Diamond 'Dogs head to SEC country for series vs. No. 25 Tennessee [March 8-10]

Friday, March 8

Knoxville, TN

3:30 PM PT

Fresno State

No. 25 Tennessee

Photo by: Keith Kountz/Fresno State

Diamond 'Dogs head to SEC country for series vs. No. 25 Tennessee [March 8-10]

3/6/2019 1:20:00 PM | Baseball

Fresno State Notes (PDF)

After playing its first nine games of the season in the state of California, the Diamond 'Dogs head out on the road this weekend traveling to No. 25 Tennessee for a three-game series in Knoxville.

By: Travis Blanshan / Assistant Director of Communications

FRESNO, Calif. - After playing its first nine games of the season in the state of California, the Diamond 'Dogs head out on the road this weekend traveling to No. 25 Tennessee for a three-game series in Knoxville.

Games 10-12: Fresno State (6-3, 1-2 MW) at No. 25 Tennessee (13-0, 0-0 SEC)

First Pitch: March 8-10 - Fri: 3:30 p.m. PT, Sat: 3:00 p.m. PT, Sun: 9:00 a.m. PT
Stadium: Lindsey Nelson Stadium (4,283)
Surface: Field Turf
Dimensions: 320 (LF), 390 (CF), 320 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Fresno State defeated Tennessee, 6-2 in the NCAA Tournament (May 30, 1993 in Knoxville, Tenn.)

Video: SEC Network +/Watch ESPN (Play-by-play: Roger Hoover; Color Analyst: Charlie Puleo)
Radio: N/A
Live Stats: Sidearm
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB

Pitching Probables: Fresno State vs. Tennessee
Friday: Jr. RHP Ryan Jensen (2-0, 2.65 ERA) vs. Jr. RHP Garrett Stallings (3-0, 0.83)
Saturday:  So. LHP Nikoh Mitchell (1-1, 6.08) vs. Jr. RHP Zach Linginfelter (3-0, 1.00)
Sunday: Jr. RHP Davis Moore (2-0, 4.50) vs. Sr. RHP Will Neely (2-0, 2.87)

Bulldog Headlines
• Fresno State opened Mountain West play over the weekend at home winning one of three games over UNLV. The 'Dogs dropped the series opener, 4-3 in 10 innings before falling 7-3 in game two and hung on to win game three on Sunday, 6-4.
• The 'Dogs take a break from conference play this weekend to travel to Tennessee for only the second time in program history to face the undefeated and 25th-ranked Volunteers, off to a program-best 13-0 start.
• The Bulldogs won the previous lone meeting over the Vols, 6-2 in Knoxville in the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
• The 'Dogs are 11-9 overall against the SEC with their last meeting against the conference coming in 2016 at then-No. 3 Texas A&M.
• This will be the 'Dogs first true road games of the season and are 4-12 in road openers under Coach Batesole.
• Redshirt senior third baseman McCarthy Tatum leads the 'Dogs hitting .444 from the plate and leads the team in hits (16), doubles (4), RBI (10) & total bases (22).

Fresno State vs. Tennessee - The Series
• This weekend's series will only be the second-ever meeting between the 'Dogs and Volunteers.
• The only prior meeting between the two programs came in the 1993 NCAA Tournament as Tennessee hosted the Mideast Regional. The 'Dogs went 3-2 in the regional defeating the Vols, 6-2 in an elimination game on May 30
• Of the nine Division I baseball playing schools in the state of Tennessee, the 'Dogs have only played two, Tennessee and Lipscomb. The Bulldogs won three of four games at home over the Bisons in 2009.

Where Fresno State Rank Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2019 (as of 3/6/19)
• .278 Batting Average: No. 4
• .387 Slugging Pct: No. 6
• .344 On base Pct: No. 6
• 8 sacrifice bunts: No. 2 - 27th nationally
• 48 Runs: No. T-5
• 84 Hits: No. 6
• 42 RBI: No. 7
• 14 Doubles: No. 6
• 2 Triples: No. 6
• 5 Home Runs: No. 5

Where Fresno State Rank Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2019 (as of 3/6/19)
• 3.40 ERA: No. 2
• .248 Opposing bat average: No. 3
• 4 saves: No. T-2
• 87 strikeouts: No. 4
• 31 Earned runs allowed: No. 2
• 78 Hits allowed: No. 2
• 35 walks allowed: No. 2
• 9 doubles allowed: No. 2
• 1 triple allowed: T-1
• 5 home runs allowed: No. 4

Where Fresno State Rank Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2019 (as of 3/6/19)
• .988 Fielding Percentage: No. 1 - 7th nationally
• 94 Assists: No. 5
• 6 double plays: No. T-3

