Fresno State wins Mountain West Conference championship for second straight time
The Fresno State baseball team is headed to the NCAA tournament after defeating San José State 9-1 in the Mountain West Conference championship on Saturday in Mesa, Ariz.
The celebration was marred, however, by an unfortunate injury to Sky Collins, who went to second base and his ankle buckled under the bag after sliding in the bottom of the seventh inning.
There was a long delay as trainers tended to Collins, who remained on the ground for more than 20 minutes. He was carted off and placed in an ambulance and taken to a local hospital for further treatment.
The former Buchanan High/Fresno City College standout was key for the Bulldogs during the tournament when he went 6 for 13 with a triple, home run, five runs scored and an RBI.
“That’s a tough one in this moment,” Fresno State coach Ryan Overland told Mountain West Network Karlie Drew. “Obviously that took a lot of air out of that game there.”
The game went on and the Bulldogs didn’t allow the delay to bother them to win behind Murf Gray’s three-run home run in the fourth inning. He was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for back-to-back seasons, much like the Bulldogs repeating.
Bryce Armstrong picked up the win after pitching 5.2 innings and striking out eight.
“It’s been so many ups and downs,” Gray said.. “So many struggles we went through from the injuries. Sky Collins busting his butt every day. We did this for him. That injury he just went through, we’re praying for him, hoping he gets better soon, but we can’t thank him enough for playing hard for us.”
Overland is proud how his Bulldogs came to play in Mesa and never backed down.
It is Fresno State’s second straight Mountain West title.
“We challenged them really hard early with some tough road series,” he said. “We lost some games that we were in, and these guys never stopped.”
The NCAA tournament selection show is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday and will air on ESPN2 or ESPNU.
