Fresno State Athletics
Thursday, April 13
Fresno, CA
6:05 PM
Fresno State
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Photo by: Kiel Maddox
Gonzalez shines in Bulldogs' 7-5 series-opening win over Air Force
4/13/2017 9:04:00 PM | Baseball
The Fresno State baseball team defeated Air Force 7-5 on Thursday evening in its series opener against the Falcons at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
FRESNO, Calif. - Behind a career-best outing from sophomore right-hander Edgar Gonzalez, the Fresno State baseball team defeated Air Force 7-5 on Thursday evening in its series opener against the Falcons at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Fresno State (17-16, 7-6 MW) totaled 11 hits on the evening for its 18th game of the season with double-digit hits. Leading the way for the 'Dogs was senior outfielder Jake Stone who went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate cranking a three-run home run in the third inning and matched his career-high with four RBIs. Junior first baseman Aaron Arruda had a pair of singles, scored two runs and drove in an RBI. Senior Joe Prior had his second multi-hit outing in the last three games with a single and double and drove in two RBIs.Â
Air Force (14-18, 4-12 MW), who came into the game leading the nation in team batting average (.333), was held to six hits as the Falcons were limited to four singles, a double and a triple by right fielder Russell Williams. Junior shortstop Tyler Zabojnik had a pair of singles, scored a run and drove in an RBI.
The 'Dogs jumped on the scoreboard first in the second inning with a pair of runs as Prior hit his second double of the season to right center to drive in Jesse Medrano and Jared Akins.
After making 15 starts as a freshman in 2016, Gonzalez made his first start of this season after coming out the bullpen in 13 games. The Falcons were able to get to him in the third inning for five runs to take a 5-2 advantage batting around the order in the frame. After Gonzalez issued a pair of walks to start the inning, left fielder Adam Groesbeck singled to left field to drive in Air Force's first run. After the Falcons tied the game scoring a run on a Bulldog double play, Air Force grabbed the lead with an RBI single to left field by Zabojnik as he moved to second on the throw home by Akins.
Williams gave Air Force a 4-2 lead with an RBI triple to right field scoring Zabojnik and the Falcons made it 5-2 as Williams came around to score on a wild pitch.
Fresno State refused to let the adversity break them responding right way in the bottom of the frame for four runs. Senior outfielder Austin Guibor led off with his sixth double of the season and after a wild pitch and a walk to senior second baseman Scott Silva put runners at the corners for Arruda. The Clovis native singled back up the middle to drive in Guibor from third. Stone followed with his third home run of the season cranking a 1-2 pitch to center field and giving the 'Dogs a 6-5 lead.
Stone added an insurance run in the fifth inning with an RBI single to center field to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-5. Gonzalez settled down after the third inning to retire the next 15 batters as he did allow another base runner until the eighth inning with two outs as he was lifted after a double by Zabojnik.
Senior Dominic Topoozian came on in relief and after hitting Williams in his first at-bat, a wild pitch moved the two Falcon runners into scoring position for first baseman Nic Ready. Fortunately, the senior right-hander got Ready to ground out to Medrano at third base to end the threat. Junior reliever Fred Schlichtholz came on in the ninth to strike out the side and pick up his first save of the season and second of his career.
Gonzalez picked up his third win of the season tossing a career-high 7.2 innings allowing six hits, five earned runs, walked four and struck out career-best eight.
Salute to Services Weekend continues on Friday when the 'Dogs and Falcons play game two of the three-game series at 6:05 p.m. from Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
"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:Â
Twitter:Â @Fresno StateBSB
Instagram:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
Fresno State (17-16, 7-6 MW) totaled 11 hits on the evening for its 18th game of the season with double-digit hits. Leading the way for the 'Dogs was senior outfielder Jake Stone who went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate cranking a three-run home run in the third inning and matched his career-high with four RBIs. Junior first baseman Aaron Arruda had a pair of singles, scored two runs and drove in an RBI. Senior Joe Prior had his second multi-hit outing in the last three games with a single and double and drove in two RBIs.Â
Air Force (14-18, 4-12 MW), who came into the game leading the nation in team batting average (.333), was held to six hits as the Falcons were limited to four singles, a double and a triple by right fielder Russell Williams. Junior shortstop Tyler Zabojnik had a pair of singles, scored a run and drove in an RBI.
