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Fresno State Athletics
Friday, May 28
USAF Academy, CO
11 A.M. PT
Fresno State
at
Air Force
Photo by: Samuel Marshall
'Dogs close out season at Air Force [May 28-29]
5/26/2021 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
Games 43-45:Â Fresno State (19-23, 15-16 MW) at Air Force (24-21, 16-15Â MW)
First Pitch:Â May 28-29Â - Fri: 11 a.m. (DH), Sat: 10Â a.m.
Stadium:Â Falcon Field
Surface:Â Sport Turf Field
Dimensions:Â 360 (LF), 415 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 34-12
Last Meeting:Â Air Force defeated Fresno State, 12-6 (April 11, 2021 in Fresno, Calif.)
Video:Â Mountain West Network
Radio:Â 940 AM ESPN
Live Stats:Â StatBroadcast
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
- March 22, 2013 - 0-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- March 8-9, 2014 - 2-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- April 30-May 1, 2016 - 3-0 *played in Grand Junction, Colo.   Â
-Â March 17-19, 2017Â - 2-1
Higgins closing out the season strong
Junior Ryan Higgins is coming off a fantastic week at the plate going 10-for-17 in four games, including going 5-for-5 with a pair of home runs and three singles, two RBI and three runs scored in a 13-10 win over USC on Tuesday.
Over his last seven games, he is hitting .552 (16-for-29) with four doubles, five home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored.Â
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He leads the team in batting average (.357), runs (42), doubles (13), triples (3), RBI (38), slugging percentage (.675) and on-base percentage (.452).
Presno joins top 10 in program history in home runs
Zach Presno hit a pair of home runs last week for his 30th and 31st career home runs at Fresno State which moves him into the top 10 in program history in long balls.
He sits one shy of ninth held by Pete Dalena (1981-82 ) at 32 and is two away from eighth in Greg Funk who smacked 33 from 1980-83.
Conference finish
With a series win or sweep of the Falcons, the 'Dogs can finish as high as fourth or tied for fourth in the Mountain West standings.
The 'Dogs would secure their sixth top-four finish in the MW regular season in their time in the conference joining 2013 (4th), 2015 (3rd), 2016 (1st), 2017 (3rd) & 2019 (1st).
Home runs galore
The 'Dogs lead the Mountain West and sit 64th nationally with 54 home runs and are 34th in the country with 1.29 home runs per game.
The Bulldogs hit 13 last week with five against USC and eight in the series against UNLV.
Double trouble
Fresno State ranks first in the nation in double plays per game (1.14) and are 4th in the country with 48 double plays.
Walk it out
The Bulldogs lead the Mountain West with 178 walks drawn averaging 4.2 per game.
Follow us on:Â
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostbaseball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
First Pitch:Â May 28-29Â - Fri: 11 a.m. (DH), Sat: 10Â a.m.
Stadium:Â Falcon Field
Surface:Â Sport Turf Field
Dimensions:Â 360 (LF), 415 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series:Â Fresno State leads 34-12
Last Meeting:Â Air Force defeated Fresno State, 12-6 (April 11, 2021 in Fresno, Calif.)
Video:Â Mountain West Network
Radio:Â 940 AM ESPN
Live Stats:Â StatBroadcast
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
- The Bulldogs wrap up the regular season at Air Force this weekend.
- The 'Dogs are coming off a series win over UNLV at home last weekend winning the final two games with a 6-4 win and a 12-2 run-rule victory on Senior Day.
- Fresno State leads the all-time series over Air Force, 34-12.
- This will be the Bulldogs first trip to Falcon Field since March 2017 and are 4-3 at the Academy since 2013.
- The Diamond 'Dogs rank first in the nation in double plays per game averaging 1.14 per game and rank fourth nationally with 48.
- The Bulldogs lead the MW in walks (173) &Â home runs (54), sit third in runs (281) & are fourth in scoring (6.7) and slugging percentage (.475).
- Junior outfielder EJ Andrews, Jr. leads the MW in walks (29).
- Sophomore left-hander Jake Dixon is tied for the MW lead in wins (6).
- Pitchers Cooper Bergman and Nik Cardinal lead the MW with 20 appearances apiece.
Fresno State vs. Air Force - The Series
- Fresno State and Air Force have met 46 times with the 'Dogs leading the all-time series, 34-12.
