Bulldogs bullpen provides cleanest showing of season in win over Pepperdine

Fresno State’s bullpen had its best out of the season as five pitchers combined to limit Pepperdine to two hits for one unearned run en route to a 5-2 victory Wednesday at Beiden Field at Bennett Stadium.

After midweek starter Adam Medrano got the hook after allowing a homer then hitting a batter with no outs in the third, the Bulldogs bullpen of Fred Schlichtholz, Dominic Topoozian, J.J. Santa Cruz, Ryan Jensen and Edgar Gonzalez combined to pitch five straight scoreless innings to end the game.

An unearned run did cross during the fourth when Schlichtholz was on the mound.

Fresno State leadoff hitter Zach Ashford batted 2 for 3 with two RBIs. Scott Silva and Jared Akins also drove in a run, both in the fifth that initially tied the score 2-2.

Earlier in the day, Pepperdine (10-9) managed to pick up a win against Fresno State (12-8).

Playing a continuation game from March 7, the Waves took advantage of an error and a passed ball to score a pair of runs in the bottom of the 12th and beat the Bulldogs 8-7.

The continuation game began in the 12th inning with the score tied 7-7 after the two had played 11 innings from Malibu but postponed the game because Pepperdine’s ballpark lacked lights to continue into the evening.

Fresno State, 4-2 in conference play, resumes Mountain West action this weekend, hosting San Diego State (14-7, 4-2) for a three-game series.

This story was originally published March 22, 2017 at 8:04 PM with the headline "Bulldogs bullpen provides cleanest showing of season in win over Pepperdine."