RUSTON, LA - Fresno State claimed its third consecutive WAC crown defeating Nevada 6-4 in the championship game on Sunday. The Bulldogs fell behind early 2-0 as Nevada’s Mike Hale and David Ciarlo hit solo home runs in the second and third innings. Fresno State exploded for five runs in the top of the 5th inning taking a 5-2 lead. Fresno State added one more in the next inning to go up 6-2. Nevada would score runs in the seventh and eighth innings to close to within two runs at 6-4 but Fresno State’s Brandon Burke pitched the final 1.2 innings picking up his 10th save of the season preserving the Bulldogs’ lead.

Holden Sprague picked up the victory for the Bulldogs going 5.1 innings giving up two runs. Nevada’s Chris Garcia took the loss throwing 4.2 innings and giving up four runs.
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GAME ONE - #1 FRESNO STATE VS. #2 HAWAI’I
Fresno State scored one run on an Eric Wetzel homer in the bottom of the fourth to take an early 1-0 lead over 2-seed Hawai’i. Hawai’i would answer and take the lead with three runs in the top of the sixth inning and Landon Hernandez and Matt Roquemore produced back-to-back home runs to start the inning. The lead didn’t last long however as Fresno State scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 8-3 and then added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh to lead 11-3. Hawai’i added a meaningless run in the top of the ninth and the battle between the tournament’s only two remaining unbeatens went to top seed Fresno State.

Jason Brckley picked up the win for the Bulldogs pitching four innings and giving up just one run, that being on the Ryan Asato sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth. The losing pitcher was Matt Daly who in five innings of work gave up six runs. With the win Fresno State advances to the Championship game on Sunday.
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GAME ONE - #5 NEW MEXICO STATE VS. #6 SACRAMENTO STATE

The first game of the second day of the tournament was an elimination game for both teams. Just as the did in their game against Hawai’i, the Aggies struck first via a home run from Colin Crouthamel. Sacramento State would take the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Gabe Jacobo homered to lead off the scoring for the Hornets. Sacramento State would plate two more runs in the inning to take a 3-1 lead. New Mexico State answered with two runs to tie the game 3-3 but could have had a much bigger inning as Marcus Quade grounded into an inning ending double play. Sacramento State answered the two Aggie runs with three more runs to retake the lead 6-3 and would add two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stretch their lead to 8-3. New Mexico State would attempt to rally scoring runs in the eighth and ninth innings and had the tying run at the plate in Marcus Quade but Quade grounded into his second inning ending double play of the game as the season ended for New Mexico State.

Tyler Sturdevant picks up the loss for the Aggies as he pitched 4.1 innings and gave up six runs. Tommy Elrod picks up the win for the Hornets as he pitched 3.1 innings in relief of Brian Smith. Elrod gave up just one run.

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GAME ONE - #1 FRESNO STATE VS. #6 SACRAMENTO STATE

Fresno State defeated Sacramento State 3-2 in the first round of the WAC Baseball Championship Tournament on Thursday. The Bulldogs struck first blood in the first inning taking a 1-0 lead on a Steve Susdorf RBI single as Grand Hedstrom scored from from second. Sacramento State tied the game up in the fourth inning on a Tim Wheeler single that brought home Gabe Jacobo from second base. The Bulldogs would take the lead back in the bottom of the fourth inning scoring two runs off a Ryan Overland double as Tommy Mendonca and Alan Ahmady both scored on the play. Sacramento State would add one run to bring the Hornets to within one run but that was as close as they would get and Fresno State would hold Sacramento State scoreless over the final two innings. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008 WAC tournament gets under way on Thursday, May 22nd in Ruston, LA at J.C. Love Field. The stadium has a 3,500 seat capacity. J.C. Love Field’s dimensions are (left-to-right) 315-370-385-340-325. The outfield wall has been raised to 12 feet from the left-field corner around to right center where it will remain at eight feet from right-center to the right-field line.

The weather forecast calls for temperatures in the mid to high eighties with a 30% to 40% chance of rain and scattered thunderstorms over the tournament weekend.

The first round matchups will see 1-seed Fresno State take on 6-seed Sacramento State, 2-seed Hawai’i take on 5-seed New Mexico State and 3-seed Nevada take on 4-seed San Jose State. The games are scheduled for 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. All times are CDT.

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The 2008 All-Conference teams were announced at the annual WAC postseason awards banquet. Fresno State swept the individual honors as the WAC Player of the Year award went to Fresno State’s Steve Susdorf, WAC Pitcher of the year went to Tanner Scheppers and the WAC Coach of the Year was a tie between Fresno State’s Mike Batesole and San Jose State’s Sam Piraro.

