Baseball undefeated in WAC, awaiting Rice

Fresno State swept Hawaii in a three-game WAC-opening series over the weekend

By EDDIE HUGHES

It was a nice way to open Western Athletic Conference play.

Fresno State completed a three-game sweep of visiting Hawaii in the Bulldogs’ WAC opening series with a 5-3 win on Sunday.

Kent Sakamoto had two doubles and three RBIs in helping Fresno State to its seventh straight victory over Hawaii dating back to last season.

The Bulldogs fell behind for the first time in the series when consecutive errors by second baseman DeAndre Miller allowed Hawaii to get two runners on. Schafer Magana eventually hit a two-run single to give Hawaii a 2-0 lead in the third inning.

Fresno State tied the game 3-3 in the sixth when Sakamoto doubled for the second time of the day to score Ryan Overland.

The Bulldogs took the lead in the seventh when, with runners on the corners, Hawaii catcher Eric Ammon overthrew the third baseman trying to pick off Fresno State’s Nick Moresi. The throw went into the outfield and Moresi came in to score. David Gomez followed with a single to knock in Beau Mills from second base and put Fresno State up 5-3.

The Bulldogs continued to struggle with errors in the series, committing nine, including four in Sunday’s finale.

But Fresno State’s pitching was strong enough throughout the weekend to make the defensive blunders a footnote.

On Sunday, Doug Fister went seven innings in the start, giving up three runs (none earned) and four hits.

Saturday’s game featured solid performances from the duo of Michael Cooper and Eddie Romero.

Cooper gave up one run in five innings before turning it over to Romero, who gave up one run in four innings.

Matt Garza got the Bulldogs off to a nice start in Friday’s series opener, striking out 11 and giving up four hits and two earned runs in seven innings.

The strong pitching is coming at a good time for the Bulldogs, with perennial power Rice, ranked 13th in the nation, visiting Beiden Field for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Fresno State is the only undefeated team in the WAC. Rice (18-9, 2-4 WAC) won two of three against Nevada over the weekend after being swept by San Jose State in its opening series.

The Owls will travel to Fresno with just 23 players for the series against the Bulldogs, instead of the normal 25, after using an ineligible player in the Nevada series.

WAC rules permit a home team to dress 32 players, but only 25 are allowed to play in a series. Leading 14-3 in the ninth inning on Saturday, Rice inserted a player who was not included on the 25-man roster, violating a WAC code.