Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
CSUN
Batesole returns to former stomping grounds in 'Dogs final road game at CSUN Tuesday
5/7/2018 2:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Diamond 'Dogs play their final road game of the season traveling to Big West opponent CSUN on Tuesday afternoon for the third contest this season against the Matadors.
Game 48: Fresno State (26-21, 11-16 MW) at CSUN (21-25, 9-9 Big West)
First Pitch: May 8 - Tue: 3:00 p.m.
Stadium: Matador Field
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 325 (LF), 390 (CF), 325 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 53-26
Last Meeting: Fresno State won 8-2 over CSUN on April 24, 2018 in Fresno, Calif.
Radio: N/A
Play-by-play: N/A
Video: BigWest.TV
Live Stats: Sidearm
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
• Fresno State travels to CSUN for its final regular season road game on Tuesday afternoon at Matador Field.
• This will be the third of three meetings this season between the 'Dogs and Matadors as the teams split the first two meetings in Fresno with CSUN winning 15-2 on April 10 and Fresno State winning 8-2 on April 24.
• The 'Dogs are coming off a tough week losing a pair of one-run and a pair of two-run contests.
• Fresno State leads the all-time series against CSUN, 53-26 as Tuesday's game will be the 80th meeting between the two programs.
• This will be the 'Dogs first trip to CSUN since April 3, 2007, a 7-6 Bulldog win, as head coach Mike Batesole is 5-2 against his former team with a 1-0 record on the road.
• The Bulldogs currently lead the Mountain West in sacrifice bunts (39) while ranking second in home runs (45) and are third in slugging percentage (.454).
• Junior OF Zach Ashford ranks tied for 4th in the MW with a .369 batting average and is currently on a 49-game on-base streak for the 3rd-longest active streak in Division I.
• Junior RHP Edgar Gonzalez currently leads the MW in innings pitched (78.2), strikeouts (93) & ERA (2.97).
Fresno State vs. CSUN - The Series
• Fresno State and CSUN have played 79 games all-time against one another.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 53-26 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 before the 'Dogs evened the season series at home on April 24 with a 8-2 win in game two.
• Head coach Mike Batesole, who was the head coach at CSUN from 1996-2002, is 5-2 against his former team. This will be Coach Batesole's first game at CSUN since April 3, 2007, a 7-6 Bulldog win.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State 53-26
Last Meeting: April 24, 2018 (Fresno, Calif.) - W, 8-2
Current Streak: W1
Last Fresno State Win: April 24, 2018 (8-2) - Fresno, Calif.
Last CSUN Win: April 10, 2018 (15-2) - Fresno, Calif.
Where Fresno State Ranks Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 5/7/18)
• .299 Batting Average: No. 4
• .454 Slugging Pct: No. 3
• .368 On base Pct: No. 5
• 39 sacrifice bunts: No. 1 - 20th nationally
• 279 Runs: No. 5
• 488 Hits: No. 4
• 256 RBI: No. 5
• 95 Doubles: No. T-4
• 12 Triples: No. 6
• 45 Home Runs: No. 2
Where Fresno State Ranks Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 5/7/18)
• 5.08 ERA: No. 4
• .271 Opposing bat average: No. T-2
• 10 saves: No. 5
• 406 strikeouts: No. 1
• 235 Earned runs allowed: No. 3
• 440 Hits allowed: No. 3
• 194 walks allowed: No. 5
• 72 doubles allowed: No. 2
• 10 triples allowed: No. 3
• 28 home runs allowed: No. 3
Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2018 (as of 5/7/18)
• .968 Fielding Percentage: No. 6
• 491 Assists: No. 3
• 40 double plays: No. 7
Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2018 (as of 5/7/18)
Batting average: Zach Ashford - T-4th (.369)
Hits: Ashford - T-4th (69)
Doubles: Carter Bins- T-4th (18); Ashford - T-6th (17)
Home runs: Bins, Jeremiah Burks & Zach Presno - T-9th (7)
RBIs: Bins - 11th (39)
Sacrifice bunts: Korby Batesole - 1st (12) - 7th nationally
ERA: Edgar Gonzalez - 1st (2.97)
Opposing Batting Average: Jaime Arias - 2nd (.206)
Innings pitched: Gonzalez - 1st (78.2)
Strikeouts: Gonzalez - 1st (93) - 28th nationally
Wins: Gonzalez - T-1st (7)
Saves: Jamison Hill - T-6th (5)
Appearances: Hill - 4th (23)
Earned runs allowed: Arias - 2nd (21)
Hits allowed: Arias - 2nd (45)
Walks allowed: Arias - 2nd (9)
A look at the CSUN Matadors
CSUN enters the third and final meeting of the season with the Bulldogs with a 21-25 overall record in 2018 and a 9-9 mark in Big West action. The Matadors are 4-2 since their last meeting with the Bulldogs in Fresno on April 24, a 8-2 win by the 'Dogs.
