• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Jan. 29, 2006

Box Score

San Luis Obispo, Calif. - In a game with four lead changes, the Bulldogs came out on the short end of the stick, losing in the bottom of the ninth when Cal Poly's Josh Lansford hit a two-run walkoff home run, just after the Bulldogs rallied for three runs in the top-half of the ninth to take a 8-7 lead. Christian Vitters led the Bulldogs on the day, hitting 3-for-5 with a run and an RBI, and hitting a double in the ninth to spark the rally.

Fresno State got on the board early against Cal Poly, staking an early lead for right-handed starter Andy Underwood, who was making his first start in a Fresno State uniform after transferring this season from Fresno City College. Swinging right out of the gate, Steve Susdorf led off the game with a double, followed by two singles from Kent Sakamoto and Beau Mills to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Fresno State added two more runs in the second when Todd Sandell singled to center to start a two-out rally, followed by freshman Erik Wetzel tripling to the gap in left-center for an RBI and Steve Susdorf getting his second hit of the game to score Wetezel.

Underwood was impressive in his debut, fighting through trouble like a bases-loaded jam in the second and giving up two solo home runs, but was effective, pitching six innings and allowing just those two runs with five strikeouts, but was removed after throwing 106 pitches in his first start of the year. The Bulldogs came through offensively, scattering three more runs through the early innings, taking a 5-2 lead into the seventh inning.

The Bulldogs ran into some trouble in the seventh, as reliever Justin Wilson walked Brett Walker, the first batter of the inning, and new reliever Tanner Scheppers, despite retiring the next two batters, had Walker score on a wild pitch and a passed ball. A walk and two singles later, the bases were full, and two walks kept the bases loaded. The Bulldogs got out of the inning by catching Cal Poly's Matt Canepa in a rundown after a Gilbert Gil single, but the damage had been done as the Mustangs took a 7-5 lead.

Heading into the top of the ninth, the middle of the order was up and they delivered, as Nick Moresi beat out an infield single to get on base, and Christian Vitters doubled to left center to give the Bulldogs runners on second and third with no outs. Loren Storey entered the game to lay down a safety squeeze, and after catching Moresi in a rundown between third and home, Cal Poly third baseman Josh Lansford overthrew his toss home, allowing both Moresi and Vitters to score and tie the game at 7. Storey, standing on second, then scored the go-ahead run as Erik Wetzel grabbed his second hit of the day, and RBI double that squeezed just inside third base down the left field line.

Cal Poly's Josh Lansford, who was the goat of the game just minutes earlier, would get his chance for redemption in the bottom half of the inning. Cleanup hitter Jimmy Van Ostrand started the inning with a walk, and Lansford ended it with one swing, hitting a walkoff homer to left that undid the damage done by two errors earlier in the game.

The Bulldogs continue to play on the road for one more week, heading down to Jackie Robinson Stadium at UCLA for a three game series. The Bulldogs begin on Friday night at 6 p.m., before playing on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

back to Bulldogs Baseball home