The Diamond ‘Dogs went down swinging at the Caesar Uyesaka Stadium for their second game of the Santa Barbara Regional on June 1.
Fresno State matched up against the University of San Diego but fell short 7-5, making it its second loss to eliminate them from the double-elimination tournament. It lost the day prior against the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Regardless of the game’s conclusion, Head Coach Ryan Overland shared his thoughts on the season.
“Couldn’t be more proud of this team, where this program is at. To get back to the NCAA tournament where the Bulldogs belong. That’s [been] the standard of this program for a long, long time,” he said.
Fresno State started off the first inning on the field with Jake Dixon opening up on the mound.
Torrero catcher Ariel Armas singled down to right field. Outfielder Jakob Christian then hit the ball out of the park, bringing in Armas and himself for an early 2-0 lead.
Fresno State then went up to the plate but didn’t have early luck on the scoreboard. Bulldogs shortstop Ben Newtown and first baseman Tommy Hopfe lined out to left field where Torero left fielder Jack Costello was ready to secure the ball in his glove.
Eddie Saldivar then got to second base after a San Diego error, taking third baseman Murf Gray to the plate. Gray hit to left field and was called out by Costello once again.
The top of the second inning was a quick three outs for San Diego as no one got on base. Fresno State went up to bat as right fielder Grady Morgan hit a line drive to right field to get on first. Left fielder Bobby Blandford was hit by Torero pitcher Austin Smith, moving him to first and Morgan to second.
With two outs, center fielder Michael McKernan went up to bat for the Diamond ‘Dogs. On a full count, McKernan struck out looking, sending them back on the field and keeping the score the same.
At the bottom of the second, Hopfe doubled down the infield line. That was a perfect setup as Gray singled straight down the middle, running Hopfe in and earning him an RBI along with the ‘Dogs their first run of the game, 2-1.
Hopfe finished the game with two runs and three hits, concluding his time as a Bulldog.
“It’s an honor. All the guys that have played in the past being able to share the same uniform as them and go out there,” Hopfe said at the postgame press conference.
San Diego added another run in the top of the fourth inning first baseman Jack Gurevitch flew out to right center field, sending Christian home to extend the lead to 3-1.
The Toreros once again went on a scoring run, this time during the top of the fifth inning. Second baseman Angelo Peraza grounded out, bringing in centerfielder Dustin Allen who was on third. Third baseman Will Worthington got on second base and was brought in by Armas, extending the lead to 5-1. Armas scored the last run to make the score 6-1.
The Diamond ‘Dogs didn’t back down as they brought in four runs at the bottom of the fifth inning, cutting the deficit to one point.
Gray homered to left field bringing in himself, Saldivar and Hopfe to make the score 6-4. At this point, Gray held all the RBIs for Fresno State. As Gray ran from third base to home plate he pointed at the stands filled with Fresno State fans.
“It felt great. It felt like being at the Pete [Beiden Field], it’s a party at the Pete we made it a party here. The fans pulled up and showed out, they do a great job at that,” Gray said.
Catcher Tyler Davis was on base but was then brought to home plate by designated hitter Justin Stransky who singled to the left, 6-5.
The sixth and seventh innings remained scoreless for both the Toreros and Diamond ‘Dogs. At the top of the eighth inning, Gurevitch hit a homer to the right outfield bleachers to extend the lead to 7-5.
The final play of the game ended in a double-play as Gray grounded out to shortstop, getting out Saldivar and himself at first.
That concluded the Diamond ‘Dogs run in the NCAA Regionals and their 2024 season with a 7-5 loss.