The 'Dogs jumped on the scoreboard first in the second inning with a pair of runs as Prior hit his second double of the season to right center to drive in Jesse Medrano and Jared Akins.
After making 15 starts as a freshman in 2016, Gonzalez made his first start of this season after coming out the bullpen in 13 games. The Falcons were able to get to him in the third inning for five runs to take a 5-2 advantage batting around the order in the frame. After Gonzalez issued a pair of walks to start the inning, left fielder Adam Groesbeck singled to left field to drive in Air Force's first run. After the Falcons tied the game scoring a run on a Bulldog double play, Air Force grabbed the lead with an RBI single to left field by Zabojnik as he moved to second on the throw home by Akins.
Williams gave Air Force a 4-2 lead with an RBI triple to right field scoring Zabojnik and the Falcons made it 5-2 as Williams came around to score on a wild pitch.
Fresno State refused to let the adversity break them responding right way in the bottom of the frame for four runs. Senior outfielder Austin Guibor led off with his sixth double of the season and after a wild pitch and a walk to senior second baseman Scott Silva put runners at the corners for Arruda. The Clovis native singled back up the middle to drive in Guibor from third. Stone followed with his third home run of the season cranking a 1-2 pitch to center field and giving the 'Dogs a 6-5 lead.
Stone added an insurance run in the fifth inning with an RBI single to center field to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-5. Gonzalez settled down after the third inning to retire the next 15 batters as he did allow another base runner until the eighth inning with two outs as he was lifted after a double by Zabojnik.
Senior Dominic Topoozian came on in relief and after hitting Williams in his first at-bat, a wild pitch moved the two Falcon runners into scoring position for first baseman Nic Ready. Fortunately, the senior right-hander got Ready to ground out to Medrano at third base to end the threat. Junior reliever Fred Schlichtholz came on in the ninth to strike out the side and pick up his first save of the season and second of his career.
Gonzalez picked up his third win of the season tossing a career-high 7.2 innings allowing six hits, five earned runs, walked four and struck out career-best eight.
Salute to Services Weekend continues on Friday when the 'Dogs and Falcons play game two of the three-game series at 6:05 p.m. from Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
"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:Â
Twitter:Â @Fresno StateBSB
Instagram:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Snap Chat:Â FSAthletics
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gonzalez, Edgar (3-1)
L: DEVRIES, Jacob (3-3)
S: Schlichtholz, Fred (1)
Batting:
2B: ZABOJNIK, Tyler 1 ; READY, Nic 1
3B: WILLIAMS, Russell 1
RBI: GROESBECK, Adam 1 ; JONES, Tyler 1 ; ZABOJNIK, Tyler 1 ; WILLIAMS, Russell 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HASLAM, Bradley 1 ; ZABOJNIK, Tyler 1 ; WILLIAMS, Russell 1 ; DAU, Rob 1 ; WISS, Drew 1
HBP: WILLIAMS, Russell 1
Batting:
2B: Guibor, Austin 1 ; Prior, Joe 1
HR: Stone, Jake 1
RBI: Arruda, Aaron 1 ; Stone, Jake 4 ; Prior, Joe 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Guibor, Austin 1 ; Silva, Scott 1 ; Arruda, Aaron 2 ; Stone, Jake 1 ; Akins, Jared 1 ; Medrano, Jesse 1
CS: Stone, Jake 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
3
RBI
4
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballInfield
/ Baseball
Pitcher
/ BaseballOutfield
/ Baseball
Infield
/ Baseball
Pitcher
/ Baseball
Infield
/ BaseballOutfield
/ Baseball
Pitcher
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