Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
CSUN
Diamond 'Dogs welcome back CSUN for second meeting in Fresno Tuesday
4/23/2018 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
After a weekend series at San Diego State, the Diamond 'Dogs return home to open a five-game homestand hosting Big West foe CSUN for the second time in two weeks on Tuesday night at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Game 40: CSUN (17-22, 5-7 Big West) at Fresno State (23-16, 9-12 MW)
First Pitch:Â April 24Â - Tue: 6:05 p.m.
Stadium:Â Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface:Â Grass
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 52-26
Last Meeting: CSUN won 15-2 over Fresno State on April 10, 2018 in Fresno, Calif.
Radio:Â 940 AM ESPN
Play-by-play:Â Paul Loeffler
Video:Â Mountain West Network
Live Stats:Â Sidearm
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Pitching Probable: Fresno State vs. CSUN
Tuesday: Fr. LHP Nikoh Mitchell (3-2, 4.15, 34.2 IP, 30 K) vs. RJr. LHP Cayce Rocco (0-0, 6.52, 9.2 IP, 15 K)
Promotion:Â 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 &Â Underdogs to Wonderdogs shirts.
- First Pitch: Lucky Student from ASIÂ Student Tailgate
- Team of the Game: Students from the ASI Student Tailgate
Bulldog Headlines
• The Diamond 'Dogs are coming off winning one of three games at San Diego State over the weekend winning 7-4 on Saturday and fell 3-2 on Friday and 7-0 on Sunday.
• The Bulldogs improved to 5-2 in midweek contests last Tuesday with a 8-5 win at home over Saint Mary's. The 'Dogs have two midweek games left after Tuesday.
• This will be the second of three meetings this season against the Matadors after CSUN won 15-2 on April 10. The teams also met in Northridge on May 8.
• The Bulldogs slid back to 5th in the MW with Air Force currently sitting in fourth. The 'Dogs host the Falcons this weekend for the lone series of the season between the two teams.
• Fresno State Baseball honored the 10-year anniversary of the Wonderdogs 2008 National Championship run with an on-field ceremony on April 15 as 16 members of the team made their way back to Fresno for the special celebration.
• The Bulldogs currently lead the Mountain West in sacrifice bunts (33) while ranking second in home runs (36) and are third in slugging percentage (.444).
• Junior OF Zach Ashford ranks fourth in the MW with a .362 batting average and is currently on a 41-game on-base streak for the 4th-longest active streak in Division I.
Fresno State vs. CSUN - The Series
• Fresno State and CSUN have played 78 games all-time against one another.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 52-26 as the series dates back to 1961.
• The Matadors dominated the first of three games between the two teams this season winning 15-2 on April 10. The third game is at CSUN on May 8.
• The 'Dogs had won the last previous three matchups against the Matadors as the two teams met in 2015 in Fresno with the Bulldogs pulling out a 4-3 win in 16 innings as Korby Batesole, the lone Bulldog player remaining who played in the game, drove in Brody Russell for the game-winning run.
• Head coach Mike Batesole, who was the head coach at CSUN from 1996-2002, is 4-2 against his former team.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State 52-26
Last Meeting: April 10, 2018 (Fresno, Calif.) - L, 15-2Â
Current Streak: L1
Last Fresno State Win: May 5, 2015 (4-3) (16) - Fresno, Calif.Â
Last CSUN Win: April 10, 2018 Â (15-2) - Fresno, Calif.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/23/18)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
• .294 Batting Average: No. 4
• .444 Slugging Pct: No. 3
• .367 On base Pct: No. 5
• 33 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 - 17th nationally
• 226 Runs: No. 5
• 396 Hits: No. 4
• 206 RBI: No. 5
• 73 Doubles: No. 5
• 10 Triples: No. 6
• 36 Home Runs: No. 2Â
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/23/18)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
• 4.93 ERA: No. 3
• .266 Opposing bat average: No. 3
• 10 saves: No. T-4
• 328 strikeouts: No. 2
• 190 Earned runs allowed: No. 3
• 357 Hits allowed: No. 3
• 163 walks allowed: No. 5
• 56 doubles allowed: No. 2
• 9 triples allowed: No. T-2
• 21 home runs allowed: No. 3
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/23/18)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
• .967 Fielding Percentage: No. T-6
• 406 Assists: No. 3
• 37 double plays: No. T-5
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2018 (as of 4/23/18)Â Â Â
Batting average: Zach Ashford - 4th (.362)
Hits: Ashford - T-7th (55)
Doubles: Bins- Â 5th (15)
Home runs: Bins - T-4th (7)
RBIs: Bins - 8th (34)
Sacrifice bunts:  Korby Batesole - 1st (10) - 13th nationally
ERA: Jamie Arias - 1st (2.13)
Opposing Batting Average: Arias - 1st (.180)
Innings pitched: Gonzalez - 1st (65.0)
Strikeouts: Gonzalez - 1st (76) - 36th nationally
Wins: Gonzalez - T-1st (6)
Saves: Jamison Hill - T-5th (5)
Appearances: Jaime Arias - T-6th (19)
Earned runs allowed: Arias - 2nd (12)
Hits allowed: Arias -1st (32)
Walks allowed: Arias -1st (6)
A look at the CSUNÂ Matadors
CSUN enters the second of three meetings with the Bulldogs this season with a 17-22 overall record in 2018 and a 5-7 mark in Big West action looking to snap a five-game losing skid. Three of those five losses have been one run with another by two runs and their most recent setback, 8-4 against UC Irvine on Sunday. The Matadors are 1-6 since beating the 'Dogs, 15-2 on April 10.
