Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Diego State
Diamond 'Dogs welcome San Diego State for second MW home series
3/23/2017 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
In a battle of teams tied for second place in the Mountain West, the Bulldogs welcome the Aztecs to Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium for a three-game series starting Friday at 6:05 p.m.
FRESNO, Calif. - In a battle of teams tied for second place in the Mountain West, the Bulldogs welcome San Diego State to Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium for a three-game series starting Friday at 6:05 p.m.
Games 21-23: San Diego State (14-7, 4-2 MW) at Fresno State (12-8, 4-2 MW)
First Pitch:Â March 24-26 - Fri: 6:05 p.m., Sat: 6:05 p.m., Sun: 1:05 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 94-93
Last Meeting: Fresno State defeated San Diego State 4-3 (May 8, 2016 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:Â Heroes Night
- Come out and help us welcome some or our local heroes here in the Central Valley!
Saturday:Â Spring Cleaning
- Bring TWOÂ clothing donation items and get in for FREE!
- Youth Jersey Saturday: All kids wearing their youth team jersey get into the game for FREE!
Sunday: Salute to Sunday & High School Day
- All military and veterans get in for FREE
-Â All High School students get in FREE with a valid ID!
- Kids run the bases post game!
Bulldog Headlines
• Fresno State continues its five-game home stand with a three-game Mountain West series against San Diego St. starting Friday night.
• The 'Dogs completed its March 7 suspended game against Pepperdine at home on Wednesday falling 8-7 in 12 innings.
• The Bulldogs and Waves then played their regularly scheduled game as the 'Dogs were victorious 5-2 rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to score five unanswered runs.
• Six Bulldogs pitchers combined to limit Pepperdine to three hits.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series over San Diego State 94-93.
• Fresno State is 5-8 at home against SDSU since joining the MW in 2013.
• The 'Dogs currently sit in a tie for second place in the Mountain West with SDSU as both teams are 4-2, trailing first-place New Mexico by two games.
• The Bulldogs currently rank ninth in the nation in sacrifice bunts (21) and are 10th in the nation in triples (10).
• Junior LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas ranks seventh in the country in strikeouts (48) and is 17th in strikeouts per nine innings (13.36).
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/23/17)
• .299 Batting Average: No. 5 [Leader, AFA - .334]
• .443 Slugging Pct: No. 4 [Leader, AFA .504]
• .387 On base Pct: No. 3 [Leader, AFA - .402]
• 21 sacrifice bunts: No. 2 [Leader, NEV - 22]
• 137 Runs: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 175]
• 220 Hits: No. 5 [Leader, UNLV - 252]
• 125 RBI: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 161]
• 44 Doubles: No. T-3 [Leader, UNM - 58]
• 10 Triples: No. 1 [10th nationally]
• 14 Home Runs: No. 4 [Leader, UNM- 24]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/23/17)
• 4.49 ERA: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 3.66]
• .244 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 7 saves: No. 1
• 189 strikeouts: No. 1
• 95 Earned runs allowed: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 76]
• 172 Hits allowed: No. 1
• 99 walks allowed: No. 6 [Leader, UNM - 67]
• 25 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 4 triples allowed: No. 3 [Leader, SDSU & UNM - 3]
• 10 home runs allowed: No. T-1
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 3/23/17)
• .961 Fielding Percentage: No. 7 [Leader, SDSU .983]
• 243 Assists: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV- 267]
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2017
Batting Average: Jared Akins - 4th (.395)
Slugging percentage: Akins - 6th (.579)
On- base percentage: Akins - 4th (.471)
Hits: Arruda - T-6th (32)
RBI: Arruda & Jesse Medrano - T-8th (19)
Runs: Austin Guibor - 4th (23)
Doubles: Jared Akins - 1st (11) [7th nationally]
Triples: Guibor - T-1st (3) [16th nationally]
Sacrifice bunts: Â Korby Batesole - 1st (7) [2nd nationally]
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 3rd (3.06)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 1st (.195)
Innings pitched: Thomas - 3rd (32.2)
       Rickey Ramirez - 4th (32.1)
Strikeouts: Thomas - 1st (48) (7th in the nation)
          Ramirez - 3rd (30)
Hits allowed: Schlichtholz - 1st (17); Thomas - 2nd (23)
Earned runs allowed: Schlichtholz - 2nd (10); Thomas - T-3rd (11)
Doubles allowed: Thomas - 1st (1)
Saves: Edgar Gonzalez - T-1st (4)
Taking a look at the San Diego State Aztecs
San Diego State comes into this weekend's series versus the Bulldogs with a 14-7 overall mark, and is currently tied with the 'Dogs for second place in the Mountain West at 4-2. The Aztecs are 5-2 on the road this season with wins at #7 Cal State Fullerton (5-4) and #25 San Diego (10-1) and have also won a pair at Nevada and defeated Long Beach St. (6-2).
