extra-base hits, including 14 home runs.
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 Thursday, Thomas ranks third in the nation with 24 strikeouts and is sixth 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.
Stone on a 20-game hitting streak
Senior outfielder Jake Stone is the lone 'Dog to hit safely and reach base in all eight games this season and dating back to 2016 is currently on a 20-game hitting streak The longest in program history is 38 as Stone is more than halfway to the mark.
Bulldogs leading the nation in double plays
Fresno State is currently tied with New Orleans and Baylor for a nation-leading 13 double plays as the 'Dogs have turned double plays in six of their eight games, including four in the 18-inning marathon game vs. UC Riverside.
Rickey Ramirez settling into new starting role
Junior Rickey Ramirez is moving into a starting role this season after making only one start in his first two seasons. He is currently 1-1 with a 5.14 ERA throwing 14.0 innings and has 17 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .212 average. He tossed a career-high eight innings on Saturday in a 6-4 loss to UC Riverside fanning a career-best 11.
'Dogs striking first
The Bulldogs have scored first in seven of their first eight 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: The Bulldogs hit the road for the first time on Tuesday traveling to Pepperdine for a 2 p.m. contest in Malibu.
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