The Matadors, who are 6-11 on the road in 2018 and were selected fifth in the Big West preseason poll, come into Tuesday's game with a .282 average from the dish as a team to rank third in the Big West while CSUN leads the league in scoring at 6.4 runs per game. The 15 runs scored by the Matadors against the 'Dogs on April 10 was the third-most runs in a game this season for CSUN after they score 21 and 31 runs in back-to-back games against Manhattan in February.
CSUN also leads the Big West in doubles (72), home runs (54), runs (251), hit by pitches (65) & slugging percentage (.469). The Matadors are led by the bat of junior Trevor Casanova who leads the league with a .370 average from the dish and has a team-high 15 doubles & 57 hits. Senior Albee Weiss ranks fourth in the nation with 15 home runs and is 20th with 46 RBIs.
On the mound, the Matadors have a staff ERA of 4.72, seventh in the Big West, while allowing 5.4 runs per game with a 2.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio collecting 287 strikeouts while issuing 118 walks and are holding opponents to a .285 average. Redshirt junior left-hander Cayce Rocco will get the start on the mound for CSUN making his first start of the season and enters the game with a 6.52 ERA in 9.2 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Ashford extends his on-base streak to 41 games
Junior outfielder Zach Ashford has reached base in all 37 games he has played in this season and has reached base in 41 straight games dating back to 2017.  It currently ranks tied for the 4th-longest active streak in the country.
The Clovis native is currently fourth in the Mountain West with a .362 average from the plate and leads the team with 55 hits (tied for 7th in MW). He has a base hit in 34 of the 37 games he has played in this season and has only struck out 16 times in 152 at-bats.
Familiar foe
The 'Dogs will see the CSUN Matadors for the second time in two weeks on Tuesday after the Matadors made quick work of the 'Dogs at home in a 15-2 win on April 10. Freshman southpaw Nikoh Mitchell will get the start on the mound for the 'Dogs, his fourth of the season, after his last start came against the Matadors tossing 3.0 innings as CSUN built a 13-0 lead after four-and-half innings and did not look back.
Diamond 'Dogs held with a longball in San Diego
The Bulldogs, who had hit at least one home run in 12 of their last 15 games, heading into their weekend series at San Diego State were held without a home run against the Aztecs. It is the longest stretch this season the 'Dogs have been held without a home run as the 'Dogs have hit a home run in 25 of 39 games and the 36 home runs on the season rank 43rd in the nation.
Ouch!
The 'Dogs currently lead the Mountain West and rank 13th in the nation in hit by pitchers as Bulldog pitchers have hit 60 batters. 12 of Fresno State's 13 pitchers has hit at least one batter with Isaiah Davis is the lone hurler not to hit a batter.
Diamond 'Dogs offense coming alive
Over the last 17 games, the 'Dogs are 10-7 hitting .325 from the plate as a team scoring 136 runs and totaling 206 hits with 62 (39 doubles, four triples and 19 home runs) going for extra-bases.Â
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 have 33 on the season to lead the MW and rank 17th in the nation. Senior shortstop Korby Batesole leads the club and Mountain West with 10, ranking 13th in the country.
Head coach Mike Batesole continues to rack up the wins as he is closing in another milestone sitting only eight wins shy of 800 in his career. Now in his 16th season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Batesole has won 536 games at Fresno State and 256 at CSUN from 1996-2002. With seven 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 'Dogs continue their five-game homestand this weekend playing MW foe Air Force (18-21, 10-10 MW) for Salute to Services Weekend Friday through Sunday.
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