The Matadors, who are 9-11 at home in 2018 come into Tuesday's game with a .279 average from the dish as a team to rank fourth in the Big West while CSUN leads the league in scoring at 6.1 runs per game. CSUN is 15-4 when they score six or more runs.
CSUN also leads the Big West in doubles (83), home runs (58), runs (282), hit by pitches (79) & slugging percentage (.453). The Matadors are led by the bat of junior Trevor Casanova who leads the league with a .377 average from the dish and has a team-high 16 doubles & 66 hits. Senior Albee Weiss ranks seventh in the nation with 16 home runs and is 29th with 51 RBIs.
On the mound, the Matadors have a staff ERA of 4.76, sixth in the Big West, while allowing 5.4 runs per game with a 2.32 strikeout-to-walk ratio collecting 330 strikeouts while issuing 142 walks and are holding opponents to a .280 average.
Ashford extends his on-base streak to 49 games
Junior outfielder Zach Ashford has reached base in all 45 games he has played in this season and has reached base in 49 straight games dating back to 2017. Ashford's on-base streak currently ranks as the third-longest active streak in the country. D.J. Artis of Liberty (59 games) and John Valente of St. John's (58 games) are currently 1-2 in the nation after Rylan Thomas of UCF streak ended at 55 games on Sunday against Houston.
The Clovis native is currently tied for fourth in the Mountain West with a .369 average from the plate and leads the team with 69 hits (T-4th in MW). He has a base hit in 42 of the 45 games he has played in this season and is currently on a 20-game hitting streak.
Final road contest of 2018
The 'Dogs will play their 18th and final road game of the regular season against the Matadors as they enter the contest with a 6-11 mark away from Fresno. The 18 road games are the fewest since the Bulldogs only played 16 regular season road games in 2012.
Offense aplenty against Wolf Pack
After being held to two runs over 18 innings against Pepperdine and Nevada on Tuesday and Friday, respectively, the 'Dogs found their offensive punch during the weekend combining to score 11 runs and smack 16 hits on both Saturday and Sunday. Unfortunately, the Wolf Pack scored one run more in each contest despite the 'Dogs having six players with multiple hits on Saturday and four more on Sunday. The 'Dogs have reached double-digit runs in 10 games this season.
Presno goes yard
Freshman catcher Zach Presno hit his seventh home run of the season in the top of the ninth on Sunday at Nevada nearly helping the 'Dogs rally for a comeback win. His seven home runs for a true freshman are the most by a Bulldog rookie since Dusty Robinson smacked 15 in 2009.
Burks swiping bases
Junior second baseman Jeremiah Burks stole his 11th base of the season on Saturday at Nevada. It is the most bases a Bulldog has stolen since Aaron Judge swiped 12 as a junior in 2013.
Offense among nation's best
With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, the 'Dogs find themselves among the national leaders in four offensive categories ranking in the top 25 in each of them. The 'Dogs are No. 19 in hits (488), No. 21 in batting average (.299), No. 24 in slugging percentage (.454) and No. 25 in doubles (95).
'Dogs in plenty of close contests so far in 2018
The Bulldogs found themselves on the wrong end of four hard-fought games last week falling to 9-7 on the season in one-run games and 10-10 mark in one or two run games.
2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013
1-Run Games 9-7 5-7 11-9 8-12 7-10 5-7
1 or 2 Runs Games 10-10 8-10 16-13 13-12 14-15 12-14
- 16 of 47 games (34.0%) decided by one run.
- 20 of 47 games (42.6%) decided by one or two runs.
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 39 on the season to lead the MW and rank 20th in the nation. Senior shortstop Korby Batesole leads the club and Mountain West with 12, ranking 7th in the country.
That's got to hurt!
The 'Dogs hit five more batters over the weekend and are now up to 73 hit batters to rank 7th in the nation in hit by pitchers. All 13 Bulldog pitchers have hit at least one batter with Ryan Jensen leading the team with 11 to rank second in the MW.
Batesole closing in on 800 career wins
With only seven regular season games remaining, head coach Mike Batesole remains only five wins shy of 800 in his career. Now in his 16th season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Batesole has won 539 games at Fresno State and 256 at CSUN from 1996-2002. With four more wins, Batesole will have his 13th season of at least 30 wins at Fresno State and 18th overall in his 23 years as a Division I head coach.
The 'Dogs return home this weekend to host another Big West foe welcoming Hawai'i (23-19, 9-9 Big West) to Bob Bennett Stadium for a three-game non-conference series starting Friday at 6:05 p.m.
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