Sunday, February 16
Fresno, CA
1:05 PM
Fresno State
2-1
12
vs
10
UC Irvine
1-2
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
UC Irvine
2
3
4
0
0
0
0
1
0
10
14
3
Fresno State
0
3
1
0
0
0
2
6
X
12
15
2
Photo by: Keith Kountz
'Dogs rally back to defeat UCI, 12-10
2/16/2020 6:45:00 PM | Baseball
FRESNO, Calif. - A six-run eighth inning powered a rally on Sunday afternoon for the Fresno State baseball team to come back to defeat UC Irvine, 12-10 at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Fresno State (2-1), who was trailing 9-3 after three innings, got the offense sparked late using two runs in the seventh inning and six more in the eighth while holding UC Irvine (1-2) to one run over the final six innings.
Offensively, the Bulldogs slugged three home runs as sophomore Jeff Jamison, junior Nate Thimjon and junior Zach Presno each smacked long balls as Presno's two-run home run in the eighth gave the 'Dogs their first lead of the game.
Redshirt freshman Zach Morgan added three singles, three RBIs and scored a run while sophomore Ryan Higgins added a single, double and scored a run.
In total, 10 different Bulldogs tallied a hit as well as 10 different 'Dogs scored a run. The lone Bulldog to scored multiple runs was Thimjon who crossed home plate a career-high three times.
On the mound, freshman southpaw Jake Harrell made his Bulldog debut tossing 2.1 innings and striking out one before giving way to redshirt freshman right-hander Julian Sotelo. Making his first career appearance after redshirting in 2019, Sotelo went 1.2 innings limiting UCI to one hit.
The third straight Bulldog pitcher to make his debut came in next in right-hander Alex Kendrick as the Atwater native tossed three innings allowing two hits, walked one and struck out two. Redshirt sophomore Kevin Larson closed out the game earning his first win of the season throwing two innings allowing two hits, one run and struck out one.
How It Happened
Jumping all over Harrell early, the Anteaters scored two runs in the first inning, three in the second and tacked on four more in the third while the 'Dogs countered with a three-run home run to left field by Jamison in the second (watch) and added a run in the third on a RBI single to center field by Morgan (watch) to cut the UCI lead to 9-4 heading to the fourth inning.
The early offensive fireworks were slowed down in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as neither team scored a run with Kendrick shutting down the UC Irvine offense.
The 'Dogs continued to chip away at the Anteaters' lead getting back two runs in the seventh inning on a single to right-center by Morgan (watch) to score pinch-hitter Nick Berry and Thimjon.
Trailing 10-6 after UC Irvine added a run in the eighth inning on a single up the middle by first baseman Adrian Damla, the Bulldogs would not be denied churning out six hits while scoring six runs to take a 12-10 lead. Berry got the action started with a RBI single to right-center before Thimjon followed with a two-run shot to right-center (watch) to pull the 'Dogs within one.
Higgins kept it moving with a double to right field and Presno continued his strong series from the plate with a two-run home run to right field (watch) to give Fresno State its first lead of the game at 11-10.
Sophomore third baseman Matt Ottino added an insurance run with a RBI single through the right side (watch) to make it 12-10 as Larson stranded the tying run on first base retiring the final two Anteaters with a flyout and fielder's choice.
Notables
Head Coach Mike Batesole
On today's game.....
"Jake just kept pitching and I was proud how he handled all of that. That gave us a chance to keep fighting and when you see a guy out there if that doesn't inspire you, that was really good stuff. Alex Kendrick got in there for his first outing and that was fantastic. We competed exceptionally well at the plate all weekend and we did not get rewarded until today."
On Presno's go-ahead home run ....
"They do a great job of pitching to the outer half of the plate and I love the plan and finally that inning we got rewarded big."
On opening the season with a series win...
"It is early and just one game, but it is a gigantic different feeling coming back to practice this week being 2-1 instead of 1-2 especially how this game went and we would be kicking ourselves about how we played early in the game. It would be a whole different feel around here and it was pretty electric in the clubhouse after the game and how high it was, it would have been about as low if we didn't finish it so it is bigger than one game."
Up next
Fresno State continues its 12-game homestand next weekend hosting Pac-12 foe Washington (1-2) on Friday through Sunday.
2020 season tickets and single-game tickets on sale
Season tickets for the 2020 baseball season are on-sale now starting at just $199 for adults, and $99 for youth for the Bulldogs' 28-game home schedule. Single-game tickets are also on-sale now, starting at $10 for adults and $5 for youth, including home games vs. Washington and Stanford. Fresno State opens the 2020 season on Friday against UC Irvine.
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostateathletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Fresno State (2-1), who was trailing 9-3 after three innings, got the offense sparked late using two runs in the seventh inning and six more in the eighth while holding UC Irvine (1-2) to one run over the final six innings.
Offensively, the Bulldogs slugged three home runs as sophomore Jeff Jamison, junior Nate Thimjon and junior Zach Presno each smacked long balls as Presno's two-run home run in the eighth gave the 'Dogs their first lead of the game.
Redshirt freshman Zach Morgan added three singles, three RBIs and scored a run while sophomore Ryan Higgins added a single, double and scored a run.
In total, 10 different Bulldogs tallied a hit as well as 10 different 'Dogs scored a run. The lone Bulldog to scored multiple runs was Thimjon who crossed home plate a career-high three times.
