Unable to get a second straight solid pitching performance, Fresno State saw its season-long struggles resurface Saturday night in losing 11-6 to San Diego State in Game 2 of the teams' Mountain West Conference season-opening series at Beiden Field.

Bulldogs sophomore Derick Velazquez, a transfer from Merced College, had trouble finding the plate and when he did he got rocked while giving up eight runs (six earned) on eight hits and five walks.

Among the hits was a three-run homer by San Diego State's Tyler France to put Fresno State in a 4-0 hole going into the bottom of the first inning.

"He just hasn't been sharp," Bulldogs coach Mike Batesole said. "He didn't have his good fastball today. So we were forced to pitch backwards, and he didn't have great location with his breaking ball.

"You need good quality starts to get this done and get a ring."

Fresno State (4-13, 1-1), which won the series opener 1-0 behind pitcher Tyler Linehan's shutout, has yet to take the first two games of a series this season.

Bulldogs pitching coach Steve Rousey was able to help Linehan get out of his funk and rediscover his potential. His next reclamation projection will have to be Velazquez.

The 6-foot-4 right-hander, who was drafted in the 15th round of the amateur draft by the Baltimore Orioles last summer, now has had three straight poor outings. He has pieced together only one dominant showing in his five starts -- that coming when he went nine innings while allowing one unearned run in beating USC 5-1 this month. Overall, Velazquez is 1-2 with a 6.89 ERA.

"What you saw today was a lot of 86-88 (mph); we've seen him 90-93 (mph) when he's throwing the ball well," Batesole said.

Bad pitching, accompanied by bad defense (two errors) combined to put Fresno State in an 8-1 hole. The Bulldogs did score three in the fourth, two crossing the plate because of a San Diego State fielding error.

The Bulldogs' top highlight came from freshman Louie Payetta, who went 2 for 4 with two RBIs. He hit his first career home run -- a solo shot to right in the eighth.

Also, Fresno State reliever Blake Quinn pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth.

The Bulldogs and Aztecs conclude the three-game series at 1:05 p.m. today. They'll also meet again late next month in San Diego for a three-game series.