Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Saint Mary's
Diamond 'Dogs wrap up homestand welcoming Saint Mary's Tuesday
4/16/2018 3:45:00 PM | Baseball
After a memorable day at Bob Bennett Stadium on Sunday afternoon, the Diamond 'Dogs return to action on Tuesday night closing out a five-game homestand welcoming Saint Mary's to Fresno for only the second time since 2001.
Game 36: Saint Mary's (19-15, 8-7 WCC) at Fresno State (21-14, 8-10 MW)
First Pitch: April 17 - Tue: 6:05 p.m.
Stadium: Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 70-22
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 3-2 over SMC on May 3, 2016 in Fresno, Calif.
Radio: 940 AM ESPN
Play-by-play: Paul Loeffler
Video: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: Sidearm
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Pitching Probable: Fresno State vs. Saint Mary's
Tuesday: Fr. LHP Jaime Arias (3-0, 1.34, 40.1 IP, 43 K) vs. Jr. RHP Conner Loeprich (0-1, 5.17, 15.2 IP, 11 K)
Promotions: T-Shirt Tuesday!
- Have a chance to win one of four t-shirts: Our House shirts, Bulldog Born - Bulldog Bred Chevron shirts, Aaron Judge Shirts & Underdogs to Wonderdogs shirts.
First Pitch: Fresno State Volleyball Coach Jonathan Winder!
National Anthem: Valerie Salcedo
Bulldog Headlines
• The Diamond 'Dogs are coming winning one of three games over the weekend at home over MW foe San Jose State defeating the Spartans, 11-7 on Friday night before dropping the final two games of the season.
• Fresno State Baseball honored the 10-year anniversary of the Wonderdogs 2008 National Championship run with an on-field ceremony on Sunday as 16 members of the team made their way back to Fresno for the special celebration.
• This will be only the third game between the two programs since 2001 after the 'Dogs won both meetings in 2016.
• Junior OF Zach Ashford ranks fourth in the MW with a .370 batting average and is currently on a 37-game on-base streak for the 4th-longest active streak in Division I.
• Redshirt senior 1B Torin Goldstein is an a recent offensive tear going 22-for-33 over his last nine games notching a hit in every game and has multiple hits in seven games.
• The Bulldogs currently lead the Mountain West in sacrifice bunts (29) while ranking second in home runs (35) and slugging percentage (.453).
• Freshman southpaw Jaime Arias leads the MW in opposing batting average (.151), earned runs allowed (6), hits allowed (21) and walks allowed (6).
Fresno State vs. Saint Mary's - The Series
• The Fresno State/Saint Mary's series dates back to 1969 with the two teams meeting 92 times.
• The Bulldogs defeated the Gaels twice in 2016 topping Saint Mary's 6-4 on the road and winning 3-2 at home.
• This will be only the third matchup for Coach Batesole against the Gaels in his tenure as the pair of meetings in 2016 was the first time the two teams have played since 2001.
• The two teams faced each other at least once every year over a 21-year period from 1976-1996 and had 46 games against one another in a eight-year period between 1977-84.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State 70-22
Last Meeting: May 3, 2016 (Fresno, Calif.) - W, 3-2
Current Streak: W9
Last Fresno State Win: May 3, 2016 (3-2) - Fresno, Calif.
Last Saint Mary's Win: Feb. 21, 1995 (6-3) - Moraga, Calif.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/16/18)
• .299 Batting Average: No. 3
• .453 Slugging Pct: No. 2
• .371 On base Pct: No. 4
• 29 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 - 21st nationally
• 209 Runs: No. 5
• 362 Hits: No. 4
• 192 RBI: No. 5
• 66 Doubles: No. 5
• 8 Triples: No. T-6
• 35 Home Runs: No. 2
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/16/18)
• 5.06 ERA: No. 4
• .268 Opposing bat average: No. 3
• 9 saves: No. 5
• 302 strikeouts: No. T-1
• 176 Earned runs allowed: No. 3
• 323 Hits allowed: No. 3
• 149 walks allowed: No. 5
• 53 doubles allowed: No. 2
• 9 triples allowed: No. 3
• 16 home runs allowed: No. T-2
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/16/18)
• .966 Fielding Percentage: No. 7
• 371 Assists: No. 3
• 37 double plays: No. T-3
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2018 (as of 4/16/18)
Batting average: Zach Ashford - 4th (.370)
Hits: Ashford - T-7th (50)
Doubles: Bins- T-7th (12)
Home runs: Bins - T-4th (7)
RBIs: Bins - T-7th (34)
Sacrifice bunts: Korby Batesole - 1st (10) - 9th nationally
ERA: Jamie Arias - 1st (1.34) - 16th nationally
Opposing Batting Average: Arias - 1st (.151)
Innings pitched: Gonzalez - 1st (60.0)
Strikeouts: Gonzalez - 1st (73) - 24th nationally
Wins: Gonzalez - 4th (5)
Saves: Jamison Hill - T-5th (5)
Appearances: Jaime Arias - T-8th (17)
Earned runs allowed: Arias - T-1st (6)
Hits allowed: Arias -1st (21)
Walks allowed: Arias -1st (6)
A look at the Saint Mary's Gaels
Saint Mary's enters Tuesday's game with the Bulldogs with a 19-15 overall record and a 8-7 mark in West Coast Conference play.
