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Mar 05
0

Nose to the grind: Faust, Diamond Dogs ready for matchup with Arizona

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Fresno State (7-4) is heading to Tucson for a three-game weekend set with Arizona. The previously ranked Wildcats opened the 2026 season with a 10-7 loss to Stanford back on February 13th. 

Arizona has had one of the tougher schedules in the country over the first few weeks of the year, including matchups against Oregon, Oregon State and Michigan. After beginning the season at 1-8, the Wildcats put together back-to-back impressive wins over Vanderbilt and UC Irvine over the weekend before falling 7-5 at home to Grand Canyon on Tuesday night. 

Despite their rough start, Fresno State Head Coach Ryan Overland knows Arizona is not a team to overlook. 

“Going to a big 12 team on the road that had guys that were a game away from Omaha last year, and they understand how to win and how to win at a high level,” Overland said. “And I promise you, whatever their record is today, their talent level is, they’re going to be the best, most talented team in the country at that level, I’m sure of that.”

Projected starters

Kramkowski opens for Arizona as its Friday night senior. The junior righty made 18 starts for the Wildcats in 2025, going 9-6 with a 5.48 ERA while striking out 90 over 92 IP. 

He will be followed by 2025 freshman All-American Smith Bailey who’s picked up right where he left off after pitching to the tune of a 3.94 ERA in 18 starts a year ago. Bailey is coming off back-to-back wins, including a one-run, three-hit performance over six innings against a vaunted Vanderbilt lineup. 

The biggest strength of this Wildcats team may just be the starting pitching. Fladda is a big reason why. The Tulane/Johnson County CC transfer is expected to make another Sunday start after twirling seven shutout frames in a win over UC Irvine (9 strikeouts). 

The Bulldogs are expected to run out the same rotation as it has the first three weekends of the season, beginning with Townson on Friday night. 

Nose to the grind

Owen Faust didn’t have the prettiest beginning to the season in the field. The day before their season opener against Utah last month, Faust took a “Pete Beiden hop” to the face, injuring his nose. The sophomore was required to wear a mask on defense to help ease the pain, something he won’t miss. 

“It wasn’t anything terrible, but the mask was definitely really annoying,” Faust said. 

Despite the injury, Faust hasn’t skipped a beat in the batters box, with not many players in the country hotter than him at the plate right now. Faust has already crossed home plate 16 times in 9 games thanks to a .489 on-base percentage. 

“I’m just seeing the ball really well, trying to get my best swing off and if it’s not there, it’s not there. But yeah, I’m just trying to do my job, get on base for those more powerful guys to drive me in,” Faust said. “Get them on, get them over, get them in.”

Overland has been in the fortunate position of having so many young infielders find success this season, like Mikey Boyd, Mikey Pickett and Brady Hewitt. Finding playing time for all of them has been tricky and forced him to get creative, including putting Faust in right field on Tuesday. The typical infielder is embracing the utility role. He said Wednesday that he’s ready for any opportunity that comes his way. 

Ready for the call 

Parker Heintz was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week after hurling a pair of scoreless outings, with three frames coming last Tuesday against Pepperdine and another four hitless innings to get the save against Stanford on Saturday. 

“He’s done a really good job at his first two outings,” Overland said. “If you can locate a fastball and throw an off speed for a strike, you’re going to be in a pretty good position.”

Overland added that fellow freshmen Brandon Thomas (7 IP, 3 ER, 8 K), Weston Thornbury (4.2 IP, 1 ER) and Jordan Haver (3.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 K) have also impressed and could continue to pitch important innings for the Bulldogs this season.

The Bulldog pitching staff has a 4.01 ERA as a team through 11 games, best in the conference. 

Wildcats to watch

Freshman second baseman Nate Novitske has been on a tear to begin the year, hitting .417 with a team-leading .947 OPS. He also has driven multiple runs in three straight games. Fellow freshman first baseman Tony Lira is hitting .320 with a home run and five runs driven in. 

Arizona’s offense has definitely fallen below expectations this season, hitting just .232 as a team and getting outscored by opponents 65-45. 

Injury report

3B/LF Cam Schneider – out for 1-2 more weeks 

RHP Jake Riding (arm) – no timetable 

1B Cayden Munster (hand) – no timetable

SS Lee Trevino (ACL) – out for season

How to watch 

All three games will be available to watch on ESPN+. Fans can also listen online.

What’s next 

Following the Wildcats series, Fresno State will play a mid-week game at Cal Poly on Tuesday, March 10th at 5:05 p.m. 

Fresno State will begin its quest of a Mountain West three-peat in its final season in the conference at home vs Nevada (3/13-15). 

The Wolf Pack returns seven starters including 2025 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Sean Yamaguchi and fellow 2025 All-Mountain West selections junior pitcher Alessandro Castro, senior infielder Jayce Dobie, senior catcher Jake Harvey and senior designated hitter Billy Ham from a squad that won the MW regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the MW championship before falling in the conference tournament. 

The Wolfpack were picked first in the Mountain West preseason polls, just ahead of the Bulldogs who were picked second. 

Story written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Ryan Sepulveda.

Mar 01
0

Bulldogs living on cloud pine, take series over Stanford

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After being walked off on Friday afternoon in Palo Alto, the Diamond Dogs (6-4) rallied together a pair of wins Saturday and Sunday against Stanford to win its first series against the Cardinal in 27 years. 

