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Fresno State Athletics
Saturday, April 10
Fresno, CA
1:35 P.M. PT
Fresno State
vs
Air Force
Photo by: Keith Kountz
'Dogs take on Falcons in Fresno [April 10-11]
4/9/2021 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
Games 22-24: Fresno State (7-14, 4-8 MW) vs. Air Force (12-9, 6-6 MW)
First Pitch:Â April 10-11 - Sat: 1:35 p.m. (DH), Sun: 1:35 p.m.
Stadium:Â Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface:Â Grass
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 32-11
Last Meeting:Â Fresno State defeated Air Force, 9-5 (April 14, 2021 in Fresno, Calif.)
Video:Â Mountain West Network
Radio:Â 940 AM ESPN
Live Stats:Â bulldogslive.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
All-Time: Fresno State leads, 32-11
Last Meeting: April 14, 2019 (Fresno, Calif.) - W, 9-5
Current Streak: W1
Last Fresno State Win: April 14, 2019 (9-5) - Fresno, Calif.
Last Air Force Win: April 13, 2019 (4-3) - Fresno, Calif.
A look at the Air Force Falcons
Air Force sits 12-9 overall on the season with a 6-6 mark in Mountain West play to check in third. The Falcons are coming off taking two of three games at Nevada last weekend and swept UNLV at home the weekend prior.
Air Force is 5-8 on the road this season and also has wins at LSU, Arizona and San Diego State. The Falcons are hitting .280 as a team to rank fifth in the MW and check in second in the league with 40 doubles and 24 stolen bases.
Four Falcons are hitting over .300 with sophomore outfielder Blake Covin leading the team from the plate hitting .360 and has a team-high .425 on-base percentage and five stolen bases.
Freshman Paul Skenes is a two-way player who plays both catcher and pitcher. The Lake Forest, Calif. native is hitting .337 from the plate with a team-high 28 hits, 17 runs, 17 RBIs, five home runs, 49 total bases, .590 slugging percentage and has a 1-0 record with a 2.61 ERA in seven appearances on the mound striking out 11 in 10.1 innings.
On the mound, the Falcons have a 5.88 ERA as a team, good for fifth in the MW, have struck out 141 batters and are holding opponents to a .311 average from the plate. Senior right-hander John Byrnes leads Air Force in ERA (3.58), innings pitched (32.2), strikeouts (29) and games started (7). Junior left-hander Stevan Fairburn, Jr. has picked up three wins and has 21 strikeouts in 30.1 innings.
Batesole closing in on 600 wins at Fresno State
With one more win, head coach Mike Batesole will win his 600th game at Fresno State and with two more wins, he will pass Pete Beiden for second all-time in wins at Fresno State as the longtime skipper (1948-69) went 601-268 in 21 seasons.
Records at Fresno State
Bob Bennett (1967, '70-2002) - 1,302 -759-4 (.631)
Pete Beiden (1948-'66, '68-69) - 601-268 (.692)
Mike Batesole (2003-present) - 599-462-1 (.565)
Double trouble
Fresno State leads the nation in double plays per game (1.19) and are 8th in the country with 25 double plays.
Long balls
The 'Dogs are on a home run tear as of late smacking nine home runs in three games in Las Vegas and added three more on Wednesday against Pacific to give them 12 over the last four games and 24 as a team on the season to lead the Mountain West and ranks second and 52nd nationally in home runs per game (1.14).
Walk it out
The Bulldogs lead the Mountain West with 100 walks drawn averaging 4.8 per game.
Dixon starting strong
Sophomore southpaw Jake Dixon ranks sixth in the nation in starts with seven.  Â
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostbaseball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
First Pitch:Â April 10-11 - Sat: 1:35 p.m. (DH), Sun: 1:35 p.m.
Stadium:Â Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface:Â Grass
Dimensions:Â 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 32-11
Last Meeting:Â Fresno State defeated Air Force, 9-5 (April 14, 2021 in Fresno, Calif.)
Video:Â Mountain West Network
Radio:Â 940 AM ESPN
Live Stats:Â bulldogslive.com
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
- Head coach Mike Batesole goes for his 600th career win at Fresno State this weekend against Air Force.
