Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
No. 2 San Diego State
Red-hot Bulldogs open up Mountain West Tournament play Thursday against SDSU
5/24/2017 10:30:00 AM | Baseball
The Fresno State baseball team opens up play at the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday afternoon as the number three seed facing second-seed San Diego State at 2 p.m. PT at Santa Ana Star Field.
Mountain West Baseball Championship Tournament:Â May 25-28, 2017
Format:Â Double Elimination
Game 1 First Pitch:Â May 25Â - Thu: 2 p.m. PT vs. San Diego State
Stadium:Â Santa Ana Star Field (1,000)
Surface:Â FieldTurf
Dimensions:Â 350 (LF), 420 (CF), 350 (RF)
Radio:Â 940 AM ESPN
Play-by-play:Â Paul Loeffler
Video:Â Mountain West Network
Live Stats:Â GoBulldogs.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
• Fresno State enter this week's Mountain West Tournament hosted by MW regular season champion New Mexico as the number three seed.
• It is the third straight season the 'Dogs have finished in the top three of the MW in the final regular season standings after winning the MW in 2016 and finishing third in 2015.
• The Bulldogs are coming off winning seven of its last eight games of the regular season.
• The 'Dogs won their final four MW series as FS won 7 of its 10 MW series this year.
• The Bulldogs are one of the hottest teams in the country offensively and came down the home stretch of the regular season with a 14-3 mark in their final 17 games.
• Fresno State has jumped up to a season-best No. 122 in the RPI after defeating Gonzaga 9-2 at home on Monday.
• The 'Dogs lead the nation in double plays (62), rank 7th in hits (626), 15th in doubles (118), 16th in slugging percentage (.482), 17th in batting average (.310) and 18th in runs (404).
• Junior 1B Aaron Arruda leads the MW in RBI (64) & total bases (147).
• Junior LHP Ricky Tyler Thomas, who was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on Monday, leads the MW with 94 strikeouts.
Mountain West Tournament History                                                             Â
• Fresno State will play in its fifth-ever Mountain West postseason tournament this week and enters this year's tournament as the number three seed.
• Fresno State owns a 5-8 all-time record in MW tournament games.
• As the No. 1 seed in 2016, Fresno State went 0-2 falling in a heartbreaker 9-7 to Air Force in the first game before falling 25-6 to Nevada in eight innings in the losers bracket.
• As the No. 3 seed, the 'Dogs went 2-2 in the 2015 tournament winning the first two games over UNLV and San Diego State before losing to New Mexico and SDSU.
• As the No. 5 seed, Fresno State opened the 2014 tournament with a 4-3 win against Nevada before dropping the next two.
• As the No. 4 seed, Fresno State opened the 2013 tournament vs. Nevada and fell 4-3 in 12 innings, won the next two, and then fell to San Diego State.
• Fresno State hosted the 2013 MW tournament, its first year in the conference.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 5/24/17) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
• .310 Batting Average: No. 4 [Leader, AFA - .344] [17th nationally]
• .482 Slugging Pct: No. 3 [Leader, AFA .556]  [16th nationally]
• .381 On base Pct: No. 4 [Leader, UNM - .421]
• 45 sacrifice bunts: No. 2 [Leader, NEV - 49] [26th nationally]
• 404 Runs: No. 3 [Leader, UNM - 477]  [18th nationally]
• 626 Hits: No. 4 [Leader, AFA - 678]  [7th nationally]
• 374 RBI: No. 3 [Leader, UNM - 430]
• 118 Doubles: No. 4 [Leader, AFA - 153]  [16th nationally]
• 21 Triples: No. 1 [14th nationally]
• 62 Home Runs: No. 2 [Leader, AFA - 75]
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 5/24/17) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
• 5.52 ERA: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 3.86]
• .280 Opposing bat average: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - .263]
• 15 saves: No. T-1
• 444 strikeouts: No. 1
• 306 Earned runs allowed: No. T-2 [Leader, SDSU - 216]
• 543 Hits allowed: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 503]
• 275 walks allowed: No. 7 [Leader, SDSU - 167]
• 99 doubles allowed: No. 2 [Leader, SDSU - 86]
• 11 triples allowed: No. 1
• 37 home runs allowed: No. 1
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West in 2017 (as of 5/24/17) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
• .971 Fielding Percentage: No. 4 [Leader, SDSU - .979]
• 602 Assists: No. 7 [Leader, SJSU - 636]
• 62 double plays: No. 1 [2nd nationally]
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2017 (as of 5/24/17) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Batting Average: Aaron Arruda - 2nd (.383) [25th nationally]
Slugging percentage: Arruda - 4th (.662) [27th nationally]
RBI: Arruda - 1st (64) [14th nationally]
Hits: Arruda - 3rd (85) [8th nationally]
Doubles: Jared Akins - 5th (20)Â
Triples: Austin Guibor - T-1st (5)
Home runs: Arruda - 2nd (15) [37th nationally]
Total bases: Arruda - 1st (147) [7th nationally]
Sacrifice bunts: Â Korby Batesole - 1st (12) [22nd nationally]
ERA: Ricky Tyler Thomas - 1st (3.70)
Opposing batting average: Thomas - 2nd (.229)
Innings pitched: Thomas - 4th (82.2)Â
Strikeouts: Thomas - T-1st (94)
          Ramirez - 4th (67)
Wins: Thomas - 2nd (7)
Hits allowed: Fred Schlichtholz - 1st (49)
Earned runs allowed: Schlichtholz - 1st (29)
Saves: Gonzalez - T-4th (5)
Fresno State rolls into the Mountain West Tournament playing its best ball of the season                                    Â
Since defeating Nevada 27-5 on April 23, the Bulldogs have been red-hot going 14-3 over its last 17 regular season games and have been putting up eye-popping offensive numbers.