- The two teams met earlier this season in Fresno with the 'Dogs winning two of three games with wins by 8-3 and 7-1.
- The Bulldogs are 4-3 at at Falcon Field since 2013 and swept a three-game series in Grand Junction in 2016.Â
- Coach Batesole is 30-10 all-time against the Falcons while at Fresno State.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State leads, 34-12
Last Meeting: April 11, 2021 (Fresno, Calif.) - L, 12-6
Current Streak: L1
Last Fresno State Win: April 10, 2021 (7-1) - Fresno, Calif.
Last Air Force Win: April 11, 2021 (12-6) - Fresno, Calif.  Â
A look at the Air Force Falcons
Air Force sits 24-21 overall on the season with a 16-15 mark in the Mountain West sitting in fourth place just a game in front of the Bulldogs.
The Falcons are coming off being swept at home by San Diego State last weekend as the Aztecs outscored the Falcons, 50-33, but were on an eight-game winning streak prior to that and are 11-5 at home this season.
AF is hitting .298 from the dish as a team to rank fifth. The Falcons rank second in the nation in doubles per game (2.60) and are third in doubles (117). Air Force is also second in the MW in hits (465), runs (285), stolen bases (46), third in walks (172) and are fourth in home runs (39) and on-base pct. (.378).
Freshman Paul Skenes is one of the top hitters in the nation hitting .418 from the plate to rank second in the MW and eighth in the nation and he also leads the team in runs (45), hits (74), doubles (20), home runs (11), RBI (40), total bases (127), slugging percentage (.718) and on-base percentage (.488).
Three other regulars hit over .300 in Cole Blatchford, Gabriel Garcia and Braydon Altorfer and all of them have 30-plus runs, 50-plus hits, double-digit doubles and 30 or more RBI.
On the mound, Air Force has a 6.53 ERA to rank fifth in the MW and have a 1.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 308 strikeouts while allowing 195 walks.
Senior RHP John Byrnes and junior LHP Stevan Fairburn, Jr. have combined to make 27 on the Falcons 45 starts with both notching five wins.Â
Byrnes leads the team with 67.0 innings and 59 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .239 average from the plate.
Skenes has a MW-leading 10 saves and 28 strikeouts in 24.2 innings while posting a 1-0 record with a 2.55 ERA.
- March 22, 2013 - 0-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- March 8-9, 2014 - 2-1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- April 30-May 1, 2016 - 3-0 *played in Grand Junction, Colo.   Â
-Â March 17-19, 2017Â - 2-1
Higgins closing out the season strong
Junior Ryan Higgins is coming off a fantastic week at the plate going 10-for-17 in four games, including going 5-for-5 with a pair of home runs and three singles, two RBI and three runs scored in a 13-10 win over USC on Tuesday.
Over his last seven games, he is hitting .552 (16-for-29) with four doubles, five home runs, nine RBI and nine runs scored.Â
Â
He leads the team in batting average (.357), runs (42), doubles (13), triples (3), RBI (38), slugging percentage (.675) and on-base percentage (.452).
Presno joins top 10 in program history in home runs
Zach Presno hit a pair of home runs last week for his 30th and 31st career home runs at Fresno State which moves him into the top 10 in program history in long balls.
He sits one shy of ninth held by Pete Dalena (1981-82 ) at 32 and is two away from eighth in Greg Funk who smacked 33 from 1980-83.
Conference finish
With a series win or sweep of the Falcons, the 'Dogs can finish as high as fourth or tied for fourth in the Mountain West standings.
The 'Dogs would secure their sixth top-four finish in the MW regular season in their time in the conference joining 2013 (4th), 2015 (3rd), 2016 (1st), 2017 (3rd) & 2019 (1st).
Home runs galore
The 'Dogs lead the Mountain West and sit 64th nationally with 54 home runs and are 34th in the country with 1.29 home runs per game.
The Bulldogs hit 13 last week with five against USC and eight in the series against UNLV.
Double trouble
Fresno State ranks first in the nation in double plays per game (1.14) and are 4th in the country with 48 double plays.
Walk it out
The Bulldogs lead the Mountain West with 178 walks drawn averaging 4.2 per game.
Twitter:Â @FresnoStateBSB
Instagram:Â fresnostbaseball
Facebook:Â FresnoStateAthletics
Players Mentioned
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