The Fresno State Diamond ‘Dogs opened up the season with a series split against Brigham Young University (BYU). After winning the first two games, the ‘Dogs struggled with a blowout loss and horrific ending in their final game.  

The first game of the season was on Valentine’s Day. The team got out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning. With a wild pitch in the fourth inning, it led to a score by the Diamond ‘Dogs to go up 4-0. 

After pitching six scoreless innings, Bulldog pitcher Jack Anker was swapped for right-handed pitcher Cooper Bergman. This performance by Anker earned him the Mountain West Conference pitcher of the week.

In the top of the seventh, BYU got on the board with a double that brought in a run. Then up 4-1 in the bottom of the seventh, Murf Gray and Bobby Blanford rattled off a single and a double to get two more runs. Then infielder Lee Trevino was walked leading to another run. 

After two more scoreless innings, the game ended with a 7-1 victory for the Diamond ‘Dogs.

The next two games of the series were a doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 15. 

Game one of the doubleheader saw a dominant 13-4 victory for Fresno State. Trevino stole home in the bottom of the first. In total, the team had 16 hits and 11 RBIs including a home-run by Gray in the bottom of the sixth.   

Game two of the doubleheader didn’t carry the same result though. The Diamond ‘Dogs lost 7-1 with their only score coming from a double by Blanford in the bottom of the first. It was all BYU after that with runs in the second, third, sixth and ninth innings. 

Coming into the final game of the series, the Diamond ‘Dogs were up 2-1.  

Victor Arreola was the starting pitcher for the game and didn’t allow any runs in the first inning. Infielder Eddie Saldivar was walked and Gray hit a single. This was followed by an error that led to Saldivar getting on third. Blanford would then ground out to second base but it brought in Saldivar. The Diamond ‘Dogs were up 1-0 after the first inning.

The second inning was scoreless thanks to catcher Justin Stransky who threw out a BYU runner trying to steal a base. The Diamond ‘Dogs had no luck with one strikeout and two flyouts. 

Similarly to the second inning, the third saw a few ground outs and fly outs by both teams. Gray hit a deep ball but was caught on the warning track. The score remained 1-0. 

Arreola gave up a single in the fourth inning. After a strikeout, BYU’s Luke Anderson would hit a home run to left field. This put the Cougars up 2-1. With the lead lost, the Diamond ‘Dogs mustered a rally of hits. Infielder Cayden Munster hit a double followed by a single from Cam Schneider. With a runner in scoring position, Trevino hit a single to right field which brought in  Munster. 

With the score tied at 2-2 in the fifth inning, neither team could muster a serious threat to the score. 

In the sixth inning, sophomore JT Guerrero replaced Arreola with one out in the inning. After a flyout and a strikeout, the Diamond ‘Dogs were up to bat. Griffen Sotomayor crushed a ball to left-center field for his first home run of the season. 

After the Diamond ‘Dogs took a 3-2 lead, BYU would come out in the seventh inning and load the bases with two outs. Guerrero was swapped with pitcher Caleb Anderson. In clutch fashion, Anderson struck out Easton Jones to save the inning. The Diamond ‘Dogs would score again after Stranksy hit a single and advanced to second via a bunt by Saldivar. A wild pitch allowed him to get to home plate. 

Now up 4-2, the Diamond ‘Dogs let up a disastrous eighth inning. After a walk, a single and an error, BYU had the bases loaded with two outs. Anderson failed to repeat the same result in the seventh inning. 

Parker Goff hit a double that tied the game to 4-4. The very next batter, Crew McChesney, hit another double leading to  two more runs. Cooper Bergman was immediately subbed in for Anderson. A pop-up to first base would eventually end the nightmare. 

With the Diamond ‘Dogs up to bat, they failed to even get a runner on base, remaining in a 6-4 deficit. 

The ninth inning showed promise after Bergman struck out the first two BYU hitters and the last hitter grounded out. Sky Collins was up to bat for the Diamond Dogs but grounded out to third base. Then Stransky hit a single, finally putting a runner on base. The moment was short-lived though since Saldivar hit into a double play, ending the game. 

A final score of 6-4 brought the series to an even split at 2-2. 

The team will aim to redeem themselves in a three-game series against California State Fullerton at Bob Bennett Stadium on Friday, Feb. 21.