Bulldogs come out of Mountain West baseball showdown on brink of championship

The Fresno State baseball team got great performances from pitcher Ryan Jensen and its senior sluggers to win a weekend series against visiting San Diego State, cementing the Bulldogs’ hold on first place in the Mountain West Conference.

Fresno State (32-14-1, 17-8-1) can clinch the regular-season title with one win next weekend at UNLV. The Bulldogs have secured a spot in the four-team Mountain West tournament Memorial Day weekend in Reno.

Fresno State won Friday night 10-2, lost Saturday 10-6 and won Sunday 8-3.

Jensen (9-1) got Fresno State off on the right foot against the second-place Aztecs, giving up just four hits in seven innings (his fifth-straight start of seven or more innings) and striking out seven.

The Bulldogs backed him with a five-run first and matched a season-high with 17 hits. Redshirt senior third baseman McCarthy Tatum out of Clovis High had a career-high four hits and senior second baseman Nolan Dempsey, the reigning Mountain West Player of the Week, matched his career-high with three hits.

Saturday night, San Diego State got to starter Davis Moore for five runs, chasing him after four innings for his second-shortest outing of the season. Davis left with the game tied but San Diego State got the go-ahead run on an outfield error and added on the rest of the way.

The Fresno State offense reignited Sunday afternoon, scoring six in the first inning. Dempsey and redshirt sophomore shortstop JT Arruda out of Buchanan High each hit their second homer of the weekend. Dempsey got his in his last at-bat at Beiden Field, then started a game-ending double play.

Dempsey and Tatum each had seven hits on the weekend.

Senior center fielder Zach Ashford out of Buchanan got both big first innings started, with a single Friday and a walk Sunday.

This story was originally published May 12, 2019 at 5:01 PM.