Where Fresno State Players Rank in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2019 (as of 3/6/19)
Batting average: McCarthy Tatum - 3rd (.444)
Slugging percentage: Tatum - 5th (.611)
Runs: Carter Bins - T-5th (12)
RBI: Dempsey - T-8th (10)
Home runs: Presno - T-2nd (2)
Sacrifice bunts: Nolan Dempsey & Auston Chastatin - T-2nd (2)
ERA: Ryan Jensen - 9th (2.65)
Innings pitched: Davis Moore - T-4th (18.0)
Strikeouts: Jensen & Moore - T-5th (18)
Wins: Jensen & Moore - T-2nd (2)
Saves: Jaime Arias - T-2nd (3)
Earned runs allowed: Jensen - T-7th (5)
Fielding percentage: Bins, Dempsey & Zach Ashford - T-1st (1.000)

A look at the Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee enters this weekend's series against the Bulldogs with a perfect 13-0 record as the Volunteers are off to its best start in program history and are one of only four (Florida State, Arizona State & North Carolina State) remaining undefeated teams in the nation.

The Vols, who were picked to finish fifth in the SEC Eastern Division, entered the top 25 in four national polls this week with Tennessee entering the rankings at No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches poll, No. 22 by the NCBWA, No. 24 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and No. 25 by D1Baseball.com.

Tennessee is hitting .284 as a team, good for 10th in the SEC, with junior outfielder Justin Ammons leading the way hitting .410 (11th in the SEC) from the plate. The Memphis native leads the team in hits (16), runs (15), walks (13), hit by pitches (3) and on-base percentage (.571).

The Volunteers rank fifth in the nation and first in the SEC in walks with 83 and average 7.2 runs per game and 8.9 hits per game, but it is on the mound where Tennessee has been truly elite this season. The Vols rank first in the nation with a staff ERA of 0.94, hits allowed per game (4.46), shutouts (6), WHIP (0.71), walks allowed per nine innings (1.96) and are second in the country in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.44).

Junior right-hander Garrett Stallings has been a standout through three weeks sporting a 3-0 record with a 0.83 ERA (9th in the SEC) and has 27 strikeouts (6th in the SEC). The Friday night starter for the Volunteers has allowed two earned runs and one walk through 21.2 innings.

Tennessee's other weekend starters, Zach Linginfelter on Saturday and Will Neely on Sunday, are also each unbeaten with Linginfelter striking out 26 in 18.0 innings while holding opponents to a .131 average. Neely is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA and has 13 strikeouts in 15.2 innings of work.

2019 SEC PRESEASON COACHES POLL (EASTERN DIVISION)
Team    Rank (1st-place votes)        Points
1. Vanderbilt (9) 87
2. Florida (4) 81
3. Georgia (1) 68
4. South Carolina 53
5. Tennessee 40
6. Kentucky 30
7. Missouri 26

Bulldogs against opponents from the Volunteer State
The Bulldogs have only faced two of the nine baseball-playing Division I programs from the state of Tennessee, the University of Tennessee & Lipscomb. The 'Dogs have never faced Memphis, East Tennessee State, Austin Peay, Tennessee Tech, Middle Tennessee, Belmont or UT-Martin.

• Tennessee - 1-0 (1.000) (1-0 on road)
• Lipscomb - 4-0 (1.000) (4-0 at home)

Fresno State takes on the Southeastern Conference
The 'Dogs have played 20 games all-time against eight of the 14 current members of the SEC sporting an 11-9 overall record. The SEC is home to 10 of the top 25-ranked programs in this week's D1Baseball.com Top 25 with Vanderbilt, Florida, Mississippi State, Georgia and Ole Miss all sitting in the top 10.

The Bulldogs are 5-4 in their last nine games against the conference going 3-3 against Texas A&M in 2014 & 2016 while the "Wonderdogs" knocked off Georgia in three games in Omaha for the 2008 National Championship.

• Texas A&M - (6-3) • Florida - (0-1)
• Arkansas - (0-1) • Missouri - (1-1)
• Tennessee - (1-0) • LSU - (0-2)
• Kentucky - (1-0) • Georgia - (2-1)

Fresno State in road openers under Coach Batesole
The 'Dogs are 4-12 in road openers under Batesole and have won two of their last five after only winning two of the previous 11.The 'Dogs have opened road action in the state of California 14 times under Batesole only traveling out-of-state to Oregon (2009), Washington (2010) and Nevada (2015).

Four of the last five road openers have all gone to extra innings as the 'Dogs have a 2-2 record in those contests. The Vols will be the first Power Five program the Bulldogs have opened their road schedule against since 2013 and fifth time overall under coach Batesole.