Key players (stats for all 3 games) 

Parker Heintz: SV, 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K (44 P)

Sky Collins: 6-for-12, 4 R, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 4 BB/HBP, 2 SB

Owen Faust: 4-for-11, 8 R, 3 RBI, 4 BB/HBP, 2 SB

Mikey Boyd: 6-for-13, 4 R, 5 RBI, 3 BB/HBP

Game 1 (Friday, 2/27): Stanford 6, Fresno State 5

Fresno State led off the game with base hits courtesy of infielders Brady Hewitt and Jett Ruby. With one out, Griffen Sotomayor plated Hewitt across with a single to right field to get the scoring started. 

Stanford tied the game in the bottom of the inning, with a two-out RBI single from Jimmy Nati. The Cardinal second baseman extended his team’s lead in the bottom of the third with a two-run homer to left.

Fresno State loaded the bases to begin the fifth, setting up Sky Collins who singled through the right side, scoring Jett Ruby. Mikey Boyd followed with a two-run single to give the Bulldogs a 4-3 lead. Stanford tied the game in the bottom of the frame with a solo home run from JJ Moran. Drew Townson was pulled with two outs in the fifth, having allowed four runs (two earned) on 75 pitches. 

Both teams added a run before the ninth inning when Stanford outfielder Brock Sell tripled into the right center gap, scoring Teddy Tokheim to win the game 6-5.

Game 2 (Saturday, 2/28): Fresno State 15, Stanford 4

Trailing 1-0, Owen Faust worked a two-out walk in the third before scoring on a double to right from Griffen Sotomayor. Stanford retook a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the inning with a solo shot from Charlie Bates. 

The Bulldog offense erupted in the fourth for four runs, including a two-run double from catcher Austin Young. Zach Plasschaert added an RBI double in the fifth. Stanford punished a pair of mistake pitches from Tyler Patrick with solo shots from Rintaro Sasaki and Teddy Tokheim. Patrick limited the damage though, allowing just the four runs through five innings, striking out two. 

The Bulldogs added two runs in the sixth and another in the 8th off the Stanford bullpen. The Fresno State lead jumped to 15-4 with a six-run inning including a two-run single from Sky Collins and a three-run blast from Marcus Nolen. 

The Cardinal bats had no answer for freshman left-hander Parker Heintz who retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced, allowing just a walk. The 2025 TRAC Player of the Year is up to seven shutout frames in his college career. 

Game 3 (Sunday, 3/1): Fresno State 11, Stanford 8

The Bulldog bats were hot early on Sunday. Brady Hewitt led off the game with a double to right center. Two batters later, Owen Faust brought him in with a line drive single over the head of Stanford shortstop Charlie Bates. Griffen Sotomayor (HBP) and Sky Collins (walk) reached to load the bases for Mikey Boyd. The freshman lefty went the opposite way, finding shallow left field to score both Faust and Sotomayor. Fresno State went 1-9 in the order but left the bases loaded. 

With two on and one out in the bottom of the frame, Jimmy Nati singled in a run. A wild pitch from Victor Arreola allowed a second run to score. The Cardinal loaded the bases but Arreola got out of the jam, inducing a 4-6-3 double play. 

Hewitt led off the second the same way he led off the first, with an opposite field double. The freshman shortstop advanced to third and then scored on a pair of ground outs. Marcus Nolen singled in Collins in the third to extend the ‘Dogs lead to 5-2. 

Fresno State picked up where they left off in the fourth inning. Three straight singles from Faust, Sotomayor and Collins made it a 6-2 game. The ‘Dogs would score six runs on five hits and two walks in total in the inning, including a two-run triple from Hewitt. 

After throwing scoreless innings in the second and third, Arreola (3.2 IP, 5 R, 5 K) was hit for a three-run bomb from Cardinal catcher Luke Lavin, cutting the deficit to 11-5.

Teddy Tokheim hit a two-run homer in the seventh to make it 11-7. Stanford added another run in the 8th but it wasn’t enough to come back. With the win, Fresno State takes its first series against Stanford since 1999. 

Injury report

3B/LF Cam Schneider – day-to-day

RHP Jake Riding (arm) – no timetable 

1B Cayden Munster (hand) – no timetable

SS Lee Trevino (ACL) – out for season

What’s next 

Fresno State will host Sacramento State (3-8) on Tuesday night at Pete Beiden Field, with first pitch at 6:05 p.m. The two teams split a pair of matchups in 2025 with both games coming down to one run. 

Sacramento State righty Konnor Entz, son of Fresno State football’s Head Coach Matt Entz, struck out five of the seven batters he faced on Saturday. He should be available in relief for the Hornets on Tuesday. 

The Hornets offense has struggled this season. Excluding a 21-2 victory over St. Joseph, Sacramento State are hitting .182 while scoring just 3.2 runs per game this season. 

Fans can get into Tuesday’s game for free by donating a book, in collaboration with the Fresno State Athletics Book Drive. 

Recap written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Ryan Sepulveda.

Feb 23
0

Bulldogs slam the series shut on Pepperdine

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It was a quiet and peaceful day in Fresno, at least until the Diamond Dogs stood in the batters box this afternoon. Fresno State (4-3) scored 11 runs on 12 hits Monday to defeat Pepperdine 11-3 and take the series victory over the Waves. 

Zach Plasschaert supplied all the runs the Bulldogs needed in the first inning with a grand slam. Buchanan Bear alumni Jett Ruby, Austin Young and Parker Heintz made significant contributions as well. Head Coach Ryan Overland spoke after the game on the offensive depth in his lineup.  

“Even with missing some big pieces, still production one through nine, which you’ll need if you’re gonna score runs,” Overland said.

