Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Michigan State
Diamond 'Dogs take first trip to Michigan to face Michigan State in Grand Rapids [April 8-9]
4/6/2017 2:30:00 PM | Baseball
The Fresno State baseball team takes its first trip as a program to Michigan to face Big Ten foe Michigan State in a three-game series in Grand Rapids, Mich. as snow in the East Lansing area forced the series to be relocated.
Games 29-31: Fresno State (16-12, 6-6 MW) at Michigan State (15-10, 3-3 Big Ten) in Grand Rapids, Mich.
First Pitch:Â April 8-9Â - Sat (DH): 10:00 a.m. PT, Sun: 11:00 a.m. PT
Stadium: Fifth Third Ballpark (2,500), home of the West Michigan Whitecaps (Class A Detroit Tigers)
Surface:Â Grass
Dimensions:Â 317Â (LF), 402Â (CF), 327 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Fresno State defeated Michigan State 8-2 (June 2, 2012 in NCAA Tournament at Stanford)
Audio:Â Spartan Sports Network
Video:Â Big Ten Network Plus
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Live Stats:Â GoBulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
• Fresno State continues its longest road stretch of the season wrapping up its seven-game road swing this weekend taking on Big 10 foe Michigan State as snow in the East Lansing area forced the series to be moved to to Grand Rapids, Mich.
• The 'Dogs posted their first shutout of 2017 with a 9-0 win over Sacramento State at John Smith Field on Wednesday. It was the 'Dogs first trip to the Hornets' on-campus stadium since 2011.
• The Bulldogs take a break from Mountain West play this weekend to play its first Big Ten opponent since 2014 and first in Big Ten country since 2011.
• The 'Dogs and Spartans have only met once before with the lone meeting coming in the 2012 NCAA Tournament as the 'Dogs won 8-2.
• The 'Dogs are 29-14 all-time against the 13 current baseball-playing members of the Big Ten.
• The Bulldogs currently rank 14th in the nation in double plays (31) and triples (12) and are 15th in sacrifice bunts (26).
• Junior LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas leads the MW & ranks 22nd in the nation in K's (56).
• Junior SS Korby Batesole leads the MW and ranks 13th nationally in sacrifice bunts (7).
Fresno State vs. Michigan State- The Series
• This weekend's series will only be the second meeting between the Bulldogs and Spartans.
• Fresno State won the only meeting between the two programs in 2012 in the NCAA Tournament winning an elimination game 8-2 at Stanford.
• The 'Dogs are 29-14 all-time against the 13-baseball playing programs in the Big Ten.
• This will be the Bulldogs first opponent from the Big Ten conference since 2014 when they swept a two-game series at home over Penn State.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State 1-0
Last Meeting: June 2, 2012 (Stanford, Calif.) - W, 8-2Â
Current Streak: W1
Last Fresno State Win: June 2, 2012 (8-2) - Stanford, Calif.
Last Michigan State Win:Â N/A
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 4/6/17)
• .291 Batting Average: No. 5 [Leader, AFA - .326]
• .432 Slugging Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM .493]
• .369 On base Pct: No. 5 [Leader, UNM - .412]
• 25 sacrifice bunts: No. 2 [Leader, NEV - 30]
• 178 Runs: No. T-4 [Leader, UNM - 253]
• 298 Hits: No. 5 [Leader, UNLV - 334
• 162 RBI: No. 5 [Leader, UNM - 227]
• 60 Doubles: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - 76]
• 12 Triples: No. T-1 [14th nationally]
• 20 Home Runs: No. 4 [Leader, UNM- 30]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 4/6/17)
• 5.15 ERA: No. 3 [Leader, SDSU - 3.28]
• .262 Opposing bat average: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - .259]
• 7 saves: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 10]
• 236 strikeouts: No. 1
• 150 Earned runs allowed: No. 3 [Leader, SDSU - 97]
• 262 Hits allowed: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 257]
• 159 walks allowed: No. 7 [Leader, UNM - 91]
• 43 doubles allowed: No. 1
• 4 triples allowed: No. T-1Â
• 13 home runs allowed: No. T-1
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 4/6/17)
• .965 Fielding Percentage: No. 6 [Leader, SDSU .980]
• 329 Assists: No. 4 [Leader, UNLV- 355]
• 35 double plays: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU 40]
Batting Average: Aaron Arruda - 9th (.345)
Slugging percentage: Arruda - 5th (.563)
Hits: Arruda - T-8th (41)
RBI: Arruda - T-8th (26)
Runs: Austin Guibor - T-8th (27)
Doubles: Jared Akins  & Jesse Medrano- T-3rd (12)Â
Triples: Austin Guibor - T-2nd (3)Â
Total bases: Arruda - 6th (67)
Sacrifice bunts: Â Korby Batesole - T-1st (7) [13th nationally]
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 2nd (2.78)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 1st (.193)
Innings pitched: Thomas - 2nd (45.1)
       Rickey Ramirez - T-3rd (45.0)
Strikeouts: Thomas - 1st (56) (22nd in the nation)
          Ramirez & Fred Schlichtholz - T-5th (34)
Hits allowed: Schlichtholz - 2nd (30)
Earned runs allowed: Thomas - T-3rd (14)
Doubles allowed: Thomas - T-1st (4)
Saves: Edgar Gonzalez - 2nd (4)
Taking a look at the Michigan State Spartans
Michigan State comes into this weekend's meeting with the Bulldogs on a five-game losing skid after starting the season 15-5. The Spartans fell 4-3 at Eastern Michigan on Tuesday and were swept at home by Minnesota last weekend.
