Bulldogs' junior Aaron Judge drilled his eighth home run of the season and sophomore right-hander Derick Velazquez tossed seven sterling innings of relief in Fresno State's 9-4 win over the UNLV Rebels.
Fresno State and Air Force will play doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday before wrapping up the series on Sunday afternoon. Members of the United States military will receive free admission all weekend long.
Jordan Luplow, who had missed five weeks due to a shoulder injury, returned to the Bulldogs' lineup as the designated hitter, but Fresno State drops series opener to UNLV.
PRIOR TO FRESNO STATE: Played his freshman collegiate season at Merced College, where he helped lead the team to a 28-13 record and recorded an 11-0 record with a 1.43 earned run average as a standout pitcher ... earned junior college All-American, Nor-Cal Player of the Year, Central Valley Conference Co-Most Valuable Player, and first-team All-CVC honors ... also posted a .337 batting average with a home run as a designated hitter ... following the season, the Baltimore Orioles drafted him in the 15th round of the 2012 Major League Baseball Draft.
HIGH SCHOOL: A three-year baseball letterwinner at Los Banos High School , where he helped lead the team to a 19-10 record as a senior ... earned Central Coast Section Scholar Athlete and Western Athletic Conference Co-Pitcher of the Year honors ... named to Merced County All-Star Game ... hit .538 as a junior and .425 as a senior.
PERSONAL: Born No. 28, 1993 in Salinas, Calif. ... hometown is Gonzalez, Calif. ... mother is Maria Sanchez ... enjoys fishing and playing basketball ... favorite athlete is Derek Jeter because they share the same first name and Jeter is a very humble athlete ... biggest athletic thrill was pitching at the Oakland Coliseum ... most admires his mom and everyone who helped him get to where he is today ... chose to attend Fresno State because of the quality of the baseball program and being close to home ... also recruited by USC, CSU Northridge and Ole Miss ... majoring in criminology.
