GAMES 17-19: Fresno State (12-4, 2-1 MW) at San Jose State (6-11, 2-4 MW)
THE GAMES
Dates: March 15-17, 2024
First Pitch: Fri., Mar. 15 at 6:05 p.m. | Sat., Mar. 16 at 2:05 p.m. | Sun., Mar. 17 at 12:05 p.m.
Stadium: Excite Ballpark
FOLLOW ALONG:
Watch Live: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Listen Live: FOX Sports AM 1340
Twitter (X):@FresnoStateBSB
THE MATCHUP
All-Time: Fresno State leads 174-100 over San Jose State
Last Meeting: San Jose State defeated Fresno State 11-8 in the MW Championship tournament on May 27, 2023, in Fresno, Calif.
Current Streak: Fresno State, L3
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Fresno State baseball team is set for its second conference series of the season as they head to San Jose State to battle the Spartans.
THE LAST TIME
The Bulldogs faced San Jose State a total of eight times in 2023, going 6-2 over the defending Mountain West Tournament Champions.
Fresno State challenged the Spartans only twice last season in San Jose with one game shifting to Fresno due to rain.
The Diamond 'Dogs faced the Spartans twice during the Mountain West Championship at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium, with a 2-13 loss in the tournament opener and 8-11 loss in Fresno State's final game of the year.
The Spartans went on to win the tournament and headed to NCAA regionals where they were eliminated by Cal State Fullerton to end their 31-27 season.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San Jose Started the season on a high note as they were voted to finish at the top of the MW rankings in the Preseason Coaches' poll with 33 points and four first-place votes.
The Spartans enter the weekend series coming off back-to-back losses to Saint Mary's (7-1, Tuesday) and USC (7-6, Wednesday).
ROCC'N THE HOUSE
Rocco Peppi led the Bulldog offense last week with a .467 average, earning him his first Mountain West Player of the Week award.
Peppi hit his first grand slam in a Bulldog uniform on Sunday in Fresno State's win over Columbia.
In Friday's win over nationally ranked UC Irvine, Peppi pinch-hit for the Bulldogs to drive in a run with an RBI single.
Peppi went 7 for 15 on the weekend without a single strikeout in addition to a stolen base and 8 RBIs.
UN-BEAL-IEVEABLE
Noah Beal was named MW Pitcher of the Week for the first time after he pitched a career game against nationally ranked and undefeated UC Irvine last week.
Beal was on the mound for 7 innings and struck out a career-high 12 batters.
He also did not allow a single walk in his time on the bump in his first win of the season.
The Anteaters were held to a .130 average with Beal on the mound, a team that usually has a team average of .302.
Beal also leads the conference in strikeouts with 29 in 22.0 innings pitched, followed closely by Jack Anker with 26 in 25.0 innings pitched.
STEADY EDDIE
Fresno native Eddie Saldivar has made quite the impact for the Bulldogs since making his return to his hometown after transferring from Long Beach State.
Saldivar has been named MW Player of the Week already this season and leads the conference with 26 hits and 22 runs scored.
He has the third-best batting average in the MW with a team-best .394.
BATTLING ON THE BUMP
Fresno State's pitching staff is putting up impressive numbers start out the year.
Three Bulldogs top the MW rankings for earned run average: Jake Riding at 1.59, Jack Anker at 1.80 and Jake Dixon at 2.08.
Collectively as a staff, Fresno State has the best ERA in the conference at 3.42, allowing a conference-best 54 earned runs, 69 runs allowed, 39 walks allowed and only 22 doubles allowed.