'Dogs welcome Pilots to Fresno

Friday, March 4

Fresno, CA

6:05 P.M. PT

Fresno State

Portland

Photo by: Kayla Barber

'Dogs welcome Pilots to Fresno

3/3/2022 1:00:00 PM | Baseball

Fresno State Notes

The 'Dogs take on Portland for the first time since 2009.

By: Travis Blanshan / Assistant Director of Strategic Communications

Games 9-11: Portland (7-1) at Fresno State (4-4)

First Pitch: March 4-6 - Fri: 6:05 p.m., Sat: 6:05 p.m., Sun: 1:05 p.m.
Stadium: Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 330 (LF), 400 (CF), 330 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 10-5
Last Meeting: Portland defeated Fresno State, 4-2 (March 12, 2009 in Fresno, Calif.)

Video: Mountain West Network
Radio (Sun.): Bulldog Sports Network
Live Stats: bulldogslive.com
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Tickets: Purchase

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Bulldog Headlines

The 'Dogs got back on the winning track on Tuesday with a 12-5 win at CSU Bakersfield belting 15 hits in the contest.
The Bulldogs dropped all three games at the Tony Gwynn Legacy last weekend in San Diego falling to Utah, No. 22 San Diego and Hawai'i.
The Diamond 'Dogs are celebrating their 100th season on the diamond this season.
Fresno State is 3-0 at home so far this season, its longest unbeaten home stretch to start a season since starting 10-0 in Fresno in 2018.
The 'Dogs lead the overall series with Portland, 15-10 and have not met since 2009 when they met twice in Fresno.
The Bulldogs are second in the MW hitting .279 as a team while averaging six runs per game and have a 3.99 ERA as a pitching staff with a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Sophomore infielder Ben Newton had his second straight three-hit performance against CSU Bakersfield and is hitting .615 (8-13) with four runs scored, two RBI & a .643 on-base pct.

Fresno State vs. Portland - The Series

Fresno State and Portland have met 25 times on the diamond with their first meeting coming in the 1979 NCAA Tournament.
The 'Dogs and Pilots have not faced off since 2009 when the Pilots came to Fresno for a pair of games in the Pepsi/Johnny Quik Classic.
Coach Batesole has won six of his eight meetings against Portland during his time at Fresno State.
The Pilots are the second of four WCC programs the 'Dogs will face this season joining San Diego, San Francisco and Pacific.

SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: Fresno State leads, 10-5
Last Meeting: March 12, 2009 (Fresno, Calif.) - L, 4-2
Current Streak: L1
Last Fresno State Win: March 9, 2009 (7-0) - Fresno, Calif.
Last Portland Win: March 12, 2009 (11-5) - Fresno, Calif.

Where Fresno State Ranked Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2022

.279 Batting Average: No. 2
.410 Slugging Pct: No. 5
.371 On base Pct: No. 3
48 Runs: No. 5
75 Hits: No. 3
44 RBI: No. 5
14 Doubles: No. 5
3 Triples: No. T-2
6 Home Runs: No. 4
5 sacrifice bunts: No. 2
32 walks: No. 4

Where Fresno State Ranked Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2022

3.99 ERA: No. 2
.247 Opposing bat average: No. 2
1 saves: No. 6
75 strikeouts: No. 4
31 Earned runs allowed: No. 2
65 Hits allowed: No. 2
25 walks allowed: No. 1
14 double allowed: No. 2
1 triple allowed: No. T-1
7 home runs allowed: No. T-5

Where Fresno State Ranks Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2022

.973 Fielding Percentage: No. 5
79 Assists: No. 4
4 double plays: No. T-5

Where Fresno State Players Ranked in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2022

Batting avg: Mason Grotto - 1st (.435)
Doubles: Zach Morgan - 1st (5)
Hits: Morgan - 4th (12)
Home Runs: Josh Lauck - 4th (2)
Stolen bases: Andrew Kachel - T-1st (3)
Walks: Kachel - 1st (9)
Innings Pitched: Ixan Henderson - T-2nd (10.2)
ERA: Roman Angelo - 5th (1.29)
Opposing bat. avg: Angelo - 1st (.091)
Strikeouts: Henderson - 1st (17)

A look at the Portland Pilots
The Pilots enter this weekend's series with a 7-1 overall mark coming off a 5-4 comeback win at Cal Poly on Wednesday. Portland won two of three at San Jose State last weekend and opened the season at home with a four-game sweep over Creighton.

Portland, who was picked sixth in the West Coast Conference preseason poll, is coming off a 24-26 mark in 2021 while finishing fifth in the conference last season.

The Pilots are hitting .279 as a team to rank third in the WCC while averaging 8.5 runs per game with a .417 on-base percentage, marks both second in the conference.

Portland ranks fourth in the WCC in team ERA in 3.76 while holding opponents to a .228 average and have a 3.15 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Saturday starter Brett Gillis is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA while leading the team with 16 strikeouts in 11.0 innings.

Fresno State vs. West Coast Conference opponents
The 'Dogs have winning records over all 10 programs in the WCC and will play four of them in 2022 taking on San Diego, Portland, San Francisco & Pacific.

Bulldogs All-Time Record vs. WCC opponents (year teams last played)
BYU: 21-12 (2014)
Gongaza: 28-1 (2017)
Loyola Marymount: 28-16 (2010)
Portland: 10-5 (2009)
Pacific: 101-49 (2021)
Pepperdine: 41-29 (2018)
San Diego: 20-8 (2022)
San Francisco: 80-21 (2021)
Saint Mary's: 71-22 (2018)
Santa Clara: 71-45 (2012)

'Dogs unbeaten at home
The Bulldogs are 3-0 at home this season, its sixth 3-0 or better home start under Coach Batesole joining 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016 & 2018.

Bulldog pitching staff locked in early
The Diamond 'Dogs lead the Mountain West in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 3-to-1 and walks allowed per nine innings (3.21)

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