FRESNO, Calif. – The Diamond 'Dogs' series opener against the San Jose State Spartans ended in heartbreak for the Red Wave after Fresno State fell 12-10 in 10 innings.
The Bulldogs remain tied for first place in the Mountain West standings at 15-10 I conference play with Nevada and New Mexico. Fresno State owns a 24-25 overall record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
San Jose State took an early lead with a two-run double to right center before Anker retired the next three batters. The Bulldogs answered immediately as Griffin Sotomayor led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to cut the deficit to one. Two batters later, Justin Stransky launched a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall to tie the game at two.
With two outs in the top of the second, the Spartans regained their two-run advantage with another double to right center to make it 4-2. After a single by Lee Trevino, Sky Collins launched a two-run shot to left field, his seventh of the season, tying the game at four in the bottom half of the inning.
After taking the lead with a solo home run in the top of the third, San Jose State continued to build its lead with another solo shot in the fourth. The Spartans plated two more runs in the fifth and held an 8-4 lead after five.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bulldogs' offense came to life. Following a leadoff single by Murf Gray, Justin Stransky muscled a home run to left to give the Bulldogs their first runs since the second inning. Bobby Blandford followed with a home run of his own, pulling the Bulldogs within one run. With Cam Schneider on third, a groundout to first by Cayden Munster was enough to score Schneider, tying the game at eight.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and the count 3-2, Murf Gray smoked a home run to left center that cleared the scoreboard and gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the night. Munster extended the lead with an RBI single to center to knock in Jacob Pappas from second in the bottom of the eighth to give the Bulldogs a 10-8 lead heading into the ninth.
Down by two, San Jose State scored two in the ninth with a pair of solo home runs to tie the ballgame at ten. After a scoreless bottom of the frame by the Bulldogs, the game would be decided in extra innings.
The Spartans managed to plate two runs in the tenth off an RBI triple to center field and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded. With runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the tenth, Fresno State's rally fell short as San Jose State took the first game of the series by a final score of 12-10.
NOTES
The Bulldogs have not won an extra-innings game in 2025.
Fresno State has hit a collective 11 home runs in the last two games.
Justin Stransky has accounted for four of those home runs, with back-to-back two-home run games.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium for game two of the series against the Spartans. The first pitch is slated for 3:05 p.m. PT.