The Aztecs are currently hitting .310 as a club to rank third in the MW and 28th in the nation. Leading the team is senior infielder Andrew Brown who has started all 21 games and is hitting a team-high .370 from the plate. He has 34 hits with six doubles and two home runs.
Five other Aztec regulars are hitting close to or above .300 from the plate as SDSU is averaging 6.3 runs per game and ranks 25th in the nation in slugging percentage (.469) and 38th in the nation in doubles (44).
The SDSU pitching staff leads the MW and ranks 59th in the country with a 3.66 ERA while holding opponents to a .264 average from the plate and are allowing 4.0 runs per game. Saturday starter senior left-hander Dominic Purpura sits at 4-0 on the season with a 3.90 ERA and has 15 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched. Friday night starter Brett Seeburger, also a senior left-hander, is 3-1 with a 3.30 ERA and has fanned 23 in 30 innings pitched. Â
Senior relief pitcher CJ Saylor is tied with the 'Dogs Edgar Gonzalez for most saves in the MW with four as Saylor has a 1-0 mark with a 0.77 ERA in 10 appearances. He has added 14 strikesouts and is holding opponents to a .175 average.
A look at the 'Dogs and Aztecs series in Fresno since 2013
2013 - March 15-17 - 1-2 [W, 1-0; L, 6-11; L, 2-4]
2014 - May 15-17 - 1-2 [L, 2-9; W, 4-3; L, 8-11]
2015 - April 24-26 - 1-2 [W, 5-4 (10); L, 3-15; L, 4-9]
2016 - May 6-8 - 2-1 [L, 2-4; W, 1-0 (10); W, 4-3]
All five of the 'Dogs victories over SDSU at home since 2013 have come by one run, including a pair in 2016 when the 'Dogs were able to win on a walk-off by Austin Guibor and held on for a one-run victory the next day to win its first series over the Aztecs at home.
Akins moving up the MW offensive leaderboard
With the 'Dogs March 7 contest at Pepperdine becoming official on Wednesday, junior outfielder Jared Akins, who went 5-for-6 in that contest, is now hitting .395 from the plate to rank  fourth in the MW in average. He is currently leading the MW and ranks seventh in the nation in doubles with 11 while his .579 slugging percentage ranks sixth in the MW.
Batesole within ten wins of #500 at Fresno State
After Wednesday's victory over Pepperdine, head coach Mike Batesole now sits at 490 wins at Fresno State and 746 in his career. He is now 10 victories of his 500th at Fresno State and will become only the third coach to reach that milestone joining Pete Beiden and Bob Bennett. The earliest he can clinch win number 500 is April 8 at Michigan State.
Stone on a 32-game on-base streak                                           Â
Senior outfielder Jake Stone is the lone 'Dog to hit safely and reach base in all 20 games this season and dating back to 2016 is currently on a 32-game hitting streak as he reached base safely in the 'Dogs final 12 games of last season.
Fresno State Baseball set to retire Fibber Hirayama #3 jersey on April 30
The 'Dogs will retire their ninth jersey in program history on April 30 when legendary Bulldog Fibber Hirayama will see his #3 retired in a pregame ceremony.
'Dogs offense explodes at Air Force
Over three game at Air Force last weekend, the 'Dogs hit .331 as a team totaling 39 hits, 18 for extra-bases, scored 30 runs, and had a slugging percentage of .627. Three different players had seven hits apiece as junior Jared Akins led the way with a .636 average (7-11), had three doubles, hit his first career home run and scored five runs. Korby Batesole and Scott Silva also had seven hits apiece.
The 'Dogs scored a season-high 15 runs and had a season-best 18 hits in their win on Sunday as four players combined to hit five home runs. It was the first time since March 18, 2011 the Bulldogs had five home runs in one game.
Bulldog veteran pitchers have solid week
Junior left-handed pitcher Fred Schlichtholz and senior right-handed pitcher Dominic Topoozian picked up two of the 'Dogs three wins on the week. It was only the second career win for each hurler as Schlichtholz earned his first win since April 23, 2014 (2-1 vs. Cal State Fullerton) and it was Topoozian's first since May 5, 2015 (4-3 vs. CSUN in 16 innings). On the week, the two were:
    - Topoozian: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 app., 3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K
    - Schlichtholz: 1-0, 6.00 ERA, 2 app., 6.0 IP, 5H, 4 ER, 11 K
"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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