Games 9-11: Fresno State (5-3, 0-0 MW) at San Jose State (2-4, 0-0 MW)
First Pitch: March 3-5 - Fri: 1:05 p.m., Sat: 1:05 p.m., Sun: 12:05 p.m.
Stadium: Excite Ballpark
Surface: Grass
Dimensions: 320 (LF), 390 (CF), 320 (RF)
All-Time Series: Fresno State leads 172-94
Last Meeting: Fresno State defeated San Jose State, 7-4 (May 8, 2022 in San Jose, Calif.)
Video: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: bulldogslive.com
Twitter: @FresnoStateBSB
Bulldog Headlines
The Diamond 'Dogs have won four of their last five games after defeating San Francisco, 7-5 on Wednesday evening in Fresno.
The Bulldogs begin their 10th season of Mountain West play (no MW games in 2020).
The Bulldogs went 15-15 in MW play in 2022 and finished in a tie for fourth in the league with Air Force.
Fresno State is 5-4 in Mountain West openers and start MW play on the road for the third straight season.
The 'Dogs lead the MW and rank 19th nationally in ERA (2.88) while checking in second in walks allowed per nine innings (3.50).
Preseason All-MW selection Ixan Henderson tossed seven scoreless innings in the 'Dogs home opener limiting Nebraska Omaha to three hits, no walks and struck out five.
Junior Tommy Hopfe leads the 'Dogs hitting .294 from the plate with a team-leading 10 hits with five extra-base knocks and leads the team with seven RBI.
Fresno State vs. San Jose State - The Series
Fresno State and San Jose State have met 266 times on the baseball diamond.
The 'Dogs lead the overall series against the Spartans, 172-94.
The Bulldogs and Spartans met in one series in 2022 in San Jose with the 'Dogs winning the series finale, 7-4.
The 'Dogs will meet later this season in Fresno on April 21-23.
SERIES HISTORY
All-Time: Fresno State leads 172-94
Last Meeting: May 8, 2022 W, 7-4 (San Jose, Calif.)
Current Streak: W1
Last Fresno State Win: May 8, 2022 - W, 7-4 (San Jose, Calif.)
Last San Jose State Win: May 7, 2022 - W, 5-4 (San Jose, Calif.)
Where Fresno State Ranked Offensively in the Mountain West/nation in 2023
.223 Batting Average: No. 5
.328 Slugging Pct: No. 5
.310 On-base Pct: No. 7
36 Runs: No. 5
55 Hits: No. 5
31 RBI: No. 5
11 Doubles: No. T-5
3 Triples: No. T-2
3 Home Runs: No. T-5
3 sacrifice bunts: T-1
29 walks: No. T-4
Where Fresno State Ranked Pitching in the Mountain West/nation in 2023
2.88 ERA: No. 1 - 19th nationally
.252 Opposing bat average: No. 2
4 saves: No. 1
73 strikeouts: No. 1
24 Earned runs allowed: No. 2
68 Hits allowed: No. 5
28 walks allowed: No. 3
10 doubles allowed: No. 2
2 triples allowed: No. T-3
6 home runs allowed: No. T-2
Where Fresno State Ranked Fielding in the Mountain West/nation in 2023
.980 Fielding Percentage: No. 4
72 Assists: No. 3
6 double plays: No. T-3
Where Fresno State Players Ranked in the Mountain West/NCAA in 2023
Triples: Tommy Hopfe - T-1st (2)
Total bases: Hopfe - 5th (19)
ERA: Trevor Garcia - 3rd (1.08)
Innings Pitched: Jake Dixon - T-6th (11.0)
Strikeouts: Ixan Henderson - T-4th (13)
Wins: Dixon - T-1st (2)
Earned runs allowed: Garcia - T-2nd (1)
A look at the San Jose State Spartans
San Jose State sits 2-4 on the season with a season-opening series win at Loyola Marymount before beingswept at home by Washington last weekend.
The Spartans were picked to finish second in the Mountain West preseason poll with three players selected to the MW preseason team in infielders Hunter Dorraugh, Charles McAdoo and pitcher Darren Jansen.
SJSU is hitting .213 from the plate and averaging 4.8 runs per game. Dorraugh leads the Spartans with a .440 average with a team-leading 11 hits, scored six runs, tallied four doubles and has a .500 on-base percentage.
On the mound, the Spartans have a 3.91 ERA to rank third in the MW and are allowing 4.3 runs per game.
Right-handers Jonathan Clark and Aaron Eden and left-hander Micky Thompson will be the Spartans starters this weekend. Eden leads the team in innings pitched (11.0), Thompson tops the team in strikeouts (10) and Clark ranks first on the team in ERA (1.80).
Mountain West openers
The 'Dogs are 5-4 in MW openers with all but two of the contests being one-run games.
2013 - March 15 vs. SDSU - W, 1-0
2014 - Feb. 21 vs. Nevada - W, 4-1
2015 - Feb. 20 at Nevada - L, 9-8 (10)
2016 - March 4 at SDSU - W, 3-2 (10)
2017 - March 3 vs. Nevada - W, 3-2
2018 - March 2 at UNLV - L, 7-6
2019 - March 1 vs. UNLV - L, 4-3 (10)
2020 - N/A
2021 - March 6 at SDSU - W, 3-2
2022 - March 11 at New Mexico - L, 7-3
'Dogs at SJSU MW Series (14-8)
The Bulldogs have won five of their seven Mountain West road series against the Spartans since San Jose State moved into the MW in 2014.
May 2-4, 2014 - 1-2
May 1-3, 2015 - 2-1
March 24-26, 2016 - 2-1
March 17-18, 2018 - 2-1
April 18-20, 2019 - 3-0
April 23-25, 2021 - 3-1
May 6-8, 2022 - 1-2
Arreola off to a stellar start
In four relief appearances, the redshirt freshman from San Diego has tossed seven scoreless innings allowing one hit, struck out five and held opponents to a .048 average.
Henderson with strong start in home opener
The junior southpaw is coming off a strong start in the 'Dogs home opener on Feb. 23 matching his career high with seven innings limiting Nebraska Omaha to three hits, no runs or walks and struck out five.
Hopfe shining both at the plate and on the mound
Leading the team offensively, Hopfe has also been a standout on the mound converting a pair of saves in three appearances and has four strikeouts in four innings.
New 'Dogs in action
The Bulldogs welcome 18 newcomers to the team this season with seven transfers and 11 freshmen set to make their debuts at Fresno State.
Ten Bulldogs have made their debuts so far this season in pitchers Jack Anker (Tulare Western), Jaykob Acosta (CSU Bakersfield, Bryce Armstrong (Washington) & Aidan Cremarosa (Burbank), catcher Matt Gonsalves (San Ramon), outfielders Michael McKernan (College of the Sequoias) & Grady Morgan (Butte JC), infielders Murf Gray (Madera) and Jadan Sheppard (Pleasanton) and designated hitter Sammy Augustine (Modesto).