Bulldogs welcome first-time opponent Houston Baptist for a four-game series (Feb. 23-25)

Friday, February 23

Fresno, CA

6:05 PM

Fresno State

Houston Baptist

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

Bulldogs welcome first-time opponent Houston Baptist for a four-game series (Feb. 23-25)

2/22/2018 2:00:00 PM | Baseball

Fresno State Notes (PDF)Houston Baptist Notes (PDF)

Playing a Southland Conference opponent for the first time in program history, the Fresno State baseball team returns home for a four-game series starting Friday night hosting Houston Baptist at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.

By: Travis Blanshan / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. - Playing a Southland Conference opponent for the first time in program history, the Fresno State baseball team returns home for a four-game series starting Friday night hosting Houston Baptist at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.

Games 6-9: Houston Baptist (2-2, 0-0 Southland) at Fresno State (4-1, 0-0 MW)

First Pitch: Feb. 23-25 - Fri: 6:05 p.m., Sat (DH): 2:05 p.m. & 6:05 p.m., Sun: 1:05 p.m.
Stadium: Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series: First meeting
Last Meeting: N/A

Radio: AM 940 ESPN (Fri. & Sun.)
Play-by-play: Paul Loeffler
Video: Mountain West Network (All four games)
Live Stats: Sidearm
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB

Pitching Probables: Fresno State vs. Houston Baptist (2018 stats)
Friday: So. RHP Ryan Jensen (0-0, 0.00) vs. Jr. RHP Zach Carter (0-1, 1.50)
Saturday Game 1: RFr. RHP Oscar Carvajal (1-0, 0.00) vs. Sr. LHP Matthew McCollough (0-0, 0.00)
Saturday Game 2: Jr. RHP Edgar Gonzalez (1-0, 1.12) vs. Jr. RHP Daniel Endsley (0-1, 16.20)
Sunday: Fr. LHP Jaime Arias (0-0, 3.00) vs. Jr. RHP Brady Batten (1-0, 2.25)

Promotions: KIDS WEEKEND!
Friday

KIDS WEEKEND!
One Paid Adult gets unlimited kids in for FREE

Saturday

KIDS WEEKEND!
One Paid Adult gets unlimited kids in for FREE
It's also Youth Jersey Saturday

Sunday

KIDS WEEKEND!
One Paid Adult gets unlimited kids in for FREE
Help us welcome Steve Toon for the first pitch of the day as we thank him for his many years of services to the Bulldog baseball program.
Salute to Sunday! All military and veterans get into the game for free with ID
Kids Are Welcome To Run The Bases After The Game!

Bulldog Headlines
• The Bulldogs are coming off their first loss of the season at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday afternoon falling 7-2 to the Gauchos.
• The 'Dogs got off to their third 4-0 or better start to a season in the Batesole era, since 2003, joining 2011 (6-0) & 2016 (11-0) with a four-game sweep over the Spartans on Opening Weekend winning three one-run games.
• Junior RHP Edgar Gonzalez, a Preseason All-Mountain West selection, earned his first career Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honor on Feb. 19 after tossing seven innings allowing five hits, all singles, one earned run while striking out seven in a 2-1 win over MSU on Feb. 17.
• This will be the 'Dogs first-ever contest against Houston Baptist and also the first time in program history they have played a school from the 13-team Southland Conference.
• The 'Dogs currently lead the Mountain West in double plays (4), fielding percentage (.989), hits (48), sacrifice bunts (4) and wins (4).
• Sophomore catcher Carter Bins currently leads the MW in doubles (3) & RBIs (8) while ranking second in hits (8).
• The Bulldogs improved to 12-4 in season openers under Batesole with a 5-4 walk-off win on Feb. 16 extending its winning streak to 10 in season openers.

Fresno State vs. Houston Baptist - The Series
• This weekend's series with Houston Baptist will be the first meeting between the two programs.
• The Bulldogs have also never played a member of the 13-team Southland Conference.
• The 'Dogs are 44-49 all-time against teams from the state of Texas last hosting a team from Texas in 2014 when the 'Dogs swept No. 18 Texas A&M.
• The last time Fresno State saw a program from the Lone Star state was in 2016 when they traveled to College Station for a three-game series vs. No. 3 Texas A&M losing a pair of one-run games.

Where Fresno State Ranked Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 2/20/18)
• .281 Batting Average: No. 3
• .421 Slugging Pct: No. 3
• .335 On base Pct: No. 4
• 4 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 - 11th nationally
• 23 Runs: No. 4
• 48 Hits: No. 1 - 23rd nationally
• 21 RBI: No. T-3
• 10 Doubles: No. 2 - 25th nationally
• 1 Triple: No. 4
• 4 Home Runs: No. 2

Where Fresno State Ranked Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 2/20/18)
• 3.48 ERA: No. 5
• .225 Opposing bat average: No. 2
• 2 saves: No. T-1
• 47 strikeouts: No. 2
• 17 Earned runs allowed: No. 5
• 36 Hits allowed: No. 4
• 21 walks allowed: No. 6
• 4 doubles allowed: No. T-1
• 0 triples allowed: No. T-1
• 3 home runs allowed: No. T-5

Where Fresno State Ranked Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 2/20/18)
• .989 Fielding Percentage: No. 1
• 50 Assists: No. 2
• 4 double plays: No. T-2

Where Fresno State Players Ranked in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2018 (as of 2/22/18)
RBI: Carter Bins - 1st (8) - 20th nationally
Hits: Zach Ashford - T-1st (9) - 13th nationally
Doubles: Bins - T-1st (3) - 18th nationally
Ashford , Jeremiah Burks & McCarthy Tatum - T-4th (2)
Triples: Korby Batesole - T-1st (1)
Home runs: Arruda - 1st (3) - 2nd nationally
Sacrifice bunts: Korby Batesole - 1st (2) - 5th nationally

