Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
University of San Francisco
Diamond 'Dogs open road trip at San Francisco Wednesday
4/3/2018 4:00:00 PM | Baseball
After winning three of four games at home over Spring Break last week, the Diamond 'Dogs hit the road this week starting with a trip to San Francisco on Wednesday afternoon.
Game 28:Â Fresno State (16-11, 4-8 MW) at San Francisco (18-10, 8-1 WCC)
First Pitch:Â April 4 - Wed: 2:00 p.m.
Stadium:Â Benedetti Stadium (1,000)
Surface:Â AstroTurf
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF), 405 (CF), 300 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 78-20
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 3-2 over San Francisco on March 6, 2018 in Fresno, Calif.
Radio:Â N/A
Play-by-play:Â N/A
Video:Â TheW.tv
Live Stats:Â StatBroadcast
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
• The Diamond 'Dogs hit the road for four games this week starting with a Wednesday afternoon contest at San Francisco at Beneditti Diamond.
• Fresno State is 78-20 all-time against the Dons winning its previous matchup this season at home, 3-2 on March 6.
• The 'Dogs are coming off winning two of three games over the weekend at home over non-conference foe Long Beach State.
• Junior right-handed pitcher Edgar Gonzalez was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season on Tuesday after tossing a complete game, two-hitter on Saturday while striking out 11.
• The 'Dogs currently lead the Mountain West in sacrifice bunts (24) while ranking second in home runs (27) and third in slugging percentage (.440).
• Gonzalez leads the MW & ranks 11th in the nation in strikeouts (64).
• Freshman southpaw Jaime Arias leads the MW in opposing batting average (.154), earned runs allowed (5), hits allowed (18) and walks allowed (4).
• Junior OF Zach Ashford ranks fourth in the MW with a .378 batting average and is currently on a 29-game on-base streak.
Fresno State vs. San Francisco - The Series
• The Fresno State/San Francisco series dates back to 1957 with the Bulldogs leading 78-20.
• The two teams met earlier this season at Bob Bennett Stadium as the 'Dogs took advantage of a seventh inning error by the Dons to win 3-2.
• Coach Batesole in 14-13 in 27 matchups all-time against the Dons with a 1-2 mark on the road.
• The two teams met 46 times between 1977 and 1984 when both schools were members of the Northern California Baseball Association and were joined by Nevada, Pacific, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara and San Jose State.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State 78-20
Last Meeting: March 6, 2018 (Fresno, Calif.) - W, 3-2
Current Streak: W1
Last Fresno State Win: March 6, 2018 (3-2) - Fresno, Calif.
Last San Francisco Win: April 11, 2017 (7-6) - Fresno, Calif.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/3/18) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
• .283 Batting Average: No. 4
• .440 Slugging Pct: No. 3
• .351 On base Pct: No. 6
• 24 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 - 14th nationally
• 140 Runs: No. 6
• 255 Hits: No. 4
• 128 RBI: No. 6
• 49 Doubles: No. 5
• 6 Triples: No. 6
• 27 Home Runs: No. 2Â
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/3/18) 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
• 4.37 ERA: No. 3
• .248 Opposing bat average: No. 1
• 8 saves: No. T-2
• 254 strikeouts: No. 1
• 116 Earned runs allowed: No. 3
• 226 Hits allowed: No. 2
• 105 walks allowed: No. 4
• 37 doubles allowed: No. 2
• 4 triples allowed: No. 3
• 14 home runs allowed: No. 3
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 4/3/18) 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
• .965 Fielding Percentage: No. 7
• 272 Assists: No. 3
• 23 double plays: No. T-4
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2018 (as of 4/3/18)Â Â Â
Batting average: Zach Ashford - 4th (.378)
Hits: Ashford - 7th (37)
Doubles: Bins- Â 5th (10)
Home runs: Bins - 4th (6)
RBIs: Bins - 7th (25)
Sacrifice bunts: Â Korby Batesole - 1st (8) - 10th nationally
ERA: Jamie Arias - 2nd (1.35)
Opposing Batting Average: Arias - 1st (.154)
Innings pitched: Gonzalez - 1st (50.0)
Strikeouts: Gonzalez - 1st (53) - 11th nationally
Wins: Gonzalez - 1st (5)
Saves: Jamison Hill - 4th (5)
Appearances: Jaime Arias - 5th (13)
Earned runs allowed: Arias - 1st (5)
Hits allowed: Arias -1st (18)
Walks allowed: Arias -1st (4)
A look at the San Francisco Dons
San Francisco enters Wednesday's contest with a 18-10 overall record and the Dons have posted a 12-5 record since the two teams last met in Fresno on March 6.
