Fresno State baseball: Guibor, Bulldogs bruise Pacific

Fresno State senior Austin Guibor has sneaky power.

He doesn’t exactly look the part of a power hitter, appearing smaller than his listed size of 5 feet, 10 inches and 185 pounds.

He hits leadoff most of the time, rather than No. 3-5 spots of the lineup that are usually reserved for sluggers.

But such deception appears to give Guibor an advantage, with pitchers possibly underestimating the left-handed hitter – at least until they become aware of his ability.

For the second time in his career, Guibor hit a leadoff home run and set the tone for Fresno State’s 10-4 win against Pacific on Tuesday at Beiden Field at Bennett Stadium.

Guibor batted 2 for 4 with a run and two RBIs, raising his early average to .314.

And the Bulldogs (4-4) finished with a season-high in runs, along with 11 hits.

“I think we just wanted to score early and often,” Guibor said. “It’s a good way to start. I’m not looking to go deep. That’s not really my approach at the plate. It just kind of happens sometimes.”

Guibor is tied with the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Aaron Arruda for the most home runs on the team with two.

Guibor finished second in homers last year with seven, behind the cleanup hitter Arruda’s 11.

And Guibor ranked third on the team with five home runs in 2015.

“Austin is a great hitter,” said Bulldogs third baseman Jesse Medrano, who finished 2 for 3 with three runs. “We’ve got a lot of confidence in him.

“The power is there. He’s a strong guy. It shows up on game day sometimes, like it did today.”

Guibor had an opportunity to boost his offensive production during the eighth inning, stepping to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs.

But he struck out looking on a pitch that sailed toward the outer part of the plate.

Guibor said some words to home plate umpire Ron Barnes, who then took off his mask and stared back at the Fresno State player.

Bulldogs coach Mike Batesole then rushed out of the dugout to have words with Barnes from a distance. The home plate umpire responded again by taking off his mask and staring back.

Batesole said a few more words, and Barnes ejected him.

The Bulldogs would respond with three runs following the ejection.

This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Fresno State baseball: Guibor, Bulldogs bruise Pacific."