Saturday, February 23
San Diego, CA (Tony Gwynn Stadium)
1:00 PM
Fresno State
4-1
5
vs
2
No. 25 Cal State Fullerton
3-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Fresno State
2
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
5
10
1
Cal State Fullerton
0
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
1
Photo by: Keith Kountz/Fresno State
Diamond 'Dogs hold on for a dramatic 5-2 win over No. 25 Cal State Fullerton
2/23/2019 5:00:00 PM | Baseball
The Diamond 'Dogs held off a late ninth-inning rally for a dramatic 5-2 win over No. 25 Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament.
SAN DIEGO - Holding on to a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth inning, sophomore left-hander Jaime Arias stranded the bases loaded picking up three straight strikeouts to give the Diamond 'Dogs a 5-2 victory over No. 25 Cal State Fullerton on Saturday afternoon in the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament.
Fresno State (4-1) kept its strong offense going for a second straight game in the tournament slugging out 10 hits, including a home run by shortstop JT Arruda, his first of the season. Center fielder Zach Ashford added three hits, including his first triple of the season, and scored a run while third baseman McCarthy Tatum added a pair of singles and drove in two runs.
On the mound, sophomore southpaw Nikoh Mitchell picked up his first win of the season tossing five innings limiting Cal State Fullerton (3-2) to six hits, two earned runs, two walks while striking out six.
Redshirt sophomore Oscar Carvajal worked a scoreless three innings allowing one Titan hit while striking out four. Arias came on to work an exhilarating ninth inning loading the bases with two hit by pitches and a single before sending down the next three batters all on swing and misses.
How It Happened
The 'Dogs struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first as Ashford and catchr Carter Bins led off with back-to-back singles and a walk to Arruda loaded the bases for Tatum. The fifth-year senior drove in Ashford with an RBI groundout to shortstop and first baseman Zach Presno followed with a short popup to Titan shortstop Sahid Valenzuela that allowed Bins to quickly scamper home.
Extending their lead to 3-0 in the top of the third inning, Bins scored his second run of the game leading off with walk, advanced to second on throwing error by Titan catcher Daniel Cope and came around to score on a single to left field by Tatum.
The Titans responded jumping on the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the third as Hank LoForte led off with a double and after a balk by Mitchell sent the Titan second baseman to third base, LoForte came home to score on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Brett Borgogno.
Fullerton cut the 'Dogs lead to 3-2 in the fourth on a single to center field by LoForte scoring designated hitter AJ Curtis from second base. Trying to extend his hit to a double, EJ Andrews, Jr. sailed a strike to Arruda at second base to gun him out to end the inning.
With no scoring on either side over the next three innings, the 'Dogs added a key insurance run in the top of the eight on a leadoff home run by Arruda to put the 'Dogs ahead 4-2.
With Carvajal working a first perfect two innings, the Titans finally started to threaten the Bulldog hurler in the eighth with a two runners reaching first and second base with one out, but Carvajal was able to retire first baseman Jacob Pavletich to strikeout looking and nab Cope trying to steal second.
One more key insurance run came across in the top of the ninth as outfielder Auston Chastain, who entered the game in the seventh inning in left field, drove in Emilio Nogales.
Chastain, who was thrown out in his only other career stolen base attempt, tried to swipe second, but was thrown out as Ashford followed a few pitches later hitting a triple down the right field line, but with Chastain off the bases, no more damage was done.
Notes
- The win over the No. 25 Titans gives the Bulldogs their first win over a ranked opponent since 2016 when they defeated then-No. 16 Long Beach State, 10-5 at home on March 29.
- Arias picked up his second career save while it was Mitchell's fifth career win.
- Ashford now has eight career triples and Arruda has nine career home runs.
Up next
The Bulldogs wrap up the Tony Gwynn Legacy on Sunday morning taking on Missouri State (1-3) for the first time in program history. The 'Dogs and Bears are set for first pitch from Tony Gwynn Stadium at 10:00 a.m.
"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.
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostateathletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Fresno State (4-1) kept its strong offense going for a second straight game in the tournament slugging out 10 hits, including a home run by shortstop JT Arruda, his first of the season. Center fielder Zach Ashford added three hits, including his first triple of the season, and scored a run while third baseman McCarthy Tatum added a pair of singles and drove in two runs.