The Gaels, who were selected third in the WCC preseason poll after going 37-20 in 2017, are coming off winning two of three games over the weekend at San Diego and are 12-11 overall on the season on the road.
SMC is hitting .263 as a team to rank fourth in the nine-team WCC while ranking last in the league in scoring at 4.4 runs per game.
Sophomore outfielder Joe Vranesh leads the team with a .279 average while senior catcher Jackson Thoreson has a team-high four home runs, 10 doubles, 19 RBIs and 25 runs scored.
On the mound, the Gaels lead the WCC in ERA at 3.08 and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.99) as the team has combined for 302 strikeouts while only allowing 101 walks. Opponents are hitting .234 against Saint Mary's while only averaging 3.6 runs per game.
Junior right-hander Conner Loeprich, a Clovis native who attended Buchanan High School and was high school teammates with Korby Batesole, Zach Ashford and JT Arruda, gets the start on the mound on Tuesday for Saint Mary's.
He enters the contest with a 0-1 record with a 5.17 ERA in 13 appearances, including two starts. In 15.1 innings of work, he has allowed 12 runs while striking out 11 and has issued eight walks.
Ashford extends on-base streak to 37 games
Junior outfielder Zach Ashford has reached base in all 33 games he has played in this season and has reached base in 37 straight games dating back to 2017. It currently ranks tied for the 4th-longest active streak in the country.
He is currently fourth in the Mountain West with a .370 average from the plate and leads the team with 50 hits (tied for 7th in MW). He has a base hit in 30 of the 33 games he has played in this season and has only struck out 10 times in 135 at-bats.
Goldstein continues impressive run from the plate
After earning Mountain West Player of the Week & Fresno State Student-Athlete of the Week honors last week after going 9-for-13 on the week, Torin Goldstein had another impressive week going 10-for-16 in four games adding a double, home run, two runs scored and six RBIs.
Over his last nine games, dating back to March 30, the Irvine native has a hit in all nine games, multiple hits in seven outings, while combining to go 22-for-33 with five runs scored and 13 RBIs while making seven starts at first base.
Diamond 'Dogs offense coming alive
Over the last 13 games, the 'Dogs are 8-5 hitting .345 from the plate as a team scoring 119 runs and totaling 172 hits with 52 (32 doubles, two triple and 18 home runs) going for extra-bases.
Nine Bulldogs have double-digit hits over that stretch led by 22 from Goldstein, and have added 20 from Nolan Dempsey while Arruda, Jeremiah Burks and Ashford each have 19. Carter Bins has 16, Miles Tomczak (13) and Korby Batesole (12) & Zach Presno (12) as those nine have combined for 152 of the 172 (88.4 percent) hits.
Freshman southpaw Arias gets the starting nod
Jaime Arias has been on a roll as of late allowing only one earned run, three runs total, over his last 11 appearances. In 21.1 innings of work, all in relief, he has given up eight hits in that span while notching 29 strikeouts. Arias will make only his fourth start of the season on Tuesday and first since March 6 against San Francisco.
On the season, Arias is 3-0 with a 1.34 ERA to ead the MW as he also leads the league in earned runs allowed (6), walks allowed (6) and opposing batting average (.151) among those pitchers that qualify.
Sacrificing for the team
Playing a National League style of play this season, the 'Dogs have to manufacture runs in creative ways and one of those ways is through sacrifice bunts as the 'Dogs had three over the weekend are now up to 29 on the season to lead the MW and rank 21st in the nation. Senior shortstop Korby Batesole leads the club and Mountain West with 10, ranking 9th in the country.
Carter Bins named to Johnny Bench Award Watch List
Sophomore catcher Carter Bins was named to the 2018 Johnny Bench Award Watch List on March 6 given annually to the top Division I collegiate catcher. A Freshman All-American and the Co-Mountain West Freshman of the Year in 2017, Bins continues his great sophomore season starting all 35 games hitting .307 from the plate leading the team in at-bats (137), doubles (12), runs (28), home runs (7), RBI (34) and total bases (75) and ranking third in hits (42).
Batesole closing in on 800 career wins
Head coach Mike Batesole continues to rack up the wins as he is closing in another milestone sitting only 10 wins shy of 800 in his career. Now in his 16th season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Batesole has won 534 games at Fresno State and 256 at CSUN from 1996-2002. With nine more wins, Batesole will have his 13th season of at least 30 wins at Fresno State and 18th overall in his 22 years as a Division I head coach.
Up next
The Bulldogs hit the road this weekend for their fourth Mountain West road series of the season traveling to San Diego State (23-13, 8-6 MW) for a three-game series starting Friday at 6 p.m.
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