The Fresno State baseball team will host Sacramento State in a
three-game series starting today and ending Sunday. The Bulldogs
will also honor Dr. Rodney Anderson as his brother will throw out
the first pitch to today’s game at Beiden Field at 6:05 p.m.
Esteban Cortez / The Collegian
The Fresno State Bulldogs will honor the life of Dr. Rodney Anderson during tonight’s opener at 6 p.m. with Sacramento State. Anderson was longtime supporter of Bulldog baseball as well as a member of the political science department for over 15 years; he passed March 6.
Fresno State baseball has named May 4, 2012 as Dr. Rodney Anderson Day. His father and brother will throw out the first pitch. One dollar from every ticket sold to the game will benefit the Dr. Rodney Anderson Memorial Scholarship.
Anderson’s love for the sport transcends even after his death as a scholarship has been established in his honor. He also donated his two seats from Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium will be donated. The seats were the same seats Anderson and his father sat in during game three of the 2008 College World Series. The stadium was the home of the Omaha Royals now known as the Omaha Storm Chasers and hosted the College World Series from 1950 until 2010.
Anderson was a Nebraska native and coordinated a trip annually to the national event. He was there for every post-season game during the Bulldogs’ historic run in 2008 ”” the team’s championship season.
The Bulldogs will take on the Hornets of Sacramento State in a three-game series that Fresno State desperately needs to win to keep its playoff hopes alive.
With San Jose State being the only Western Athletic Conference team to play at Beiden Field this season, the Bulldogs sit at 0-3 at home. The Bulldogs are percentage points away from Louisiana Tech who holds the last seed in the WAC tournament as of today. The Bayou Bulldogs will be hosting San Jose State in a series that will have dramatic effects on seeds as well as determine who will get the final bid into the WAC Tournament.
The Bulldogs are coming of an 11-4 thumping of UC Davis. The team saw eight starts get a hit safely, five of which had multi-hit games. Kenneth Wise and Patrick Hutcheson increased their team-leading home run totals as they both went yard. The Bulldogs used six pitchers to finish off the aggies with J.D. Salles registering the victory.
Sacramento State enters the series 24-21 and tied for second in the WAC at 7-5.
Offensively, the Hornets have a balanced team with every starting player contributing at least 14 RBIs. They are led by prospect Rhys Hoskins who holds a .361 batting average, has blasted 9 home runs and knocked in 43 RBIs.
Pitching has been a problem for the Hornets. Every starter that has pitched at least five games holds an ERA over 4.00. The team has also given up 10 or more runs seven times this season.
Today and Saturday’s games begin at 6 p.m. while Sunday’s will be at 1 p.m.