Key players

Parker Heintz: 3 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, K, 37 P (24 S)

Zach Plasschaert: 1-for-5, R, HR, 4 RBI

Austin Young: 1-for-3, 3 RBI, BB

Jett Ruby: 2-for-5, R, 2 RBI

What happened 

The Bulldogs had as good of a start as they could have asked for on Monday night. After a scoreless first inning from lefty Parker Heintz, Brady Hewitt and Jett Ruby got on with a pair of singles. Griffen Sotomayor then walked to load the bases for Zach Plasschaert, who lofted a ball right over the right-center field fence for the second grand slam in as many days for the Diamond Dogs. 

With one out in the second, Barclay Ovalle blooped a single into shallow left. Hewitt followed with a double to left before they scored on a two-run single up the middle from Ruby. 

Heintz was superb in his first career start. The freshman allowed just one hit over three scoreless frames. His battery mate, Austin Young, delivered a two-run single of his own to extend the Diamond Dogs lead to 8-0. 

“He attacked the strike zone, kept their hitters off balance, and gave us three innings to start a Monday game, which is kind of a midweek game, and both teams kind of deep into their bullpen,” Overland said.

Following a scoreless frame from right hander Jordan Haver, the Bulldogs went to Moose Cuellar in the fifth. The lefty walked two and allowed a single to load the bases before Overland made a switch with one out to Doug Crystal. Waves three-hole hitter Daniel Patterson slapped a single to center to bring in a pair of runs. 

The ‘Dogs extended their lead to 9-2 in the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly from Young, scoring Marcus Nolen who doubled. The Waves got the run back in the top of the eighth. Johnny Backus pinch hit and rocketed a ball to center, just over the head of Collins. Backus made it all the way to third before scoring on a throwing error from Fresno State pitcher Will Page-Allen. Excluding the error, Page-Allen was nearly perfect, striking out five and allowing just the one unearned run. 

Fresno State added on two insurance runs in the eighth, including an RBI triple from Mikey Boyd. BJ Rodriguez closed the 9th with a scoreless inning as the ‘Dogs won 11-3. 

Injury report

3B/LF Cam Schneider – day-to-day

INF Owen Faust (nose) — day-to-day

RHP Jake Riding (arm) – no timetable 

1B Cayden Munster (hand) – no timetable

SS Lee Trevino (ACL) – out for season

What’s next

The Bulldogs head north for a three game series at Stanford next weekend, beginning with a 2:05 matchup on Friday, February 27. The Cardinal are 4-4 on the year following a series split against Cal State Fullerton. 

Fresno State will return home for a midweek matchup against Sacramento State on Tuesday, March 3 at 6:05 p.m. before a weekend set at Arizona, March 6-8. 

“A great environment historically, really good programs on the West Coast, to play in that atmosphere and against obviously the cream of the crop to go to Stanford. So we’ll get to see some really good pitching, for sure. I think to this point, we’ve done a really good job hitting with two strikes, and that’s going to be an even bigger challenge here, especially the next two weekends,” Overland said.

Recap written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Ryan Sepulveda. 

Feb 21
0

Diamond Dogs ride 6-7th inning waves to victory

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The young talent on full display Saturday afternoon, the Diamond Dogs (2-3) used a pair of four run innings to defeat Pepperdine 10-6. 

Key players

Tyler Patrick: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R (2 ER), BB, 6 K, 85 P (57 S)

Griffen Sotomayor: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB

Sky Collins: 2-for-4, 2 BB, SB

Michael Boyd: 1-for-2, R, 2 RBI, SB

What happened 

Freshman shortstop Brady Hewitt led off the bottom of the first with a single just over the head of Waves second baseman Kai Laxa. Two batters later Owen Faust reached first via an eight pitch walk but both runners were left stranded. 

Julian Nunez led off the second with a double down the left field line. He advanced to third on a single two batters later before scoring on a fielding error by Hewitt. Laxa followed with a liner to shallow center bringing in another Waves run to make it 2-0. Pepperdine loaded the bases before Tyler Patrick struck out Zach Woodson to end the rally. 

The ‘Dogs got a pair of runners on to leadoff the third courtesy of Hewitt (single) and Jett Ruby (walk). Collin Valentine quickly got out of it though, getting Faust to fly out to left and Griffen Sotomayor to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. 

Patrick worked around a hit-by-pitch and a single to leadoff the fifth thanks to a crafty double play turned by Hewitt to end the frame. Pepperdine put some pressure on Patrick again in the sixth. With two one and two out, Daniel Patterson laced a double into the left-center gap, scoring Max Aude to make it 3-0. Patrick was relieved by junior transfer Will Page-Allen who got Finley Buckner to lineout to Bulldog third baseman Mikey Pickett. 

Jake Guardiancic relieved Valentine (5 IP, 0 R, 3 BB, K) in the sixth inning. After getting Faust to foul out, Guardiancic loaded the bases with walks to Sotomayor and Sky Collins and hitting Marcus Nolen. Guardiancic got Austin Young to pop up before Pepperdine Head Coach Tyler LaTorre called on reliever Matt Queen. 

Overland countered by pinch-hitting with Mikey Boyd who lofted a single over the shortstop, scoring a pair. Boyd then stole second and scored on a two-run single from Mikey Pickett (stole second) for a four-run sixth to take the lead. 

Page-Allen walked Woodson to begin the seventh before going to Moose Cuellar. After giving up an infield single to Trey Dunn, struck Nunez out swinging and got James Dell’Amico to pop up. Cuellar got Danny Cook to strike out to leave two Waves stranded. 

Ruby and Faust led off the bottom of the frame with walks before Sotomayor mashed one the opposite way, clearing the right-center wall for his first home run of 2026. The Bulldogs added one more in the inning thanks to a Pepperdine error to make it 8-3. 

After a leadoff walk, Laxa doubled in a run to begin the eighth inning, ending Cuellar’s day. Woodson then belted a two-run homer off of Doug Crystal over the right field wall. Crystal struck Dunn out to end the eighth. Fresno State added two more runs in the bottom of the frame to extend the lead to 10-6.

