File photo by Juan Villa / The Collegian
Fresno State has dropped its last two games in non-conference play going into tonight̢۪s Western Athletic Conference (WAC) weekend series against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
Fresno State lost Wednesday night to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo 8-5, despite getting four more hits than the Mustangs.
The Fresno State Bulldogs are 20-14 all time against Louisiana Tech. Last season, the two teams split the series 3-3.
However, Louisiana Tech didn̢۪t fare too well in the postseason, losing in the first round of the WAC Tournament to San Jose State in 2007.
Tech hasn̢۪t been able to rebound since then.
Despite having the third-best team ERA in the conference and the fourth-best team batting average, Louisiana Tech is in last place in the WAC with a 2-8 conference record.
Louisiana Tech was swept by both Nevada and Sacramento State this season, but were able to pull out a 2-1 series victory over San Jose State at the end of March.
Louisiana Tech̢۪s top hitter this season is shortstop Nick Grunenwald. The junior is hitting .352 with three home runs and 18 RBI.
The bulk of the power in Louisiana Tech̢۪s offense, though comes from pitcher/outfielder Jericho Jones.
Jones is an anomaly in college baseball because he is one of the team̢۪s best hitters and is also the ace pitcher.
On the mound, Jones is 5-2 with an ERA of 4.75. He leads the team with 32 strikeouts and has been a workhorse, pitching 41.2 innings this season.
Jones has also supported himself offensively this season.
He has a .350 batting average to go along with seven home runs and 19 RBI. He also owns a team-high .592 slugging percentage.
For Fresno State to repeat the success they had against Nevada two weeks ago, they need to cut down on the strikeouts. Fresno State leads the WAC with 265 team strikeouts.
Tonight Fresno State will turn to its ace Tanner Scheppers to break the two-game skid and keep the Fresno State̢۪s hot streak in the conference rolling.
Scheppers is 1-1 in WAC play this season with an ERA of 3.68 and 20 strikeouts. Overall, the junior right-hander is 4-2 with a 2.22 ERA and a WAC-leading 64 strikeouts.
Sophomore first baseman Alan Ahmady has been the hottest hitter for Fresno State and hasn̢۪t stopped.
After being named WAC Hitter of the Week, West Region Offensive Player of the Week and National Player of the Week by the National College Baseball Writers Association, Ahmady put on an encore at Cal Poly Wednesday night, hitting a two-run homer for the Bulldogs.
Ahmady is in the top five of the WAC in batting average, hits and RBI. Productivity from him, Erik Wetzel and Steve Susdorf is crucial for Fresno State.
If those three don̢۪t hit, then the they will struggle.
First pitch for tonight̢۪s game is scheduled for 6:05. A doubleheader is scheduled for Saturday starting at 2:05 p.m. and the series finale is Sunday at 1 p.m.