THE END IS HERE

Fresno State’s national title defense ends at the hands of San Diego State.

From gobulldogs.com and UC Irvine:

After defying the odds in Hawai’i to win an automatic berth to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, the Fresno State baseball team’s season ended after falling to San Diego State, 4-1.

“Another good college baseball game and we came out on the wrong end of it,” said head coach Mike Batesole. “Both teams pitched very well, both teams played outstanding defense. They got a couple home runs and you have to give them credit.”

This is the first elimination game that the Bulldogs have lost in the last two years, having won ten straight before Saturday, dating back to last year’s regional at Long Beach.

As an encore performance to Aztec’s ace Stephen Strasburg’s 15-strikeout performance in the first game of the regional Tyler Lavigne allowed one run (0 earned) on five hits in 7.2 innings on the mound. Lavigne improved his season record to 8-2 as he totaled eight strikeouts on the afternoon.

Brandon Meredith provided the offense for San Diego State with two home runs, including a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning. Meredith went 2-for-3 on the day with two runs scored and three RBI.

Fresno State (32-30) cut the Aztecs’ lead to 2-1 in its half of the fourth inning on an RBI triple by Kenny Wise to score Brennan Gowens. Wise was one of five Fresno State baserunners left on base, as Lavigne struck out Gavin Hedstrom to end the threat.

Meredith’s second home run came in the fifth inning to spark a two-run effort. His solo shot was followed by a wild pitch that scored SDSU’s second run of the inning.

Matt Morse started on the hill for Fresno State and lasted 4.2 innings and allowed four runs (four earned) on eight hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts.

He gave way to senior Holden Sprague who gave up just one hit in 3.1 innings of work.

San Diego State totaled nine hits as a team as Mitch Blackburn joined Meredith with a multi-hit afternoon. Pat Colwell, Erik Castro, Cory Vaughn and Matt Parker all added one hit.

Danny Muno led Fresno State’s offense with a 3-for-4 effort at the plate. The Bulldogs were held to just five hits on the day.

Addison Reed dropped his season ERA to 0.65 as he earned his 20th save of the season. Reed threw 1.1 innings and struck out two batters.

The Aztecs improve to 4-0 all-time against the Bulldogs in NCAA regional play.

THE RUN
Fresno State in elimination games since 2008:
vs. San Diego (2008 Regional) W, 5-1
vs. Arizona State (2008 Super Regional) W, 8-6
vs. Arizona State (2008 Super Regional) W, 12-9
vs. North Carolina (2008 College World Series) W, 6-1
vs. Georgia (2008 CWS Finals) W, 19-10
vs. Georgia (2008 CWS Finals) W, 6-1 (NCAA Champion)
vs. San Jose State (2009 WAC Tournament) W, 6-3
vs. Hawaii (2009 WAC Tournament) W, 10-3
vs. New Mexico State (2009 WAC Tournament) W, 9-7
vs. New Mexico State (2009 WAC Tournament) W, 5-3
vs. San Diego State (2009 Regional) L, 4-1

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