Injury report

3B/LF Cam Schneider – day-to-day

RHP Jake Riding (arm) – no timetable 

1B Cayden Munster (hand) – no timetable

SS Lee Trevino (ACL) – out for season

What’s next

Game 3 of the series resumes Sunday afternoon at 2:05 p.m. with redshirt senior Victor Arreola on the bump. Arreola was nearly untouchable in his first start, allowing just one run on three walks (zero hits) over four innings. 

Pepperdine will counter with right-hander Dylan Stewart. The 6’5” senior allowed two runs on one hit and five walks/HBP over three innings against USC his last time out. Stewart is 3-8 (43 GP) with a 5.94 ERA for his career. 

Recap written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Nate Velasco. 

Feb 20
0

Waves 9th inning rally spoils Townson gem

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The Diamond Dogs held Pepperdine scoreless all the way until the 9th inning before a late rally from the Waves, defeating Fresno State 2-1. 

Key players

Drew Townson: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K (73 P)

Barclay Ovalle: 1-for-3, R

What happened 

The Bulldogs opened the bottom of the first with a pair of base runners via a hit-by-pitch to Owen Faust and a Jett Ruby walk, but both were left stranded. 

Two innings later, Barclay Ovalle singled into shallow center. Faust followed with a five-pitch walk. After a sacrifice from Ruby, Griffen Sotomayor grounded out to first base. It was deep enough to allow Ovalle to score though, getting the Dogs on the board. 

For the Waves, they could get nothing going against Fresno State starter Drew Townson. Their second hit off of Townson came in the top of the fifth, a leadoff single from James DellAmico. Two batters later, Kai Laxa reached on a throwing error from Faust. Neither run would score though. 

Townson stranded a pair of runners again in the sixth before his night ended, striking out five over six shutout innings. He was relieved by lefty BJ Rodriguez who walked and hit a batter before retiring the next three batters. Marcus Nolen led off the bottom half with a single but the Bulldogs were unable to add on the insurance run. 

Wyatt Thornbury relieved Rodriguez in the eighth, throwing a 1-2-3 inning against the middle of the Pepperdine order. Thornbury came back out in the ninth but back-to-back hits to DellAmico and Max Aude put runners in scoring position with no outs. 

The Waves tied the game on a sac fly from Joe Cardinale. Zach Woodson followed with a single to right to take the lead 2-1. Pepperdine loaded the bases with a walk and a single before Thornbury stopped the bleeding. 

Freshman Mikey Boyd pinch hit to lead off the bottom of the inning, reaching on a hit-by-pitch. Mikey Pickett pinch ran for him and immediately stole second. Waves closer Lucien Wechsberg would strike out both Sky Collins and Nolen though before inducing a fly out from Austin Young. 

What’s next

Game 2 of the series resumes tomorrow afternoon at 3:05 p.m. with sophomore Tyler Patrick (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 K) scheduled on the mound. The Clovis West alum looks to rebound after allowing four runs during the second inning of his first start. Patrick leads all Bulldog returners with 38 innings pitched in 2025 (4.26 ERA, 27 K). 

The Waves will turn to lefty Collin Valentine (4.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 K). Valentine is 3-7 with a 6.34 ERA for his collegiate career across 88 IP. 

Recap written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Nate Velasco. 

Feb 19
0

Turning the Tide: Diamond Dogs Welcome Pepperdine to Fresno

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The Diamond Dogs return to Pete Beiden Field for the second straight weekend to host the Pepperdine Waves (Feb. 20-23) after going 1-2 against Utah. 

Head Coach Ryan Overland said on Wednesday afternoon that the series result was frustrating but he opted for an optimistic outlook.

“It was disappointing to obviously lose the series, and especially the way that we did those first two games, in different ways,” Overland said. “We were really a pitch away from winning the series and to beat a big 12 team to start the year would have been a really good step to start. But sometimes you’ve got to learn those lessons from a loss.”

Weekend takeaways 

1. The youth will have a big impact. Of the 25 Bulldogs that saw playing time against Utah, 14 of them were underclassmen (10 freshman, 4 sophomores).

“There’s no doubt this freshman class is one of the more talented we’ve had, and there’s a reason why those guys are getting opportunities and getting on the field. And I think there’s some guys with some pretty bright futures here the next couple of years,” Overland said.

Moose Cuellar pitching on Friday, February 13th, against Utah (Nate Velasco / FSM).

Sophomore starter Tyler Patrick and redshirt freshman long-reliever Moose Cuellar figure to pitch a lot of innings for the Bulldogs this season. Offensively, shortstop Brady Hewitt (4-for-11, 2 XBH) and outfielder Marcus Nolen (3 H, 4 RBI) are already contributing as true freshmen. The latter of which admitted he was still shaking off some nerves before stepping up the plate for the first time on Friday.

“Getting in the box was a lot. My head was kind of spinning, just seeing that pitcher getting into wind up, getting ready to pitch. It was a lot going through my head. And when he threw it, it was kind of just, now, I’m really here. I kind of just got to lock in and be ready to go. Yeah, those jitters, kind of after the first pitches, jitters were out. And then it was kind of just I knew what to do,” Nolen said. 

Marcus Nolen hitting against Utah on Friday, February 13th (Nate Velasco / FSM).

2. The return of Sky Collins. The Fresno State senior is back roaming center field after a brutal injury during the seventh inning of the 2025 Mountain West Championship game. His recovery and efforts to get back to full strength have not been lost on teammates, including Cam Schneider who witnessed Sky going down only about 50 feet away. 

