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).