“The standard of this program is to go win championships and play in the NCAA Tournament. These guys are ready to do something special.”
By Al Scott
The Diamond ‘Dogs quest to repeat as Mountain West champions and earn its 37th berth to the NCAA Tournament begins this week at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
Head Coach Ryan Overland when speaking to the media on Monday afternoon didn’t mince words on the team’s goal for this week’s festivities.
“The standard of this program is to go win championships and play in the NCAA Tournament,” Overland said. “These guys are ready to do something special.”
The tournament runs Wednesday, May 21 through Saturday, May 24. Thanks to finishing second place during the regular season with an 18-12 record during MWC play, the ‘Dogs earned themselves a first round bye and the number two seed during the tournament. It also means they will only need three wins to win the tournament as a whole.
Fresno State will begin play on Thursday night at 6:05 p.m. where they will play the winner between #3 New Mexico and #6 San Jose State. On Thursday afternoon, #1 Nevada will play the winner between #4 UNLV and #5 San Diego State. Click here for a link to the full bracket.
“There’s a different energy. There’s a little different excitement to every single pitch, little things everybody kind of reacts to more. And until you’ve actually been there and felt that adrenaline and felt that energy come different, it kind of takes a little bit to really kind of step back and make sure you’re in it,” Overland said.
The ‘fearsome foursome’
The Mountain West announced its awards and conference teams on Tuesday, with four Bulldog representatives, all four being named to the 1st Team: pitchers Jack Anker and Aidan Cremarosa (MW Pitcher of the Year), third baseman Murf Gray (MW Co-Player of the Year) and catcher Justin Stransky.
Any chance the Bulldogs will have of repeating will require these four to continue to play at a high level.
Anker and Cremarosa make up one of the best 1-2 punches in the conference and will provide Fresno State a decent chance of making it to Saturday unscathed.
Pitching coach Troy Buckley says that the duo being able to go deep into games has been a big priority for them and the team. It has translated into them throwing more innings pitched than any other player in the conference.
“I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of good players. Those two guys are definitely at the top of the list as far as what they’ve done this year,” Buckley said. “
Gray is entering the tournament on a tear, hitting .431 (1.626 OPS) with 10 HR and 25 RBI in his last 13 games. This includes four long balls last week, earning him conference POTW honors.
He attributes his recent run to being more patient at the plate.
“It’s about respecting the game and knowing what the game calls for. So like a runner on second, you gotta get a move situation down. But don’t be afraid to hit that heater where it’s pitch. You can pull it over the fence. You can hit it to the right center gap. You can do so many things,” Gray said.
The star third baseman was named tournament MVP a year ago after going 11-for-21 at the plate with eight runs scored, five doubles, a pair of homers and seven runs batted in.
His 17 home runs this season are the most by a Bulldog since the NCAA implemented the BBCOR (Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution) standard for baseball bats in 2011, aimed at making the game safer. As a result, there was a dropoff in offensive results but that hasn’t stopped Gray from producing.
“It’s great being able to hit behind him, I already know he’s going to be on base, if he hasn’t already cleared them,” Stransky said.
Stransky has been just as integral to the Bulldogs success this season, hitting .326 with 12 HR, 42 RBI and 10 SB. He’s also thrown out 17 runners from behind the dish.
The Bulldog catcher was recently named a semifinalist for the Buster Posey Award, given to the top catcher in all of college baseball.
Stransky says that the team’s experience could provide them a boost.
“We dealt with some adversity last year and this year. We know what it takes. We’re a good group of guys. We know what it takes to go out there and win that championship,” Stransky said.
Bullpen boost
After missing over a month with a foot injury, Bulldog reliever Drew Townson is set to return this weekend for the first time since pitching against Air Force on April 17. The right-hander was 4-0 with a 4.06 ERA and three saves prior to getting hurt.
“He definitely could have changed a couple of those games down the stretch,” Overland said. “Especially for a guy like him, it means so much to be out there and his energy and being a great teammate. It’s been killing him not to be out there.”
Buckley added that getting Townson back in the ‘pen will allow them more flexibility and plug certain guys in different situations that they haven’t been able to do at times.
Sizing up the competition
Overland understands that repeating won’t come easy. The 2008 National Champ emphasized the importance of his team being ‘locked in’ for every single pitch.
“You can’t give any away,” Overland said. “I thought last week in New Mexico, we did about as good of a job as you can do in that environment, against that team and those elements.”
With the help of its ballpark at a high altitude, the Lobos (17-13 in MW) statistically have one of the best offenses in the country and lead the conference in almost every offensive statistic. Despite the neutral stadium, New Mexico is very dangerous and can provide Fresno State trouble by scoring runs in bunches.
Nevada (19-11 in MW) has a case to be the favorite in the tournament after finishing the season top three in the conference in BA, runs, HR, ERA and fielding percentage. An extremely well rounded team that swept Fresno State in Reno less than a month ago is one to look out for.
Beyond that, the pitching of UNLV makes the Rebels a potential sleeper pick in the tournament. They als have MW Co-POTY in Dean Toigo who hit .384 while leading the conference with 18 HR and 74 RBI.
Fresno State went 5-4 against the likes of in-state rivals San Jose State and San Diego State in 2025. Outfielder Alex Fernandes (SJSU) and pitcher Marko Sipila (SDSU) are two of the better players in the conference.
“Every team is going to have its recipe that it has to do in order to get to the final out. And I think this team understands what we have to do,” Buckley said.
Sloan Park
The Bulldogs return to Sloan Park, home of the Chicago Cubs during Spring Training, for the first time since the Bulldogs participated in the 2023 MLB Desert Invitational against the likes of Michigan, Arizona and Michigan State.
The neutral site will provide a hot weekend, which Gray says might give the ‘Dogs an upper hand over some teams.
“Going into the tournament, you got other teams that are from cooler areas, not as hot, so going to that dry heat is kind of to our advantage, but either way, it is still baseball,” Gray said.
Probables
Thursday vs SJSU/UNM – Jack Anker
Friday vs TBA – Aidan Cremarosa
Should the Bulldogs advance any further, left-hander Bryce Armstrong will likely be the starter on Friday night or Saturday in an opener type role for the Bulldogs, as he has done for the bulk of the season.
Where to watch
If you cannot make it out to Mesa, all games will be available to watch for free on the Mountain West Network.
Cover photo provided by Fresno State.