March 24, 2016
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose State's baseball team dropped the opener of this weekend's three-game set to visiting Fresno State 13-4 Thursday night at Municipal Stadium.
For Fresno State (15-7, 5-2 MW), the hottest team in the conference out of the gates before hitting a lull in early March, Thursday's win marked its fourth in a row. The loss dropped San Jose State to 6-14 overall and 2-7 in the Mountain West.
The Bulldogs scored a first-inning run off Spartan starter Logan Handzlik (1-1) on a botched rundown that allowed Aaron Arruda to race home with the game's first run. Handzlik worked a quiet second inning before Fresno State broke through for four runs in the fourth and knocked him out of the game.
Over the final 6.2 innings, Fresno State touched relievers Zach Wallace, Hilario Tovar and Jake Swiech for a combined eight runs (six earned) on 10 hits.
On the other side, the Spartans could not solve Bulldogs starter Ricky Tyler Thomas (3-2) all evening. The sophomore left-hander worked 7.0 innings without allowing a run, and yielded just five hits while fanning seven along the way.
After Mark Reece tossed a scoreless eighth for Fresno State, head coach Mike Batesole called on freshman southpaw Kenny Varnell to work the ninth. San Jose State was able to put together a four-run rally off Varnell to avoid being shut out for just the second time this season.
The Spartans and Bulldogs will meet back at Municipal Stadium for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch Friday night. Fresno State sends Jimmy Lambert (4-0, 0.79 ERA) to the mound, while San Jose State has not yet announced a starter.