Fresno State baseball: Bullpen falters three times as Bulldogs fall in 12
Fresno State’s offense twice delivered late to put the Bulldogs in position to win Saturday afternoon. Three times, their usually reliable bullpen blew it.
Fresno State relievers surrendered seven runs in the final four innings and the Bulldogs’ season-high 17-hit attack went to waste in a 14-13 12-inning loss to New Mexico in game 2 of a Mountain West Conference baseball series in Albuquerque.
Fresno State (21-11, 9-5) has slipped two games behind New Mexico (22-9, 11-3) in the conference standings after the teams entered the series tied for first.
The Bulldogs seemed as if they were on the brink of tying the series after breaking a 7-7 tie with two runs in the eighth.
But reliever Dylan Lee served up a two-run homer to Carl Stajduhar in the ninth and on they went to extra innings.
Fresno State reclaimed the lead with a four-run 10th – highlighted by Jake Stone’s two-run double – only to see Lee surrender a two-run homer to Luis Gonzalez and another to Chris DeVito as the Lobos evened the score at 13-13.
In the 12th, with runners at first and second with one out and senior Mark Reese on the mound, coach Mike Batesole decided to intentionally walk Stajduhar to load the bases for Andre Vigil, a .175 hitter entering the game.
The move proved fatal, as Vigil singled to shallow left off Reese (0-2), allowing DeVito to trot in from third with the winning run.
Saturday marked the first time in 20 games the Bulldogs had a lead going into the ninth only to lose. Fresno State also lost by one run for the eighth time this season.
Stone and Brody Russell each scored twice and drove in three and Aaron Arruda homered and had a pair of RBIs as the Bulldogs’ 2-4 hitters went a combined 9 for 19. Leadoff man Scott Silva went 2 for 6 with a pair of runs and an RBI.
Fresno State’s Jimmy Lambert had his roughest start of the year, allowing five runs in 6 1/3 innings. DeVito was 5 for 7 with six RBIs and scored four times.
The series finale starts at 11 a.m. Sunday.
This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 8:17 PM with the headline "Fresno State baseball: Bullpen falters three times as Bulldogs fall in 12."