On the mound, sophomore southpaw Nikoh Mitchell picked up his first win of the season tossing five innings limiting Cal State Fullerton (3-2) to six hits, two earned runs, two walks while striking out six.
Redshirt sophomore Oscar Carvajal worked a scoreless three innings allowing one Titan hit while striking out four. Arias came on to work an exhilarating ninth inning loading the bases with two hit by pitches and a single before sending down the next three batters all on swing and misses.
How It Happened
The 'Dogs struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the first as Ashford and catchr Carter Bins led off with back-to-back singles and a walk to Arruda loaded the bases for Tatum. The fifth-year senior drove in Ashford with an RBI groundout to shortstop and first baseman Zach Presno followed with a short popup to Titan shortstop Sahid Valenzuela that allowed Bins to quickly scamper home.
Extending their lead to 3-0 in the top of the third inning, Bins scored his second run of the game leading off with walk, advanced to second on throwing error by Titan catcher Daniel Cope and came around to score on a single to left field by Tatum.
The Titans responded jumping on the scoreboard for the first time in the bottom of the third as Hank LoForte led off with a double and after a balk by Mitchell sent the Titan second baseman to third base, LoForte came home to score on a sacrifice fly by third baseman Brett Borgogno.
Fullerton cut the 'Dogs lead to 3-2 in the fourth on a single to center field by LoForte scoring designated hitter AJ Curtis from second base. Trying to extend his hit to a double, EJ Andrews, Jr. sailed a strike to Arruda at second base to gun him out to end the inning.
With no scoring on either side over the next three innings, the 'Dogs added a key insurance run in the top of the eight on a leadoff home run by Arruda to put the 'Dogs ahead 4-2.
With Carvajal working a first perfect two innings, the Titans finally started to threaten the Bulldog hurler in the eighth with a two runners reaching first and second base with one out, but Carvajal was able to retire first baseman Jacob Pavletich to strikeout looking and nab Cope trying to steal second.
One more key insurance run came across in the top of the ninth as outfielder Auston Chastain, who entered the game in the seventh inning in left field, drove in Emilio Nogales.
Chastain, who was thrown out in his only other career stolen base attempt, tried to swipe second, but was thrown out as Ashford followed a few pitches later hitting a triple down the right field line, but with Chastain off the bases, no more damage was done.
Notes
- The win over the No. 25 Titans gives the Bulldogs their first win over a ranked opponent since 2016 when they defeated then-No. 16 Long Beach State, 10-5 at home on March 29.
- Arias picked up his second career save while it was Mitchell's fifth career win.
- Ashford now has eight career triples and Arruda has nine career home runs.
Up next
The Bulldogs wrap up the Tony Gwynn Legacy on Sunday morning taking on Missouri State (1-3) for the first time in program history. The 'Dogs and Bears are set for first pitch from Tony Gwynn Stadium at 10:00 a.m.
"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.
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostateathletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Mitchell, Nikoh (1-0)
L: Josten, Timothy (0-2)
S: Arias, Jaime (1)
Batting:
3B: Ashford, Zach 1
HR: Arruda, JT 1
RBI: Arruda, JT 1 ; Tatum, McCarthy 2 ; Presno, Zach 1 ; Chastain, Auston 1
SH: Tomczak, Miles 1
SF: Presno, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Ashford, Zach 1 ; Bins, Carter 2 ; Arruda, JT 1 ; Jamison, Jeff 1
CS: Chastain, Auston 1
HBP: Bins, Carter 1
Batting:
2B: LoForte, Hank 1
RBI: LoForte, Hank 1 ; Borgogno, Brett 1
SF: Borgogno, Brett 1
Base Running:
RUNS: LoForte, Hank 1 ; Curtis, AJ 1
CS: Cope, Daniel 1
HBP: Valenzuela, Sahid 1 ; Richards, Jairus 1 ; Lew, Zach 1
PO: Borgogno, Brett 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
0
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
2
AB
4
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
Outfield
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Pitcher
/ BaseballOutfield
/ BaseballCatcher
/ Baseball
Pitcher
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Outfield
/ Baseball
Pitcher
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Infield
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Catcher
/ BaseballInfield/RHP
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