As a team, the 'Dogs are hitting .348 from the plate and have racked up 83 extra-base hits in that span with 40 doubles, seven triples and 36 home runs.Â
Junior first baseman Aaron Arruda (.418) and junior outfielder Jared Akins (.403) are each hitting over .400 over that span and the other six Bulldog starters are hitting north of .300. The Bulldogs are averaging 10.1 runs per game and have scored seven or more runs in 12 games.
'Dogs notch fourth-straight season of 20 or more wins at home                                                                        Â
This year's senior class won 86Â games at home in their four years and they capped off another 20-win season at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium on Monday with a 9-2 win over Gonzaga.
The 'Dogs won 20 games at home in 2014, 2015 & 2017 and picked up 26 wins in 2016. It is the 12th time in Coach Batesole's 15 years the 'Dogs have reached the 20-win plateau at home barely missing it in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
Ricky Tyler Thomas earns Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors                                          Â
It is the junior left-handed pitcher's fifth career Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honor after the San Diego native picked up three weekly honors as a sophomore in 2016 on his way to earning First-Team All-Mountain West accolades.
The southpaw returned to his hometown last week at San Diego State tossing 6.2 innings in the 'Dogs 4-0 shutout win over the Aztecs on Thursday as he limited SDSU to three hits, all singles, no runs and struck out seven.Â
Combining with fellow San Diego native, junior left-hander Fred Schlichtholz, the duo held a potent San Diego State lineup in check as no baserunner advanced past second base in the game.
It was Thomas' eighth career game pitching at least six innings without allowing an earned run and second time this season as he also did it at home against UC Riverside (Feb. 24) where he tossed seven innings, allowed one hit and struck out a career-best 15.
Arruda finishes the regular season as the MW leader in RBIs & total bases                                                             Â
Arruda finished the regular season leading the Mountain West in RBIs with 64, total bases with 147 and ranked second in home runs (15) & batting average (.383) and tied for third in hits (85).
Arruda continues climb up Bulldog home run lists              Â
With a home run on Saturday in the 'Dogs 11-2 win over San Diego State, Arruda now has 15Â home runs in 2017 and 27Â in his career. His 15Â home runs on the season are currently tied for 15th all-time and are the most in a season since Dusty Robinson had 16 in 2011.Â
His 27 career long balls put him in a tie for 14th place all-time in program history with Steve Vondran and he can move into the top 10 all-time with three more home runs.
Over the last 17 games, the 'Dogs have found their offense as they enter this week with seven starters hitting above .300 on the season as Aaron Arruda, Jesse Medrano, Jake Stone, Jared Akins, Scott Silva, Zach Ashford and Austin Guibor have each played in at least 52 games and have helped drive an offense that is among the nation's best ranking in the top 20 in the nation in hits (7th - 626), slugging percentage (16th - .482), doubles (16th - 118), batting average (17th - ..310) and runs (18th - 404).
'Dogs going yard                          Â
The 'Dogs have hit a home run in 12 of its last 13 games slugging multiple home runs in 11 of those contests and with 62 on the season has the most in a season since 2010.
2017 - 62; 2016 - 37; 2015 - 34; 2014 - 37; 2013 - 36; 2012 - 19; 2011 - 50; 2010 - 88
Doubles galore                             Â
The Bulldogs have also hit a plethora of doubles as their 118 on the season rank 16th in the nation and are also the most since 2010.
2017 - 118; 2016 - 102; 2015 - 93; 2014 - 96; 2013 - 93; 2012 - 108; 2011 - 114; 2010 - 137
Hits just keep on coming                        Â
With 626 hits on the season, the 'Dogs rank 7th in the nation and have recorded the most hits in a season since 2010 when they finished with 712.
A look at the 'Dogs eight seniors                                       Â
Eight Bulldog seniors are playing in their final Mountain West Tournament this week as they look to close out their careers with Fresno State's first-ever MW Tournament championship. This year's class has the most wins for a senior class with 127 since the 2013 class finished with 132.
2017 - 127; 2016 - 118; 2015 - 113; 2014 - 122; 2013 - 132; 2012 - 143; 2011 - 159
A look at the New Mexico Lobos (29-25-1, 19-9-1 MW)               Â
New Mexico enters the MW Tournament as the number one seed after winning the regular season title on Saturday with a win over Nevada and were aided by a Bulldog win over San Diego State.Â
The Lobos, who hosted and won the 2016 MW Tournament title, rank second in the MW and 9th in the nation hitting .319 as a team. UNM ranks 3rd in the country in runs (477) and 4th in hits (634), scoring (8.7 runs per game) and on-base percentage (.421).
A look at the San Diego State Aztecs (38-18, 20-10 MW)
San Diego State, who came up just percentage points shy of the regular season MW crown, are also a potent offensive team as they come in hitting .318 from the plate to rank 10th in the country.Â
The Aztecs can do it from both sides as the SDSU pitching staff leads the MW with a 3.86 ERA while also leading the MW in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.32), WHIP (1.53), walks allowed per nine innings (2.99) and shutouts (5).
A look at the Nevada Wolf Pack (19-34, 13-16 MW)Â
Nevada, who punched a ticket to the tournament with a pair of wins at New Mexico last weekend, returns to Albuqueruqe this week leading the MW with 49 sacrifice bunts, good for 16th in the nation. Â The Wolf Pack have a pair of strong arms in the starting rotation in Trevor Charpie and Mark Nowaczewski as Nevada will look to its pitching staff to keep itself in contention. Â Nowaczewski leads the MW with 95.0 innings thrown and is fourth in ERA (4.17) while Charpie is tied for fifth with 64 strikeouts.
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