On the mound, freshman southpaw Jake Harrell made his Bulldog debut tossing 2.1 innings and striking out one before giving way to redshirt freshman right-hander Julian Sotelo. Making his first career appearance after redshirting in 2019, Sotelo went 1.2 innings limiting UCI to one hit.
The third straight Bulldog pitcher to make his debut came in next in right-hander Alex Kendrick as the Atwater native tossed three innings allowing two hits, walked one and struck out two. Redshirt sophomore Kevin Larson closed out the game earning his first win of the season throwing two innings allowing two hits, one run and struck out one.
How It Happened
Jumping all over Harrell early, the Anteaters scored two runs in the first inning, three in the second and tacked on four more in the third while the 'Dogs countered with a three-run home run to left field by Jamison in the second (watch) and added a run in the third on a RBI single to center field by Morgan (watch) to cut the UCI lead to 9-4 heading to the fourth inning.
The early offensive fireworks were slowed down in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as neither team scored a run with Kendrick shutting down the UC Irvine offense.
The 'Dogs continued to chip away at the Anteaters' lead getting back two runs in the seventh inning on a single to right-center by Morgan (watch) to score pinch-hitter Nick Berry and Thimjon.
Trailing 10-6 after UC Irvine added a run in the eighth inning on a single up the middle by first baseman Adrian Damla, the Bulldogs would not be denied churning out six hits while scoring six runs to take a 12-10 lead. Berry got the action started with a RBI single to right-center before Thimjon followed with a two-run shot to right-center (watch) to pull the 'Dogs within one.
Higgins kept it moving with a double to right field and Presno continued his strong series from the plate with a two-run home run to right field (watch) to give Fresno State its first lead of the game at 11-10.
Sophomore third baseman Matt Ottino added an insurance run with a RBI single through the right side (watch) to make it 12-10 as Larson stranded the tying run on first base retiring the final two Anteaters with a flyout and fielder's choice.
Notables
- Fresno State has now won its opening series in six of the last seven seasons.
- The Bulldogs improve to 36-11 all-time against UC Irvine.
- 21 different 'Dogs saw action on Sunday with 17 different position players getting in and four pitchers.
- Harrell, Sotelo, Kendrick, Berry, Jake Gentry and Nicholas Israel all saw their first action as Bulldogs.
- Larson earned his third career win.
- Presno finished the series 5-for-12 with three home runs, a double, six RBIs, four runs scored and a 1.250 slugging percentage.
Head Coach Mike Batesole
On today's game.....
"Jake just kept pitching and I was proud how he handled all of that. That gave us a chance to keep fighting and when you see a guy out there if that doesn't inspire you, that was really good stuff. Alex Kendrick got in there for his first outing and that was fantastic. We competed exceptionally well at the plate all weekend and we did not get rewarded until today."
On Presno's go-ahead home run ....
"They do a great job of pitching to the outer half of the plate and I love the plan and finally that inning we got rewarded big."
On opening the season with a series win...
"It is early and just one game, but it is a gigantic different feeling coming back to practice this week being 2-1 instead of 1-2 especially how this game went and we would be kicking ourselves about how we played early in the game. It would be a whole different feel around here and it was pretty electric in the clubhouse after the game and how high it was, it would have been about as low if we didn't finish it so it is bigger than one game."
Up next
Fresno State continues its 12-game homestand next weekend hosting Pac-12 foe Washington (1-2) on Friday through Sunday.
2020 season tickets and single-game tickets on sale
Season tickets for the 2020 baseball season are on-sale now starting at just $199 for adults, and $99 for youth for the Bulldogs' 28-game home schedule. Single-game tickets are also on-sale now, starting at $10 for adults and $5 for youth, including home games vs. Washington and Stanford. Fresno State opens the 2020 season on Friday against UC Irvine.
"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostateathletics
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Larson, Kevin (1-0)
L: Vergara, John (0-1)
Batting:
2B: McGuire, Connor 1
HR: Church, Nathan 1
RBI: Palmer, Jake 2 ; Church, Nathan 3 ; Kasper, Riley 1 ; Damla, Adrian 1 ; McGuire, Connor 1
SH: Cosgrove, Jake 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Palmer, Jake 1 ; Church, Nathan 2 ; Peabody, Mike 1 ; Antone, Andre 1 ; Mazur, Griffin 1 ; Cosgrove, Jake 2 ; McGuire, Connor 2
HBP: Peabody, Mike 2 ; Mazur, Griffin 1 ; Cosgrove, Jake 1
Batting:
2B: Higgins, Ryan 1
HR: Thimjon, Nate 1 ; Presno, Zach 1 ; Jamison, Jeff 1
RBI: Berry, Nick 1 ; Thimjon, Nate 2 ; Presno, Zach 2 ; Morgan, Zach 3 ; Ottino, Matt 1 ; Jamison, Jeff 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Berry, Nick 1 ; Wink, Blake 1 ; Thimjon, Nate 3 ; Higgins, Ryan 1 ; Presno, Zach 1 ; Morgan, Zach 1 ; Kachel, Andrew 1 ; Ottino, Matt 1 ; Jamison, Jeff 1 ; Tomczak, Miles 1
SB: Thimjon, Nate 1 ; Tomczak, Miles 1
HBP: Nogales, Emilio 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
1b/c
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
cf/rf
AB
5
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
c/1b
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
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Infield
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Pitcher
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Infield
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Pitcher
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