Coming off back-to-back losses for only the fourth time this season, the Dons have not lost three games in a row this season. USF is currently hitting .267 from the plate to rank third in the WCC while ranking fourth in the league in scoring at 4.9 runs per game.
Leading the way from the plate for the Dons is junior outfielder Jonathan Allen with a .360 average (4th in WCC) while leading the team in at-bats (114), runs (27), hits (41), doubles (12), triples (1), total bases (64), slugging percentage (.561), walks (9) and stolen bases (9).
On the mound, the Dons have a staff ERA of 3.42 to rank second in the league are holding opponents to a .226 average and 3.9 runs per game.Â
The Dons allow an average of 7.5 hits per game and have 243 strikeouts while only allowing 98 walks.
Wednesday's starter, junior right-hander Benji Post, will make his first start of the season and has only tossed 4.0 innings this season allowing three hits, seven runs, while walking five.
Gonzalez named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week
Junior right-handed pitcher Edgar Gonzalez earned his third MW Pitcher of the Week honor on Tuesday tossing a complete game, two-hitter while striking out 11. Â Gonzalez allowed two baserunners in the contest, only one past first base, and retired the final 21 Dirtbag batters he faced in the game.
Ashford on a 29-game on-base streak
Junior outfielder Zach Ashford started the season collecting a hit in the first 17 games he played in before going 0-for-4 in game two of a doubleheader at San Jose State on March 18.
The Clovis native has reached base in all 25 games he has played in this season and has reached base in 29 straight games.
He is currently fourth in the Mountain West with a .378 average from the plate, tied for seventh in hits (37) and is eighth in on-base percentage (.435).
'Dogs in plenty of close contests so far in 2018
The Bulldogs have found themselves in plenty of close contests so far in 2018 posting a 8-4 record in one-run games and a 9-5 mark in one or two run games.Â
                 2018    2017   2016   2015   2014   2013
1-Run Games      8-4     5-7   11-9   8-12   7-10   5-7
1 or 2 Runs Games  9-5     8-10   16-13  13-12  14-15  12-14
- 12 of 27 games (44.4%) decided by one run leads the nation.
- 14 of 27 games (51.9%) decided by one or two runs.
Few road contests
The Diamond 'Dogs have only been on the road for seven games this season as 20 of the first 27 games have been at Bob Bennett Stadium. The Bulldogs will play 11 of its final 27 games on the road as the 'Dogs only play nine games outside of California this season. The 'Dogs first weekend of March (UNLV), April (New Mexico) and May (Nevada) are the lone road games outside of California in 2018.
Bulldog bombs
The 'Dogs are heating up from home run territory hitting seven last week, including a season-high four in a 15-7 win over Long Beach State on Friday. The 27 home runs for the Bulldogs on the season rank second in the Mountain West and 29th in the nation.
Non-Conference success
The Bulldogs have had great success this season against non-conference foes posting a 12-3 mark in 15 contests. 14 of those 15 games have been at home as the lone non-conference road game for the 'Dogs was at UCSB on Feb. 21. The 'Dogs only play one more non-conference road game at CSUN on May 8 while playing seven more non-conference home games.
RPI rankings
The 'Dogs check in 146th in the RPI rankings while San Francisco is currently ranked No. 85. The 'Dogs have played three top-50 teams in UNLV (21), Nevada (27) and San Diego State (45) while Hawai'i (89) and Air Force (99), who the Bulldogs play later this season, are ranked in the top 100.
On Sunday, April 15, Fresno State Athletics will honor the 2008 National Championship Wonderdogs prior to the Bulldogs' game vs. San Jose State as we encourage fans to help come out and honor one of Fresno State Athletics greatest team accomplishments in school history.
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.
Up next
The Bulldogs continue their road trip resuming Mountain West play on Friday night at New Mexico (12-14-1, 6-6 MW). The 'Dogs return home to host CSUNÂ (12-15)Â on April 10 for Ag Fest as all fans who wear green to get in 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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