“That dude has put in more work in that training room than anybody. He wants this just as bad, if not more, than anybody on this team, and he’s worked his butt off for it,” Schneider said.

Collins didn’t seem to lose a step in his return to the diamond. In addition to his usual elite defense, Collins had a pair of hits against Utah, including a triple to lead off the bottom of the sixth on Friday. He also singled in a run on Sunday as part of a nine-run first inning.  

Sky Collins fist-bumping first base coach Jack Karraker after singling on Sunday, February 15th against Utah (Evan Hernandez / FSM).

3. Gotta clean up the defense. The Bulldogs allowed nine errors and seven stolen bases (8 attempts) in just three games against Utah. 

Back-to-back errors to lead off the third inning during Friday’s loss led to a three-run inning for the Utes and an early exit for Bulldog starter Drew Townson. Utah would score again in the 6th thanks to a Fresno State throwing error. 

The lone Fresno State error on Saturday came in the sixth inning, after already getting two outs. That runner would end up scoring in what would end up being the difference in the game. 

This isn’t to say fans should necessarily be worried. With a team as young as the Bulldogs are, there will be growing pains at times. It’s a lot easier to clean up the fundamentals than to create talent (which the ‘Dogs have plenty of). It was also the first series of the season and there’s plenty of room for improvement throughout the year.

“Sometimes you gotta feel it and go through it. If those lumps at the beginning of the year, taking two losses to learn some lessons help us in a couple of weeks in league and towards the end of the stretch down the year, then we’ll live with it,” Overland said.

Schneider, who played third base on Saturday and Sunday after starting in left on Friday, is confident in the team’s ability to manage all the moving parts going forward. 

“We have a lot of guys in moving positions and, you know, just trying to find out where we’re all going to feed and feed into this puzzle. So once we figure that out, it’s gonna be a hard team to beat,” Schneider said. 

Cam Schneider playing third base on Saturday, February 14 (Evan Hernandez / FSM).

Turning the tide

Fresno State will look to shake off its sluggish start against a Waves squad that went just 12-42 a year ago. Pepperdine began their season on the losing end of a sweep at USC before having their home opener against UC Santa Barbara postponed due to rain. 

“Anybody playing Division I baseball, you’ve gotta be prepared and be ready to play from the get go,” Overland said. “For us we have to make sure we handle the stuff that we need to do on the field, and obviously having good opponents like that in the next two weeks, going on the road at Arizona and Stanford, we’re going to get some good feedback from these programs.”

Projected starters

  • Friday, Feb. 20 at 6:05 p.m. — RHP Drew Townson (2.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 K) vs RHP Tommy Scavone (5 IP, 2 ER, 6 K).
  • Saturday, Feb. 21 at 3:05 p.m. — RHP Tyler Patrick (4.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 K) vs LHP Collin Valentine (4.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 K).
  • Sunday, Feb. 22 at 2:05 p.m. — RHP Victor Arreola (4 IP, 1 ER, 0 K) vs RHP Dylan Stewart (3 IP, 2 ER, 3 K).
  • Monday, Feb. 23 at 4:05 p.m. — TBA vs TBA

The Bulldogs weekend rotation took a hit with a setback to Jake Riding, who is still recovering from an arm injury that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2025 season. Townson, Patrick and Arreola still should form one of the better rotations in the conference, assuming they can stay healthy. 

Austin Young and Drew Townson (Nate Velasco / FSM).

Lefties BJ Rodriguez and Moose Cuellar both looked solid against Utah pitching three scoreless frames apiece, as did Carlsbad brothers Weston and Wyatt Thornbury (combined for 3 IP, 0 R, 2 K). 

The staff beyond those three is full of talent, but also inexperienced. Monday’s starter remains unknown for now and could simply be based on whichever arms are left after the weekend. Freshman Gavin Ekizian pitched three innings on Sundays and is a candidate to fulfill a starter’s workload according to Overland. 

For the Waves, their staff is led by tall right-hander Tommy Scavone who struck out six Trojans over five innings to keep Pepperdine in the game against USC this past Friday. The graduate has a 4.87 ERA over 24 career appearances (22 GS). 

Collin Valentine (7.02 ERA in 41 IP in 25’) and Dylan Stewart (6.31 ERA in 55.2 IP in 25’) both struggled a year ago, and are looking to rebound after a tough opening weekend. 

Waves to watch

Outfielder Trey Dunn hit .292 with 24 home runs (15 HR in 25’) and drove in 96 runs over 142 games at Westmont over the last four years for current Waves Head Coach Tyler LaTorre. Dunn went 1-for-6 against USC. 

Another Westmont transfer, Daniel Patterson was a DII NCAA All-American as a junior in 2024 when he led the PacWest with 58 runs scored, 20 doubles, 18 home runs and a 1.169 OPS. Patterson took a slight step back in 2025 but still managed to hit .304 with 13 home runs and 46 runs batted in. The third baseman was 1-for-12 against the Trojans with a walk this past weekend. 

Injury report 

Redshirt senior shortstop Lee Treviño had surgery on Thursday to repair a torn ACL suffered in practice a couple weeks ago. The Visalia native hit for a team-leading .364 batting average across 46 games (39 GS) in 2025 and figured to hit near the top of the order this season. 

“Just an unfortunate event of playing and turning and a guy that’s been a huge part of our championships the last two years,” Overland said. 

As mentioned earlier, graduate senior pitcher Jake Riding is still recovering from an arm injury suffered before the 2025 season. There’s no timetable for his return but Overland is hoping it’s in the short term. 

How to watch 
All four games will be available to watch for free on the Mountain West Network, via the app or the MW website.

Story written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Nate Velasco.