The Spartans are 1-4 at home and 10-3 on the road with its lone win at home coming on March 21 over Central Michigan 11-2. MSU opened the season 9-1 before going on the road to play Clemson and South Carolina, two nationally-ranked programs, in early March. The Spartans opened Big Ten play at Illinois sweeping the Illini outscoring them 41-11 in three games.
Michigan State is hitting .294 as a team from the plate to lead the Big Ten and rank 52nd in the nation. The Spartans also lead the Big Ten in doubles (63), scoring (7.5 runs per game) and slugging percentage (.467) while ranking second in double plays (27), on-base percentage (.388), runs (187) and are third in home runs (28) and hits (263).
Sophomore infielder Marty Bechina has started all 25 games hitting .323 from the dish and leads the team in hits (30), home runs (6), runs (22) and total bases (53). Junior outfielder Brandon Hughes leads the Big Ten and ranks 5th in the nation with 16 stolen bases.
The Spartans pitching staff has a 3.50 staff ERA to rank third in the Big Ten and are second in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 2.71 with 198 strikeouts to 73 walks. MSU has allowed 110 runs in 25 games for an average of 4.4 runs per game and are holding opponents to a .256 average. The weekend rotation of left-hander Alex Troop and right-handers Ethan Landon and Andrew Gonzalez are a combined 6-4. Troop is 3-2 with a 1.80 ERA in 40 innings of work along with 39 strikeouts, while Landon is 1-1 and Gonzalez is 2-1.
2017 Big Ten Preseason Baseball Poll
Rank   Team           Â
1.     Maryland     Â
2.     Michigan     Â
3.     Nebraska     Â
4.     Indiana        Â
5.     Michigan State     Â
T6.     Iowa        Â
T6. Â Â Â Minnesota
2017 Big Ten Preseason All-Conference Selections
Matt Byars, C, Sr., Michigan State
Brandon Hughes, OF, Jr., Michigan State
Alex Troop, UTIL, So., Michigan State
Fresno State vs. Big Ten Conference opponents
The 'Dogs have played 11 of the 13 baseball-playing Big Ten conference teams and hold an all-time record of 29-14 in 43 contests. The last time the Bulldogs played a member of the Big Ten came in 2016 when the 'Dogs won two games over Penn State in a pair of games in Fresno winning by scores of 13-3 and 12-3. Under Coach Batesole, the Bulldogs are 19-5 against the Big Ten as Batesole has defeated all six Big Ten opponents he has faced. He has defeated Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa and Penn State and has never faced Maryland, Rutgers, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue or Illinois.
Bulldogs All-Time Record vs. Big Ten opponents
Michigan State: 1-0 (2012)
Michigan: 3-1 (1989, 1992)
Northwestern: 0-1 (1999)
Purdue: 1-0 (1998)
Indiana: 2-1 (2008)
Minnesota: 4-1 (1988, 2003, 2007)
Ohio State: 1-0 (2011)
Rutgers: Never played
Maryland: Never played
Nebraska: 10-9 (1986, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2000, 2002, 2010, 2011)
Iowa: 3-1 (2007)
Illinois: 1-0 (2001)
Penn State 3-0 (2003, 2014)
Fresno State vs. Opponents from Michigan
The Bulldogs have also historically had great success against opponents from the Wolverine State as they have an all-time record of 11-2Â in 13Â contests. The 'Dogs won two of three games over Eastern Michigan at home in March and hosted Oakland out of the Horizon League in 2016 winning an entertaining contest 11-10.
Bulldogs All-Time Record vs. opponents from Michigan
Eastern Michigan: 5-1 (1990, 2001, 2017)
Michigan: 3-1 (1989, 1992)
Michigan State: 1-0 (2012)
Oakland: 1-0 (2016)
Western Michigan: 1-0 (1959)
Six Bulldog pitchers combine for first shutout of 2017
Senior Dominic Topoozian got his second career start on Wednesday and needed only 26 pitches to retire eight batters before giving way to Fred Schlichtholz, Adam Medrano, Ryan Jensen, Rickey Ramirez and Ricky Tyler Thomas to shutout Sacramento State and limit the Hornets to six hits.
Guibor sees 66-game consecutive games started streak end
Senior outfielder Austin Guibor saw his 66-game starting streak come to an end on Wednesday as he did not start for the first time since March 19, 2016 vs. UNLV and he had started the 51 games prior to that dating back to March 14, 2015.
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 jersey retired in a pregame ceremony. The Bulldogs will wear their retro Fresno Athletic Club jerseys against San Jose State in honor of Hirayama
Batesole within six wins of #500 at Fresno State
After Wednesday's win at Sacramento State, head coach Mike Batesole now sits at 494 wins at Fresno State and 750 in his career. He is six victories shy 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 at Fresno State is April 14 at home vs. Air Force.
Up next: The Bulldogs return home on Tuesday to host San Francisco at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium at 6:05 p.m. for Adopta-Palooza as we will be honoring local animal shelters at the game and show us a picture of your pet and get in the game for FREE.
"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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