- The 'Dogs are coming off a 14-10 loss at home to Pacific on Wednesday.
- The Bulldogs are facing Air Force for the first time since April 12-14, 2019 in Fresno with the 'Dogs winning four of five games.
- Batesole will become the third head coach to win 600 games at Fresno State joining Pete Beiden (601) and Bob Bennett (1,302).
- The 'Dogs are 5-3 at home this season.
- The Diamond 'Dogs lead the nation in double plays per game averaging 1.19 per game and rank 8th nationally with 25.
- The Bulldogs lead the MW in walks (100) & home runs (24), sit third in runs (126), slugging percentage (.426) & scoring (6.0) and are fifth in on-base percentage (.363).
- Jake Dixon ranks sixth nationally with seven starts on the mound.
- Nate Thimjon leads the MW with 0.25 home runs per game.
- Fresno State and Air Force have met 43 times with the 'Dogs leading the all-time series 32-11.
- The first meeting between the two teams came in 1997 with the last series being five games in Fresno with the 'Dogs claiming four wins.
- The Bulldogs are 20-3 at home against Air Force in Fresno since moving to the Mountain West in 2013.
- Coach Batesole is 28-9 all-time against the Falcons while at Fresno State.
All-Time: Fresno State leads, 32-11
Last Meeting: April 14, 2019 (Fresno, Calif.) - W, 9-5
Current Streak: W1
Last Fresno State Win: April 14, 2019 (9-5) - Fresno, Calif.
Last Air Force Win: April 13, 2019 (4-3) - Fresno, Calif.
A look at the Air Force Falcons
Air Force sits 12-9 overall on the season with a 6-6 mark in Mountain West play to check in third. The Falcons are coming off taking two of three games at Nevada last weekend and swept UNLV at home the weekend prior.
Air Force is 5-8 on the road this season and also has wins at LSU, Arizona and San Diego State. The Falcons are hitting .280 as a team to rank fifth in the MW and check in second in the league with 40 doubles and 24 stolen bases.
Four Falcons are hitting over .300 with sophomore outfielder Blake Covin leading the team from the plate hitting .360 and has a team-high .425 on-base percentage and five stolen bases.
Freshman Paul Skenes is a two-way player who plays both catcher and pitcher. The Lake Forest, Calif. native is hitting .337 from the plate with a team-high 28 hits, 17 runs, 17 RBIs, five home runs, 49 total bases, .590 slugging percentage and has a 1-0 record with a 2.61 ERA in seven appearances on the mound striking out 11 in 10.1 innings.
On the mound, the Falcons have a 5.88 ERA as a team, good for fifth in the MW, have struck out 141 batters and are holding opponents to a .311 average from the plate. Senior right-hander John Byrnes leads Air Force in ERA (3.58), innings pitched (32.2), strikeouts (29) and games started (7). Junior left-hander Stevan Fairburn, Jr. has picked up three wins and has 21 strikeouts in 30.1 innings.
Batesole closing in on 600 wins at Fresno State
With one more win, head coach Mike Batesole will win his 600th game at Fresno State and with two more wins, he will pass Pete Beiden for second all-time in wins at Fresno State as the longtime skipper (1948-69) went 601-268 in 21 seasons.
Records at Fresno State
Bob Bennett (1967, '70-2002) - 1,302 -759-4 (.631)
Pete Beiden (1948-'66, '68-69) - 601-268 (.692)
Mike Batesole (2003-present) - 599-462-1 (.565)
Double trouble
Fresno State leads the nation in double plays per game (1.19) and are 8th in the country with 25 double plays.
Long balls
The 'Dogs are on a home run tear as of late smacking nine home runs in three games in Las Vegas and added three more on Wednesday against Pacific to give them 12 over the last four games and 24 as a team on the season to lead the Mountain West and ranks second and 52nd nationally in home runs per game (1.14).
Walk it out
The Bulldogs lead the Mountain West with 100 walks drawn averaging 4.8 per game.
Dixon starting strong
Sophomore southpaw Jake Dixon ranks sixth in the nation in starts with seven.  Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostbaseball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Players Mentioned
Pitcher
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