Out with the old, in with the new

Dodger Jeff Weaver and the alumni lose 8-4 to the 2004 ' Dogs

By Darrell Copeland

Fresno State players, coaches and alumni—all of them were a part of Saturday’s alumni game, all of them with different views of it.

Coming into the game, the alumni were riding a two-year winning streak against the current Bulldogs. Former Bulldog baseball players such as Eddie Zosky, Brandon Gemoll and Josh Labandeira all came out to be a part of the alumni action.

But the new look Bulldogs of 2004 ended the streak this year, maintaining and extending the series lead to 20-5 overall.

Fresno State had to overcome an early deficit after the alumni put up a run in the first inning thanks to a two-out single by former Bulldog Casey McGehee.

The starting pitcher for the alumni was former Fresno State All-American and current Los Angeles Dodger Jeff Weaver. The Bulldogs touched up Weaver for five runs in two innings.

“ They looked good out there today,” Weaver said. “Especially swinging the bats.”

The Bulldogs shined in two other areas as well. Fresno State tallied five stolen bases while the pitching shut out the alumni for the final six innings.

“ I liked what I saw today,” coach Mike Batesole said. “We were aggressive on the bases and we were aggressive on the mound.”

Bulldog sophomore Richie Robnett was quick to point out the stakes and/or lack of stakes in Saturday’s game.

“ It seems like it doesn’t mean anything when we win it, but when you lose, all the sudden it becomes a deal,” Robnett said.

After the game, freshman Nick Moresi expressed his feelings on getting the chance to hit a major leaguer like Jeff Weaver.

“ It’s an amazing experience,” Moresi said “We’re fortunate to have him come out and pitch to us.”

Moresi, along with many of his other teammates, held their own against the likes of big-league-caliber pitchers. Four Bulldogs had a multi-hit game while nine players had at least one hit, including a pinch-hit homerun by junior David Gomez.

Batesole had a simple solution for his team’s performance.

“ I think what we’ve got is a definite improvement from 12 months ago,” Batesole said.

Weaver, who hopes to be a more than viable replacement for former Dodger Kevin Brown, agreed with Batesole’s comments.

“ The direction [the program] is going is looking pretty good,” Weaver said.

Yet another highly touted recruiting class comes in again next year, meaning those players will get their chance to see Weaver in an upcoming season as well, as long as he returns.

“ I’ll continue to come out here and support because this is where I started and what’s allowed me to get to where I am,” Weaver said.

Fresno State will open its season this weekend with a three-game series against the No. 3 Stanford Cardinal. The game will begin at approximately 6:30 p.m. at Beiden Field with senior David Griffin slated as the opening day starter for the Bulldogs.