FRESNO. Calif. – The Fresno State baseball team took down conference leader San Jose Spartans in both games of the doubleheader on Saturday at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
The 'Dogs defeated the Spartans 4-1 in the first game, and 8-3 in game two. With the pair of wins, the 'Dogs now advance to 20-18 on the season (11-9 Mountain West) and the Spartans fall to 19-17 (12-6 MW).
NOTES:
Robbie Peters secured his first win of the season with 1.1 innings pitched.
Tommy Hopfe earned his eighth save of the year.
Game two starter Trevor Garcia had a career game on the mound with a career-high six innings pitched and seven strikeouts.
Reining Mountain West Freshman of the Week Murf Gray made a statement with his sixth home run of 2023 that dished three runs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME 1:
Starting pitcher Roman Angelo opened the game with three consecutive three-frame innings and held the Spartans scoreless through six.
SJSU struck first on the scoreboard with an RBI single in the top of the sixth.
The 'Dogs rallied in the bottom of the eighth inning as Nikoh Mitchell opened the inning with a home run to right field. Fresno State loaded the bases and Tommy Hopfe was hit by a pitch to score another run. Back-to-back RBI singles from Marco Pirruccello and Bobby Blandford plated two more runs to give the 'Dogs a 4-1 lead over the Spartans.
Tommy Hopfe closed out the game on the mound and earned his eighth save of the year.
GAME 2:
The Spartans scored two off a home run in the top of the first inning.
Fresno State retaliated with a dominant five-run fourth inning with a double from Ben Newton, Nikoh Mitchell's second home run of the day, and singles from Bobby Blandford and Tommy Hopfe, followed by a home run from Grady Morgan.
Freshman Murf Gray brought in two more runs with his sixth tater of the season in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 7-2 game in favor of the 'Dogs.
Fresno State allowed one run in the top of the sixth with an RBI single from the Spartans, but quickly responded with a run scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning to lock in the 8-3 win.
UP NEXT: Fresno State will close out the series against San Jose State on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. PT at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.