Earned run average: Ryan Jensen &
Oscar Carvajal - 1st (0.00)
Innings pitched: Edgar Gonzalez - T-1st (8.0)
Strikeouts: Gonzalez - 1st (9)
Wins: Jensen, Carvajal, Hill & Sullivan - T-2nd (1)
Saves: Hill & Sullivan - T-2nd (1)

Junior RHP Edgar Gonzalez earns first career MW Pitcher of the Week honors
Gonzalez earned his first career Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honor after the Newark, Calif., native and Preseason All-Mountain West selection notched his first win of the season on Saturday evening tossing seven innings in the 'Dogs 2-1 win over Michigan State limiting MSU to five hits, all singles, one earned run while striking out seven.

Only allowing one baserunner past second base through the first six innings, Gonzalez came within two outs and two strikeouts of matching his career high in innings pitched (7.2) and strikeouts (9).

A look at the Houston Baptist Huskies
Houston Baptist, coming off a 29-25 overall record in 2017 finished fourth in the 13-team Southland Conference, is off to a 2-2 start to 2018 after winning one of three at Baylor on Opening Weekend before exploding for 15 runs in a 15-3 win over Texas Southern in their home opener on Tuesday.

The Huskies, who were selected fifth in the Southland Conference preseason poll, are only hitting .206 from the plate as a team with six of HBU's 26 hits going for extra bases.

On the mound, the Huskies have posted a 3.18 ERA as a team while holding opponents to a .256 average from the plate. HBU has only allowed 12 earned runs in four games this season while striking out 24 and walking 15.

The weekend rotation of Zach Carter, Matthew McCollough, Daniel Endsley and Brady Batten are seasoned veterans as they are all juniors except McCollough who is one of the Huskies' 12 seniors. Senior shortstop Tyler Depreta-Johnson, currently hitting .176 from the plate, and junior relief pitcher JT Newton were selected to the Southland Conference preseason team.

2018 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Team    Rank (1st-place votes)        Points
1. Sam Houston State (18)        282
2. Southeastern Louisiana (7) 261
3. McNeese State (1) 246
4. Central Arkansas 202
5. Houston Baptist 185
6.   Lamar 172
7. New Orleans 168
8. Stephen F. Austin 144
9. Nicholls State 122
10. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 92
11. Northwestern State 74
12. Abilene Christian 40
12. UIW 40

Bulldogs against the Lone Star State
The Bulldogs have faced six opponents from the Lone Star State in their history squaring off with Rice, Houston, Dallas Baptist, Texas Tech, TCU and Texas A&M compiling a overall record of 44-49 (.473) and a road record of 30-22 (.577) all-time.

• Texas A&M - 6-3 (1.000) (5-0 at home, 0-3 on road, 1-0 neutral)
• Texas Tech - 2-1 (.667) (1-0 at home, 1-1 on road)
• TCU - 12-8 (.600) (6-5 at home, 6-3 on road)
• Dallas Baptist - 7-7 (.500) (7-7 at home)
• Rice - 17-29 (.370) (11-10 at home, 4-17 on road, 2-2 neutral)
• Houston - 0-1 (.000) (0-1 on road)

Fresno State vs. Southland Conference opponents
This will be the 'Dogs first meeting against a Southland Conference opponent in program history. The 13-team conference consists of programs in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas.

In addition to Houston Baptist, other conference teams are Abilene Christian, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Sam Houston State, Lamar, Stephen F. Austin, Incarnate Word, Southeastern Louisiana, New Orleans, Northwestern State, McNeese State, Nicholls State and Central Arkansas.

JT Arruda leading Mountain West in home runs
Redshirt freshman third baseman JT Arruda has gotten off to an impressive start from the plate blasting three home runs in the 'Dogs first five games of the season. He is the latest Arruda brother to smack the ball out of Bob Bennett Stadium as older brother, Aaron, a two-time First-Team All-Mountain West selection in 2016 & 2017, hit 27 home runs in his three-year Bulldog career which is tied for 14th all-time in program history.

Fresh faces
13 Bulldogs have seen their first action at Fresno State this season as eight position players and five pitchers have made their debuts this season.

Joseph Mendez, Nate Thimjon, JT Arruda, Emilio Nogales, Zach Presno, Austin White, Nolan Dempsey, Auston Chastain, Nikoh Mitchell, Oscar Carvajal, Jaime Arias, Jamison Hill and Chad Wilson have all played in their first game as 'Dogs this season.

2018 Preseason Honors for Gonzalez & Carter Bins
In addition to being named to the All-Mountain West Preseason Team, Gonzalez has also been named the Mountain West Preseason Pitcher of the Year by D1Baseball.com. Baseball America and Perfect Game. Gonzalez was also named the top prospect in the MW for the 2018 MLB Draft by Baseball America.

Joining Gonzalez on the Preseason All-Mountain West Team by Perfect Game was 2017 Co-Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-American Carter Bins.

Ten-year anniversary of the 2008 National Championship Team
On Saturday, April 14, Fresno State Athletics will honor the 2008 National Championship Wonderdogs prior to the Bulldogs' game vs. San Jose State.

The first No. 4 regional seed ever to advance to the College World Series, the 'Dogs proved all the doubters wrong and upset a talented field and came back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs in the final two games of the championship series for the title. Please plan to join us as we honor one of Fresno State Athletics greatest team accomplishment.

"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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