Fresno State Athletics
Friday, March 3
Fresno, CA
6:05 PM
Fresno State
5-4, 0
3
vs
2
Nevada
2-7, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Nevada
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
5
0
Fresno State
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
X
3
8
1
Photo by: Keith Kountz
Thomas' standout performance propels 'Dogs to 3-2 win to open MW play
3/3/2017 10:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Bulldogs and Wolf Pack play game two of the series on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.
FRESNO, Calif. - Winning their fourth Mountain West opener in five years, the Fresno State baseball team used a standout performance from starting pitcher Ricky Tyler Thomas and a late-inning rally to defeat Nevada 3-2 on Friday night at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
"It was a great win to start conference play and outside of one inning, Ricky was outstanding tonight," said head coach Mike Batesole after the win.
Thomas worked into the ninth inning tossing a season-high 8.1 innings limiting the Wolf Pack to five hits, two runs, three walks and struck out nine. The junior southpaw from San Diego has now struck out at least nine batters in all three starts this season and has 33 on the season.
The 'Dogs offense backed up Thomas as Fresno State (5-4, 1-0 MW) outhit Nevada (2-7, 0-1 MW) eight to five as the Bulldogs' 4-5-6 hitters of Jake Stone, Jared Akins and Jesse Medrano each had a double in the contest. Sophomore Zach Ashford added his second multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles.
After a quick first inning, Thomas ran into trouble in the second as Nevada was able to score a pair of runs. Junior first baseman Grant Fennell scored the first run on a balk by Thomas which was followed by an RBI single by left fielder Chase Grant that scored second baseman Keaton Smith.
Fresno State was able to get a run back in the fourth inning as a two-out double by Akins was followed by a double to right field by Medrano, but the senior third baseman was thrown out at third base attempting to stretch the play to a triple.
With Nevada starter Trevor Charpie only allowing four Bulldog hits through the first six innings, Stone led off the bottom of the seventh with a double down the left field line before Charpie was able to pick up two outs before being replaced by Riley Ohl. Senior second baseman Scott Silva greeted the new Wolf Pack hurler with an RBI single to right field driving in Stone to tie the game at 2-2.
Looking to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth, the 'Dogs did just that as back-to-back one-out singles by Austin Guibor and Ashford forced Uhl out of the game and brought in Ty Pennington. A wild pitch by Pennington moved up Guibor and Ashford and a walk to Aaron Arruda loaded the bases for the 'Dogs with one out. Only three days removed from driving in the eventual game-winning RBIs in a win over Pacific, Stone delivered again in the clutch as his RBI groundout drove in Guibor to put the 'Dogs up 3-2.
With Thomas back on the mound looking for his fourth career complete game, he was able to get one out before giving way to sophomore Edgar Gonzalez. With the tying run on second base, Gonzalez was able to get the two batters he faced to groundout and flyout to pick up his second save of the season and secure Thomas' second win of 2017.
The Bulldogs and Wolf Pack play game two of their Mountain West series on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.
"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.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @Fresno StateBSB
Instagram: FresnoStateAthletics
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat: FSAthletics
"It was a great win to start conference play and outside of one inning, Ricky was outstanding tonight," said head coach Mike Batesole after the win.
Thomas worked into the ninth inning tossing a season-high 8.1 innings limiting the Wolf Pack to five hits, two runs, three walks and struck out nine. The junior southpaw from San Diego has now struck out at least nine batters in all three starts this season and has 33 on the season.
The 'Dogs offense backed up Thomas as Fresno State (5-4, 1-0 MW) outhit Nevada (2-7, 0-1 MW) eight to five as the Bulldogs' 4-5-6 hitters of Jake Stone, Jared Akins and Jesse Medrano each had a double in the contest. Sophomore Zach Ashford added his second multi-hit game of the season with a pair of singles.
After a quick first inning, Thomas ran into trouble in the second as Nevada was able to score a pair of runs. Junior first baseman Grant Fennell scored the first run on a balk by Thomas which was followed by an RBI single by left fielder Chase Grant that scored second baseman Keaton Smith.
Fresno State was able to get a run back in the fourth inning as a two-out double by Akins was followed by a double to right field by Medrano, but the senior third baseman was thrown out at third base attempting to stretch the play to a triple.
With Nevada starter Trevor Charpie only allowing four Bulldog hits through the first six innings, Stone led off the bottom of the seventh with a double down the left field line before Charpie was able to pick up two outs before being replaced by Riley Ohl. Senior second baseman Scott Silva greeted the new Wolf Pack hurler with an RBI single to right field driving in Stone to tie the game at 2-2.
Looking to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth, the 'Dogs did just that as back-to-back one-out singles by Austin Guibor and Ashford forced Uhl out of the game and brought in Ty Pennington. A wild pitch by Pennington moved up Guibor and Ashford and a walk to Aaron Arruda loaded the bases for the 'Dogs with one out. Only three days removed from driving in the eventual game-winning RBIs in a win over Pacific, Stone delivered again in the clutch as his RBI groundout drove in Guibor to put the 'Dogs up 3-2.
With Thomas back on the mound looking for his fourth career complete game, he was able to get one out before giving way to sophomore Edgar Gonzalez. With the tying run on second base, Gonzalez was able to get the two batters he faced to groundout and flyout to pick up his second save of the season and secure Thomas' second win of 2017.
The Bulldogs and Wolf Pack play game two of their Mountain West series on Saturday at 6:05 p.m.
"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.
Follow us on:
Twitter: @Fresno StateBSB
Instagram: FresnoStateAthletics
Facebook: FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat: FSAthletics
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Thomas, Ricky Tyler (2-0)
L: OHL, Riley (0-1)
S: Gonzalez, Edgar (2)
Batting:
RBI: GRANT, Chase 1
SH: SPRAGUE, Jed 1
Base Running:
RUNS: FENNELL, Grant 1 ; SMITH, Keaton 1
HBP: KRZMARZICK, Cole 1
PO: ECHAVIA, Mike 1
Batting:
2B: Stone, Jake 1 ; Akins, Jared 1 ; Medrano, Jesse 1
RBI: Stone, Jake 1 ; Medrano, Jesse 1 ; Silva, Scott 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Guibor, Austin 1 ; Stone, Jake 1 ; Akins, Jared 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Baseball
Infield
/ BaseballOutfield
/ Baseball
Pitcher
/ BaseballOutfield
/ Baseball
Infield
/ Baseball
Infield
/ BaseballOutfield
/ Baseball
Pitcher
/ BaseballBSB Los Angeles Regional Preview
Thursday, May 29
BSB MW Championship Final Recap
Sunday, May 25
BSB MW Championship Game 1 Recap
Friday, May 23
VB Read Across America Week
Saturday, March 08