By Al Scott
Murf Gray left the yard twice on Saturday on Bob Bennett Day as the Diamond Dogs defeated the New Mexico Lobos 7-1. With their second straight win, Fresno State took the series and improved to 14-16 (7-4 in Mountain West) on the season, first in the MWC.
Fresno State starting pitcher Aidan Cremarosa got the win, allowing just one run over seven innings of work, working around six hits and a pair of walks. The right-hander also struck out six Lobos on the afternoon.
In honor of Bob Bennett, the Bulldogs had over 50 alumni that played for the winningest coach in program history, one that Head Coach Ryan Overland described as “one of the greatest coaches in college baseball history.”
Gray said after the game that he and his teammates were extra motivated to get the win in front of the former Bulldogs.
“We saw them show up, and we’re like man, we gotta get this done today,” Gray said. “You see all these generations here, the years of baseball. They’ll tell you, it’s not easy. As long as you keep playing this game and play hard, you’ll be fine.”
What happened
Cremarosa opened the top of the first with a 1-2-3 inning including a pair of punchouts. In the bottom half of the inning, shortstop Owen Faust led off with a double down the line. A batter later, Gray joined him pulling a two-bagger down the line to give the ‘Dogs a quick 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs walked twice more to load the bases but were ultimately stranded.
https://x.com/FresnoStateBSB/status/1908651547841679620
Following another 1-2-3 inning from Cremarosa in the second inning, a double from first baseman Cayden Munster and a walk from second baseman Eddie Saldivar set up Gray who belted a ball off the scoreboard in left field for a three run home run.
Despite not having everything going for him, Cremarosa was pleased, especially with his ability to run through the New Mexico lineup the first time through the order.
“That was huge. We always preach, ‘set the tone early,’ and especially at home,” Cremarosa said.
Cremarosa was dialed in most of the day. New Mexico designated hitter Jordy Oriarch did hit a home run off of him in the fourth inning. Cremarosa rebounded though to throw three consecutive scoreless frames. He lowered his ERA on the season to 4.53 thanks to his seven innings of work.
Back-to-back solid starts for Cremarosa, the right-hander from Burbank said he’s appreciated the routine of being a starter after spending last season as a reliever.
“I got seven days in between outings,” Cremarosa said. “Instead of going on when my name is called, I actually get to work on a full length schedule.”
Overland lauded the job of his pitching staff between Chemarosa, Jack Anker and Kaleb Hay.
“The last couple of weeks, they’ve given us some really good quality starts and kept us in the game.”
Gray homered again to left center to lead off the bottom half of the seventh inning, his fifth of the season. The junior from Madera South finished the day going 3-for-5 with a double, two home runs and five runs driven in to lead the Bulldog offense.
https://x.com/AlScott1998/status/1908671397406401015
Gray says that he likes to celebrate wins with “The Murf,” which he describes as going to 7-ELEVEn for Funyans and a slurpee (¾ blue raspberry, topped off with cherry).
Caleb Anderson relieved Cremarosa in the top of the eighth, his outing was short lived however. New Mexico drew two walks plus a single to load the bases and chase Anderson from the game. The Bulldogs turned the ball over Cooper Bergman.
A double from Luke Mansy brought in a couple runs to cut the deficit for New Mexico to 7-3. A couple batters later, Saldivar snagged a line drive to end the rally.
https://x.com/AlScott1998/status/1908678981576179852
“That was a special play from a really good baseball player,” Overland said. “He had a play earlier inning that was a little uncharacteristic of him but baseball players find a way to make up for it. To get fully extended there and keep that ball in the infield, that saved the game for us.”
Gray, who had a few superb plays in the field as well, gave credit to assistant coach Richie Price for their defensive positioning.
“He puts together a great plan. Everybody’s lined up. Without him moving us around, we don’t make this play or that play.”
The Bulldogs added four runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth inning, including a bases-clearing double from Sky Collins. It was one of three hits on the day for the Bulldogs centerfielder.
Bergman struck out three in a pair of scoreless innings out of the bullpen.
What’s next
Fresno State will wrap up the three game series with the Lobos tomorrow looking for a sweep, first pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m. Left-hander Kaleb Hay is the projected starter for the Diamond Dogs.
“It was key getting the first two, today was even bigger,” Overland said. “We gotta find a way to finish off the weekend tomorrow with a sweep at home.”
The Bulldogs will also host St. Mary’s on Tuesday at 6:05 p.m.
Gray echoed his coach’s statement, with high optimism.
“I kind of see us taking off. As long as we can keep playing the game hard,” Gray said. “We got five goals each game. As long as we get four of those five goals or even three, we are probably gonna win.”
Cover photo by Fresno State baseball.