Bridget Veltri
sports@mustangdaily.net
Mustangs beat national champs for the second time this season in extra innings at Baggett stadium Tuesday night.
It took over four hours and extra innings for the Mustangs to beat the Fresno State Bulldogs 17-16. A total of 10 pitchers were used by the two teams, five for each side.
“I had kind of a sense of calm once we tied it up,” head coach Larry Lee said. “I think we’ve won three extra inning ball games here in the last month, and our players know how to handle it pretty well.”
The Mustangs scored four runs tying the game in the bottom of the ninth, heading into extra innings 16-16 after playing for four hours and seven minutes.
“We have a habit of playing really long games,” Lee said. “We struggled early with the pitching end of it, but offensively did enough to come out on top.”
It was freshman outfielder Bobby Crocker’s bunt that brought in senior outfielder Ryan Lee for the win in the tenth inning.
“It’s great to be on a team that can pick you up,” Crocker said. “It’s great to be backed up by your teammates.”
The Mustangs scored six runs in the second inning, and by the bottom of the fourth the score was 11- 8, Mustangs.
They lost their ground when freshmen outfielder Dusty Robinson hit a grand slam in the fifth inning giving the Bulldogs a one point lead 12-11.
The score was 16-12 bottom of the ninth when junior catcher Wes Dorrell hit a double. Pitcher/infielder scored Dorrell and Lee with another double causing the Mustangs to be down by one in the ninth inning.
“Our pitchers really did well today, they stayed in it when we needed it,” Crocker said. “Eric Massingham did a really good job of closing it out.”
This was the second time the Mustangs beat the Bulldogs this season. They won 13-11 on Febuary 24 at Fresno.