Fresno State drops baseball finale before heading to Mountain West tourney as top seed

Momentum won’t be on the Bulldogs’ side entering this week’s Mountain West Conference baseball tournament.

Fresno State dropped its second consecutive nonconference game since clinching the MW regular-season title, upended 6-3 by USF on Saturday at Beiden Field at Bennett Stadium.

After being shut out on one hit through seven innings, the Dons (22-34) scored six runs in the eighth against the Bulldogs’ bullpen.

At least Mike Batesole didn’t have to see it. The Fresno State coach was ejected for arguing after Austin Guibor flied out to end the bottom of the first.

In a rare start for Senior Day, Bulldogs right-hander Tim Borst tossed five innings before Dylan Lee added two spotless frames as Fresno State (36-20) led 2-0 entering the eighth.

However, relievers Edgar Gonzalez and Ricky Ramirez could not hold the lead. Nico Giarratano’s two-run infield single and Allen Smoot’s two-run double were the key hits.

“That was real fun, definitely an experience I’ll remember for a while,” Borst said of his first start of the season. “Just unfortunate we didn’t come out on top in the end.”

Kevin Viers and Joe Prior drove in runs for Fresno State, which finished the season 26-7 at home.

As the No. 1 seed entering the conference tournament in Albuquerque, N.M., the Bulldogs have a first-round bye and will open at 3 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 4 UNLV and No. 5 Air Force.

This story was originally published May 21, 2016 at 6:51 PM with the headline "Fresno State drops baseball finale before heading to Mountain West tourney as top seed."