Fresno State baseball: Bulldogs lose but still clinch share of MW title

The Fresno State baseball team got a stroke of luck Sunday afternoon, earning at least a share of the Mountain West regular season title.

The Bulldogs (35-18, 21-9) needed a win against UNLV to clinch a share of the title, but instead fell 8-5 to the Rebels at Wilson Stadium.

However, Fresno State got some help in Albuquerque where second-place New Mexico lost 13-9 to Nevada that pushed the Bulldogs atop the conference standings.

The Bulldogs, who hold a three-game lead for first, can still become outright champions later this week with one more loss by the Lobos and Wolf Pack in the final weekend of the regular season May 19-21. New Mexico plays at Air Force and Nevada plays at UNLV.

It was a tough day on the mound for Bulldogs’ freshman starting pitcher Edgar Gonzalez, who lasted just 3 2/3 innings against the Rebels after giving up five runs (two earned) in the fourth inning that erased Fresno State’s 3-0 lead.

Jesse Medrano went 3 for 5 with two RBIs to lead the Bulldogs. The Rebels were led offensively by Payton Squier, Cooper Esmay and Cody Howard, who drove in two runs apiece.

Fresno State returns to Bob Bennett Stadium for a nonconference three-game series against San Francisco starting at 6:05 p.m. Friday.

This story was originally published May 15, 2016 at 7:39 PM with the headline "Fresno State baseball: Bulldogs lose but still clinch share of MW title."