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Fresno State at Sacramento State
Fresno State and Sacramento State split their weekend series over the weekend. The Hornets took the opening game on Friday night 9-8 on a walk-off grand slam by freshman Brent Hottman. On Saturday the two teams split the doubleheader with the Hornets picking up game one 4-0 and Fresno State taking game two 6-4. With the 6-4 victory the Bulldogs wrapped up their third straight WAC title. On Sunday the Bulldogs took the series finale 13-6. Read the rest of this entry »

Baseball America via Jonathan Mayo of MLBlogs.com is reporting that Fresno State ace and potential Top 10 MLB draft pick Tanner Scheppers is out for at least the next six weeks with a stress fracture in his pitching shoulder. Mayo speculates that the Scheppers camp may not be completely forthcoming regarding the injury and that the stress fracture story may be a cover for another, perhaps more serious injury.

Regardless this is a huge blow for both Scheppers and Fresno State who has high hopes of winning the WAC’s conference tournament and the automatic bid into the NCAA regionals.

SERIES OF THE WEEK: FRESNO STATE AT SACRAMENTO STATE (Hornet Field)

Why it’s important: Fresno State controls its own destiny this weekend. The Bulldogs head into the final weekend of the regular season with a one game lead over second place Nevada. If the Bulldogs can win three of four they will likely win the WAC regular season crown. This series could also be a preview of one of next week’s first round matchups in the conference tournament. Read the rest of this entry »

San Jose State at Fresno State
The Fresno State Bulldogs took three of four from the visiting San Jose State Spartans over the weekend. The Bulldogs opened the series with an 11-3 victory on Friday night. Justin Wilson pitched a complete game pitching for the Bulldogs. On Saturday the Bulldogs took both games of the doubleheader rallying in game one for a 9-8 victory and then winning game two of the doubleheader 5-3. On Sunday the Bulldogs and Spartans found themselves in a pitcher’s duel as San Jose State salvaged a win in the series, 2-1.

With the three wins the Bulldogs maintain their spot atop the Western Athletic Conference at 19-9 overall while the Spartans drop to 13-14 in conference play.

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Samuel Wasson is the Co-Founder and Editor of BleedCrimson.net and covers New Mexico State University athletics. He comes to the CBB as our expert on the WAC.

SERIES OF THE WEEK: SAN JOSE STATE AT FRESNO STATE (Joe Beiden Field)

Why It’s Important: San Jose State at 12-11 in conference play still has an outside shot at the conference title and if they are able to go into Fresno and win the series they would come out either tied or one game ahead of Fresno State in the standings. Fresno State, the preseason pick to win the WAC has stumbled in it’s last two series, losing three of four to second place Nevada and splitting a series with sixth place New Mexico State at home but still remain atop the standings. Read the rest of this entry »

Fresno State at Long Beach State
Fresno State ventured to Long Beach, CA to take on the Long Beach State Dirtbags in a non-conference game. The Bulldogs fell 2-1 on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs and Dirtbags combined to use 15 pitchers in the game with no pitcher recording more than three innings of work. The Dogs recorded five hits but scored their only run in the top of the ninth. The Dirtbags scored in the second and the deciding run in the fourth. The Bulldogs fall to 28-24 overall while LBSU improves to 28-17.

Fresno State Recap
Long Beach State Recap

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From CBB News Sources

DENVER, CO - Fresno State outfielder Steve Susdorf and Nevada pitcher Derek Achelpohl have been named the Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, for April 28-May 4.

Susdorf, a senior from Newhall, Calif. (Hart HS), hit .381 (8-for-21) with nine RBI, four home runs, six scored runs, two stolen bases, and a pair of walks as Fresno State split its series against New Mexico State last week. In an 11-8 series-opening win over New Mexico State, Susdorf went 4-for-5 at the plate with two home runs, two runs scored, six RBI, and a stolen base. Susdorf also had eight putouts last week without an error. Read the rest of this entry »

Samuel Wasson is the Co-Founder and Editor of BleedCrimson.net and covers New Mexico State University athletics. He comes to the CBB as our expert on the WAC.

Sacramento State at Hawai’i
The Warriors took three of four from the visiting Hornets winning game one on Friday night 8-3 then splitting a pair on Saturday, 3-1 and 7-3 before rallying in the ninth for a 9-8 victory. The series victory by Hawai’i muddles the race in the middle of the league as there are four teams (San Jose State, Hawai’i, Sacramento State, New Mexico State) within two games of each other in the loss column.

The Warriors are now 16-12 in conference play and 24-25 overall while the Hornets fall to 11-12 in conference play and 20-27 overall.

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Samuel Wasson is the Co-Founder and Editor of BleedCrimson.net and covers New Mexico State University athletics. He comes to the CBB as our expert on the WAC.

SERIES OF THE WEEK: SACRAMENTO STATE AT HAWAI’I (Les Murakami Stadium)

Why It’s Important: Hawai`i and Sacramento State are separated by just a half a game in the WAC standings, with UH three games behind Fresno State for first place and Sacramento State 3.5 games back. Read the rest of this entry »