Feb 15
0

Diamond Dogs ride hot start to first win of 2026

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On a day with near perfect weather, the Diamond Dogs played near perfect baseball to get its first win of the 2026 campaign to defeat the University of Utah 14-8 on Sunday afternoon. 

Freshman Brady Hewitt delivered the first longball of the year for Fresno State, one of 11 Bulldog hits on the day. Marcus Nolen also drove in a pair of runs as part of a nine run first inning. Head Coach Ryan Overland spoke after the game on the impact of the two freshmen.

“There’s a reason why they’re in there from day one,” Overland said. “As an 18 year old freshman, there’s some physicality gap there, and those guys are mature and ready for it. There’s going to be some ups and downs with them, but they’re exciting players.”

Despite his youth, Nolen has quickly adapted to the culture on the team.

“These guys are an amazing group of people, each day you come in here knowing they’re the brothers they got your back, and we can just continue to ride out together. We have great confidence in each other,” Nolen said. 

Key players

Victor Arreola: 4 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 3 BB, 49 pitches

Griffen Sotomayor: 1-of-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HBP

Owen Faust: 2-of-3, 4 R, BB, 2 HBP

Jett Ruby: 2-of-5, 2 R, 3 RBI

What happened

A leadoff walk and two infield errors in the first gave Utah a quick 1-0 lead, one that would not last very long. Owen Faust and Jett Ruby led off the bottom half of the frame with a pair of singles. Griffen Sotomayor (catching for the first time as a Bulldog) reached first via hit-by-pitch. Cayden Munster then tied the game, drawing a walk. 

A fielder’s choice from Cam Schneider and a Sky Collins RBI single through the right side gave the Diamond Dogs a 3-1 lead. After a walk to Zach Plasschaert, freshman outfielder Marcus Nolen ripped a ball right in between the shortstop and third baseman to bring in two more. The Central East alum spoke after the game on what the biggest change has been since getting to the collegiate level. 

“Just being able to experience seeing pitches each and every day, just kind of growing and sticking with your approach. You can continue to understand what you need to do and what you need to where you need to be, and just continue to work at it,” Nolen said. 

After a pitching change, a throwing error and some crafty base running, the Bulldogs tacked on four more runs in the inning to lead Utah 9-1 after a very long first inning. Ruby and Sotomayor added RBI singles in the 3rd inning as well to extend the ‘Dogs lead to 11-1. 

Fresno State starter Victor Arreola threw four hitless innings, allowing just one unearned run on three walks, a positive sign for the senior in his return. 

“It was huge to get him back out there after not having him last year, and what he’s been through with some injuries. That’s a lot of work over a 12 month span to get back out there and tow the rubber,” Overland said.

Coach Overland added that they were initially planning on only throwing him two or three innings, but opted to extend his leash given how well he was doing. 

Freshman Gavin Ekizian came in and delivered a 1-2-3 inning in his debut. Fellow freshman Brady Hewitt gave the ‘Dogs their first home run of the season leading off the bottom of the fifth inning. A sac fly later in the inning from Schneider made it 13-1. 

Ekezian threw a scoreless sixth inning as well before running into trouble in the seventh. With one on and two outs, the Utes doubled down the left-field line in back-to-back at bats courtesy of Luke Jacobs and Zakye Hawkins to cut the deficit to 13-3. The ‘Dogs got one of the two runs back on a pinch hit, RBI single from Mikey Pickett. 

Utah jumped on Ekezian for five runs in the top of the eighth before being pulled for Douglas Crystal who pitched the eighth and ninth innings. Fresno State would go on to win 14-8. 

Injury report

Shortstop Lee Trevino is out for the year after tearing his ACL in practice. The redshirt senior is likely to be eligible for a medical redshirt that would allow him to return to the Bulldogs in 2027. Jake Riding (missed 2025 season) is out with no timetable at this time. 

What’s next

Fresno State is tentatively scheduled to host Utah tomorrow for game 4 of the series at 2:05 p.m. though rain might get in the way of that.

Recap written by Al Scott, cover photo courtesy of Evan Hernandez (FSM).

Feb 13
0

Sloppy defense cost Dogs in season opener

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The Bulldogs did not quite have the fairy tale start to the season they were looking for, allowing nine walks and committing five errors. Despite some strong Bulldog debut performances, it was not enough as Fresno State fell 8-3 to the University of Utah on Friday night at Pete Beiden Field. 

Key players

Marcus Nolen: 1-for-3, R, RBI

Moose Cuellar: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K

Cam Schneider: 2-for-5, RBI

What happened

Drew Townson made his first start as a Bulldog, after making 20 appearances out of the bullpen last season. The Bakersfield native was not greeted nicely in the first inning. After allowing a leadoff walk, Utes left fielder Jake Long pulled a ball off the athletic weight room building beyond the visitors’ bullpen for a quick 2-0 lead. 

Towson loaded the bases in the second allowing a single and a pair of walks, before getting former San Diego State Aztec Nevan Noonan to ground out to third base. Freshman Marcus Nolen reached in the bottom half of the inning on a grounder through the left side, deflected by third baseman Zakye Hawkins. Two batters later, fellow freshman Brady Hewitt laced a ball into the right-center gap for his first collegiate hit, a triple scoring Nolen to get the Bulldogs on the board. 

Poor defense would come back to bite the Bulldogs in the third inning. After back-to-back errors to lead off the frame, designated hitter Cal Miller doubled down the right field line, scoring a run. After a walk to Derek Smith, right fielder Bradley Navarro reached on an infield single, scoring another run. Two batters later, Towson plunked Jet Gilliam to bring in another run for Utah. It ended Townson’s day (2.1 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K) after just 69 pitches. 