Fresno State Road Openers Under Batesole
2018 - L, 7-2 at UC Santa Barbara
2017 - L, 8-7 (12) at Pepperdine
2016 - W, 3-2 (10) at San Diego State
2015 - L, 9-8 (10) at Nevada
2014 - W, 2-0 (10) at UC Irvine
2013 - L, 3-1 at Stanford
2012 - L, 4-0 at Bakersfield
2011 - W, 12-4 at UC Davis
2010 - L, 10-9 at Washington
2009 - L, 1-0 at Oregon
2008 - L, 5-2 at San Diego
2007 - L, 6-3 at Cal Poly
2006 - L, 6-3 at Cal Poly
2005 - L, 12-1 at Stanford
2004 - L, 6-2 at UCLA
2003 - W, 1-0 at UC Irvine

Batesole reaches 800 career win milestone
Head coach Mike Batesole reached career win number 800 on Feb. 16 in the Bulldogs' 6-3 season-opening win over Utah Valley at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium. Beginning his 17th season at the helm of the Bulldogs this season, Batesole has won 549 games at Fresno State and 256 at CSUN from 1996-2002 for a total of 805 career wins.

In his career, Batesole has won at least 30 games in 19 of his 23 years as a Division I head coach and in 13 of his 16 seasons at Fresno State.

Bulldogs knock off first ranked opponent since 2016
With the Diamond 'Dogs 5-2 win over No. 25 Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 23 at the Tony Gwynn Legacy, it was the 'Dogs first win over a ranked opponent since knocking off then-No. 16 Long Beach State on March 29, 2016.

With another win over the Volunteers this weekend, it will be the first time the Bulldogs knock off two nationally-ranked opponents in the same season since 2015 when the 'Dogs beat then-No. 8 USC, 14-7 and then-No. 21 Cal, 7-2 within eight days of each other.

New 'Dogs in action
Seven Bulldogs, three true freshman and four redshirt freshman, have made their debuts so far this season with true freshman outfielder EJ Andrews, Jr. getting three starts, two in left field and one in right. Other true freshman to see action have been Ryan Higgins, Jeff Jamison and Kyle Prushmeier. Redshirt freshman Kevin Larson and Robbie Peters have seen action on the mound and redshirt freshman Dylan Johnson received his first career start on Sunday in the 'Dogs 6-4 win over UNLV.

Ashford a hard one to strike out
Senior center fielder Zach Ashford has been one of the toughest Bulldogs to strike out over his four-year career. In 523 career at-bats, Ashford has only been sent down on strikes 79 times, or 15.1 percent, of the time.

Tatum, Jensen & Moore off to hot starts
Redshirt senior third baseman McCarthy Tatum has started his final season as a Bulldog off hot leading the team in batting average (.444), hits (16), doubles (4), RBI (10), total bases (22), slugging percentage (.611) and on-base percentage (.459). On the mound, starters Ryan Jensen and Davis Moore are also off to strong starts as the two juniors are each 2-0 with 18 strikeouts apiece.

Bulldogs Selected Third in Mountain West Preseason Coaches Poll
For a second consecutive season, the Fresno State baseball team was picked to finish third in the Mountain West preseason poll released on Feb. 13. The Bulldogs garnered one first-place vote and tallied 28 points overall falling shy four points shy of first-place San Diego State.

The Aztecs picked up 32 points and four first-place votes while Nevada got two first-place votes and 29 points to come in second. UNLV followed the Bulldogs in fourth while Air Force came in fifth and the poll was rounded out by New Mexico in sixth and San Jose State in seventh. All selections were based on votes by MW coaches who could not vote on their own team/players.

Ashford & Bins selected to Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Team
Senior outfielder Zach Ashford and junior catcher Carter Bins were each named to the 2019 Preseason All-Mountain West team on Feb. 13

A Second-Team All-Mountain West selection as a junior, Ashford started all 52 games he appeared in 2018 leading the team and ranking sixth in the MW with a .352 average from the plate. The 2017 Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year, Bins had a stellar sophomore season hitting .301 from the plate with 52 hits while smacking 18 doubles to rank tied for sixth in the MW and was one of three 'Dogs to lead the team with 39 RBIs which tied for the 15th-most in the league.

2019 Preseason Honors for five Bulldogs
In addition to being Ashford and Bins being named to the All-Mountain West Preseason Team, a number of publications had the 'Dogs on their preseason teams.

College Baseball Daily: 'Dogs picked 4th in MW; Ashford, JT Arruda & Jaime Arias - All-Mountain West; Bins - All-MW Honorable Mention
Baseball America: 'Dogs picked 2nd in MW; Bins ranked #2 MLB prospect for 2019 MLB Draft & Ashford ranked #10
D1Baseball: 'Dogs picked 3rd in MW
Perfect Game: 'Dogs picked 4th in MW; Ashford, Bins & Ryan Jensen named All-MW

Up next
The Bulldogs return home from Tennessee to host San Francisco on Tuesday, March 12 at 6:05 p.m. PT. It will be Social Media Madness Night at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium and if you like or follow Fresno State Athletics on social media get in to the game 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.