Fresno State, buried in Mountain West baseball tournament opener, faces steep climb

Fresno State ace Ricky Tyler Thomas had the worst outing of his career at a terrible time for the team.

Thomas, considered one of the top 200 major league draft prospects in the nation, gave up 10 runs in the first inning without getting an out as third-seeded Fresno State lost 18-10 to No. 2 San Diego State to begin the Mountain West Tournament on Thursday in Albuquerque, N.M.

Fresno State (32-24) slides into the losers bracket of the double-elimination tournament and will play at 2 p.m. Friday against No. 4 Nevada (19-35).

The Wolf Pack fell 7-2 to No. 1 New Mexico in the other first-round game.

The Bulldogs now must win four straight over the next three days to claim the championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

San Diego State (39-18) faces New Mexico (30-25-1) at 6 p.m.

The left-handed Thomas, a back-to-back All-Mountain West first-team selection, never found his command nor control in a game played amid a 25-mph wind at an elevation of 5,321 feet.

Thomas, staked to an early lead, walked two to start the bottom of the first, then gave up three straight singles ahead of Andrew Martinez’s three-run homer that made it 6-2.

The junior walked another, then allowed two singles and a ground-rule double.

Thomas hit a batter and he was done with Fresno State down 8-2.

Right-hander Dominic Topoozian allowed both of the runners he inherited to score, completing Thomas’ nightmare line.

Thursday’s outing alone caused Thomas’ ERA to skyrocket from 3.70 to 4.79.

It merely continued Fresno State’s trend of poor performances in Albuquerque, even with the team coming in having won 7 of 8 to close the regular season.

Last year, the Bulldogs went two-and-out at the conference tournament at New Mexico. They own a 2-16 all-time record in games against the host Lobos in Albuquerque, including a 24-4 loss in March.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 6:39 PM with the headline "Fresno State, buried in Mountain West baseball tournament opener, faces steep climb."