UCLA transfer Moose Cuellar relieved him and would immediately induce a 4-6-3 double play, ending the Utes rally. Cuellar (Tulare Western) HS would pitch three scoreless frames for the Bulldogs on Friday night, including striking out three in the fourth inning. 

Bulldog centerfielder Sky Collins tripled to leadoff the bottom of the sixth, before scoring on a sac fly to left from Nolen to make it 6-2. Nolen went 1-fo-3 with a sac fly on Friday, but made hard contact in all four of his plate appearances. 

Freshmen Weston Thornbury (1.2 IP, 0 R, K) and Brandon Thomas (1 IP, R, K) also made their collegiate debuts on Friday.

Injury report

Shortstop Lee Trevino is out for the year after tearing his ACL in practice. The redshirt senior is likely to be eligible for a medical redshirt that would allow him to return to the Bulldogs in 2027. 

What’s next

Fresno State hosts Utah tomorrow at 3:05 p.m. with Tyler Patrick on the mound. The Clovis West alum had a 4.26 ERA in 38 innings pitched last season as a true freshman. 

The Utes will turn to Payton Riske who gave up five runs across 10 innings (two starts) last season. The series will continue with games on Sunday and Monday, both at 2:05 p.m. 

Recap written by Al Scott, photos courtesy of Nate Velasco (FSM).

Feb 13
0

Season Preview: Diamond Dogs begin quest for three-peat

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College baseball is back and that means the return of the Diamond Dogs to Pete Beiden Field, in quest of a third straight Mountain West Championship. 

Fresno State begins the 2026 season under the lights on Friday, hosting the University of Utah for a 4-game series at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium. First baseman Griffen Sotomayor is fired up to play again. 

“We’re just ready to compete. It’s been a long fall, a long spring, early spring, so we’re ready to do it, ready to go compete, play against somebody else,” Sotomayor said. 

Offensive outlook

The Bulldogs offense led by third baseman Murf Gray (drafted by Pirates), catcher Justin Stransky (drafted by Cubs), right fielder Bobby Blandford (signed by Athletics) and second baseman Eddie Saldivar (graduated) finished top three in the Mountain West in 2025 in batting average (.301), runs scored (417), extra base hits (211), runs driven in (387) and stolen bases (53). 

Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, all four of those guys are gone now. But Head Coach Ryan Overland sees it as an opportunity for his squad to grow and for some of the returners to step up. 

One guy he mentioned in particular was the primary leadoff hitter last season, Sotomayor. The senior from Turlock was the Bulldogs lone representative on the All-MW preseason team after hitting .326 with 7 HR, 41 RBI and a .912 OPS last season. 

Griffin Sotomayor (Jackie Carrillo)

“It’s a really awesome honor, super privileged. I think it kind of just goes to show you what the staff does for us. It’s kind of more of a team honor. I think you know a lot of preparations go into it, all the coaches, coaches getting here early, the guys getting early, working together,” Sotomayor said.

The Bulldogs will be without shortstop Lee Trevino, who will miss the 2026 season with an injury. They will return though on offense infielders Jett Ruby, Cayden Munster and Owen Faust and outfielders Cam Schneider and Sky Collins. 

Sky Collins (Fresno State Athletics)

Sotomayor noted that while power might not be the team’s calling card, they have a distinct advantage other teams don’t necessarily have. 

“This team is gonna have to be really scrappy. We’re going to have to play the game the right way and play hard. Last year I think we kind of were a bit more powerful, a bit bigger, a bit stronger, a bit older. But this year, I think we’re gonna be fast. I think we’re gonna be ready to play the game and pretty much play a clean brand of baseball,” Sotomayor said.

Among newcomers, transfers Bo Rico (Fresno City JC) and Zach Plasschaert (Arizona / Pima JC) have a chance to make an instant impact. 

The pitching staff

Much of the success from the 2025 Bulldogs came from having two of the best pitchers on the west coast in Jack Anker and Aidan Cremarosa (MW POTY), who have since been drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays respectively. 

In addition to Anker and Cremarosa, Bryce Armstrong and Cooper Bergman graduated. They also lost relievers Caleb Anderson (Long Beach State) and JT Guerrero (Grand Canyon) and Hayden Crews (Northwest Nazarene) in the transfer portal, among others.  

Returners pitched just 117.2 out 525 innings from a year ago. That’s not a lot but Tyler Patrick (4.26 ERA in 38 IP), Drew Townson (4-0, 5.05 ERA, 35.2 IP) and left-hander B.J. Rodriguez (3.93 ERA, 21 K, 18.1 IP) all figure to pitch plenty of frames for pitching coach Troy Buckley’s staff in 2026.

Townson and Patrick in particular are excited to make their mark in this upcoming season, citing preparation during an episode of The Pawd, as a big reason for the team’s success in recent years.

“Pressure is a privilege, and you’re in those moments because you deserve to be in those moments. And we work from sun up to sun down to perfect what we do to be in those kind of moments,” Townson said.

He went on to say that the support of the Red Wave makes it a lot easier to perform with such a great fanbase backing them up. Patrick concurred with him and added that it’s a uniquely special to pitch in the same stadium he came to as a kid.

“Growing up coming to these games, watching the games like it’s just such an awesome feeling to finally have the opportunity to be that person you grew up watching and just be a role model for the younger generations,” Patrick said.

Tyler Patrick (Jackie Carrillo)

Joining them are two wild cards in Jake Riding and Victor Arreola that have a chance to anchor the rotation. 

Riding is back after missing all of last season with an arm injury. The graduate senior was key for the Bulldogs pitching staff in 2024, going 5-6 with a 5.06 ERA in 19 appearances (9 starts). Arreola went 3-1 with a 5.40 ERA and team-leading .239 opponent batting average over 36.2 IP as a sophomore in 2023. He followed it up with a team-best 3.07 ERA in 41 innings out of the bullpen in 2024. The San Diego native made just two starts last season before going down with a back injury. 

The pitching staff is rounded out by the return of Jared Galang and Wyatt Thornbury (missed 2025 with injury), transfers Moose Cuellar (UCLA), Douglas Crystal (Cypress JC) and Will Page-Allen (Feather River JC) and freshmen Parker Heintz, Brandon Thomas, Weston Thornbury, Jordan Haver, Erik Rico and Gavin Ekizian. 

Jared Galang (Jackie Carrillo)

Overland adds to his staff

Overland has had a positive start to his Head Coaching career, earning a 94-85 record in three seasons, including conference tournament titles in both of his seasons since having the interim tag removed. 

“That’s obviously what the standard of this program is, to get into the NCAA Tournament and ultimately, not only getting regionals, but win games in advance, and ultimately get a team back to Omaha,” Overland said. 

Head Coach Ryan Overland (Jackie Carrillo)

He returns pitching coach Troy Buckley, and assistants Ritchie Price and Jack Karraker, all entering their 4th seasons coaching at Fresno State. 

Overland made two new additions to his staff, both former Diamond Dog center fielders. Nikoh Mitchell was named the team’s Director of Operations, replacing Jordan Brink, who is now the Head Coach at Clovis West. 

Mitchell played for the Bulldogs from 2018-23, both in the outfield and on the mound. He went 11-10 with a 4.53 ERA and 163 strikeouts over 163 innings pitched. He transitioned into a two-way player in 2022 where he saw time primarily as a pinch-runner and defensive replacement. As a full-time starter in 2023, Mitchell hit .277 with 37 runs scored and 15 extra-base hits. 

Fresno native and 14-year MLB vet Tom Goodwin has returned home as well as the new Director of Player Development. 

“Adding Goodwin to our staff is an enormous step forward for our program and athletes,” Overland said. “Goody’s experience and energy coming back home as a Bulldog is extremely exciting for the 2026 season and beyond.”

Goodwin played three years for the Bulldogs (1987-89), including a school-record 56 wins and a College World Series appearance in 1988. He wrapped up his career as the program’s record holder in stolen bases with 164 and remains in the top 10 in school history in batting average (.350), at-bats (821), runs (207), hits (287) and triples (13).

He helped win Gold for Team USA in the Olympics in 1988 and won a World Series in 2018 as a coach for the Boston Red Sox. He’s spent the last two seasons as first base coach for the Atlanta Braves. 

The non-conference season slate

Following a 4-game series with the Utah Utes that ends on Monday afternoon, Fresno State will host Pepperdine the following weekend for another 4-game series (2/20-23) before heading north to play at Stanford (2/28-3/2). The Bulldogs will return home for a Tuesday night matchup against Sacramento State on March 3 before playing at Arizona on March 6-8. 

Other non-conference matchups include at Cal Poly (3/10), vs Cal State Northridge (3/17), at Utah Tech (3/19-20), vs Long Beach State (3/23), vs Cal Poly (3/31), at Sacramento State (4/7), vs Cal State University Bakersfield (4/14), vs UC Davis (4/20), at LBSU (4/21), at CSUN (4/29), at CSUB (5/5) and at home vs Cal Poly again (5/12). 

Defending the west

Fresno State will begin its quest of a Mountain West three-peat in its final season in the conference at home vs Nevada (3/13-15). 

The Wolf Pack returns seven starters including 2025 Mountain West Freshman of the Year Sean Yamaguchi and fellow 2025 All-Mountain West selections junior pitcher Alessandro Castro, senior infielder Jayce Dobie, senior catcher Jake Harvey and senior designated hitter Billy Ham from a squad that won the MW regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the MW championship before falling in the conference tournament. 

The Wolf Pack were picked first by the Mountain West preseason polls, just ahead of the Bulldogs who were picked second. 

“It’s nice to be recognized but it’s really just background noise,” Sotomayor said. “If we go play the Bulldog brand of baseball, then you know, 2x Mountain West champs, 3x it could be. That’s kind of just up to us whether or not we play our brand of baseball.” 

Head Coach Ryan Overland getting a Gatorade bath (Fresno State Athletics)

The Bulldogs will get one weekend off of MW play before playing at New Mexico (3/27-29), a hitter’s paradise. Fresno State will host former Bulldog JT Guerrero and Grand Canyon the following weekend (4/2-4) before playing at Air Force (4/10-12). 

Fresno State will finish April hosting a pair of California conference rivals in San Jose State (4/17-18) and San Diego State (4/24-26). 

The Diamond Dogs will then wrap up conference play with three series in the month of May: at Washington State (5/1-3), home vs UNLV (5/8-10) and at San Jose State (5/14-16) before returning to Mesa, Arizona (5/20-23) in quest for another Mountain West tournament title before the program moves to the PAC-12 Conference. 

Season expectations 

As mentioned earlier, the Bulldogs lost plenty of top-end talent through the draft and graduation and replacing it won’t be easy. 

A healthy pitching staff and some power improvements from guys like Munster and Schneider in the middle of the order would go a long way towards a potential three-peat. 

Cayden Munster (Jackie Carrillo)

It’s hard to predict the future and pinpoint where this team will find themselves come May, but fair expectations for this year’s team would include 30+ wins and a top three finish in the conference, both in the regular and postseason. 

“A lot of new guys, a lot of new faces, but guys that are ready to step up, and guys that are ready to make a name for themselves,” Sotomayor said.

Story written by Al Scott, cover photo by Jackie Carrillo (FSM).