On Campus: Bulldogs Off To Bounce-Back Starts

Through the first two weeks of the season, there are five teams with nine wins, the most in the country. Three reside in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference (Florida, South Carolina, Vanderbilt). The other two are Fresno State and Gardner-Webb.

On opposite sides of the country, there are 9-0 Bulldogs. For Fresno State, it is the best start since 1951. Gardner-Webb has never had a better start since moving to Division I in 2001.

The two mid-major programs have gotten to their hot starts in different ways, but both are trying to rebound from a few down seasons. The season is just three weeks old, but so far, so good for two of the best early-season stories in college baseball.

Fresno State has long been a solid program, with four College World Series appearances and 34 conference championships to its credit. It ascended to the pinnacle of the sport in 2008, going on a Cinderella run to win the national championship as a four-seed. But the Bulldogs haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2012, and endured back-to-back losing seasons in 2013-14.

Coach Mike Batesole, in his 14th season as Fresno State’s coach, took responsibility for allowing the program to go in the wrong direction following the national championship.

“We built this program on toughness and character and grinding it out,” Batesole said. “Then we win the championship in 2008 and every showcase pony wants to be a Bulldog, and I made some big recruiting mistakes. It’s easy to fall into that trap.”

While the Bulldogs might have been more talented in their lean years, Batesole said they didn’t know how to win and some players had too much of a me-first attitude. With that strategy not working, Batesole said they had to go back to their original mindset of targeting the kind of players who comprised the championship team.

The other big difference with this year’s Fresno State team, Batesole said, is that it has a legitimate Friday night starter. Lefthander Ricky Thomas was solid as a freshman, going 4-3, 3.92, but only threw 41 1/3 innings in 15 appearances (seven starts). He took a step forward over the summer in the Cape Cod League, where he went 7-0, 1.02 and helped Yarmouth-Dennis win the championship.

Batesole didn’t make it out to the Cape, and Thomas was shut down in the fall after throwing more than 50 innings during the summer. So while he had heard the buzz about Thomas’ improvement, he hadn’t seen it himself. Eager to find out what was different, Batesole set up a screen behind the catcher when Thomas began to pitch this spring.

From that vantage point, he could see what the hitters saw and quickly realized Thomas had become a special pitcher.

“Ricky’s best tool is fastball location,” Batesole said. “Last year, there was a lot of tricking going on. Even the first time through the order, he had to trick guys. Now he can pitch off his fastball. He’s grown up, he’s bigger and stronger. These kids get better when they’re this age.”

Through two starts this season, Thomas is 2-0, 0.75 and has a 19-to-3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His fastball typically sits in the upper 80s, and he ran it up to 91 mph in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game. He also has both a quality curveball and changeup.

Behind Thomas, the Bulldogs have also gotten great starts from lefthander Anthony Arias and righthanders Edgar Gonzalez and Jimmy Lambert. The four pitchers, who have started all nine of the Bulldogs games, are a combined 9-0, 0.72.

Restoration Project

Across the country, Gardner-Webb does not have Fresno State’s tradition or an ace like Thomas leading its pitching staff. These Bulldogs also started hot last year, running off 10 straight wins after an Opening Day loss. But after that streak, they lost six straight games and stumbled to a 22-31 finish.

Coach Rusty Stroupe is determined to not allow that to happen again, becoming “obsessed” with a next-pitch mentality.

“I know those are clichés, but we really have to take it one pitch at a time,” he said. “Conference play is three weeks away and we can’t even think about that. It’s very important to dream long term and think short term.”

Beyond the ultra-focused mindset, Stroupe made the theme of this year restoration, stemming from the Bible verse 1 Peter 5:10. “And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.”

As the coach at a Christian school, Stroupe wants to make sure his players are developing not just athletically, but also academically and spiritually. He said he hopes his players can apply this year’s theme to the other facets of their life.

“Our program took some hits the last couple years in terms of success and failure,” he said. “Those successes and failures happen in their lives too. I hope they know they can be restored in life as well, as on the baseball field.”

The Bulldogs saw heavy turnover from last year, losing their entire weekend rotation, as well as shortstop and leading hitter Ryan Hodge (.305/.363/.424). In their place this season are 12 freshmen. Stroupe said Gardner-Webb doesn’t have an ace in its new-look rotation, but has gotten solid starts from all four pitchers they have used on the weekends and has a team ERA of 1.93. In the lineup, juniors Danny Sullivan (.333/.400/.528, 11 R) and Collin Thacker (.533/.590/.800) lead the team in hitting so far.

What 9-0 Means

Both Fresno State and Gardner-Webb are keenly aware that starting the season 9-0 earns you no accolades and will be long forgotten by the end of the year if the hot start can’t be maintained over the next three months.

The schedule will soon pick up for both teams. Fresno State visits San Diego State this weekend for a series against the three-time defending Mountain West Tournament champions. Following that series is a midweek game at Long Beach State and a trip to No. 2 Texas A&M for a weekend series. Gardner-Webb takes on Rider this weekend before traveling to No. 12 North Carolina on Tuesday.

After watching last season get away from his team following its 10-1 start, Stroupe spent the summer trying to figure out what went wrong and how to avoid a similar situation. He looked back into his notes from his 30 years of coaching and came out believing that perfection must be demanded in everything the team did. He said Gardner-Webb’s upperclassmen have embraced that message.

“They bought in very quickly and really took the young guys in and got them to create that culture too,” Stroupe said. “We’re striving for perfection. We’re certainly not going to achieve it, but we strive for it. We tried to take every facet of program and step it up to be best we can be.”

In keeping with their new mindset, Stroupe said it is important for the Bulldogs not to get ahead of themselves.

“We’re just trying to be real careful to keep everything in perspective,” he said. “This game can humble you very quickly. The moment you think you’ve got things figured out, the game will remind you you don’t. It’s a metaphor for life, too.

“I think these kids are really growing in a lot of ways. I’m proud of them, but the month of May will determine how good this team is.”

At Fresno State, Batesole is also mindful of how his team will handle the early success, but because of the players’ attitudes and the fact the Bulldogs have missed the last three NCAA Tournaments, he is not too worried.

“I would be concerned about it if we were coming off seven championships in a row,” he said. “I would be worried about where we are mentally as a club. We turned a corner last year. We were 18-12 in the Mountain West, but didn’t get in regional.
Because of that, I’m not quite as concerned. They’re hungry, they’re pushing forward, they understand what 9-0 means.”

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News and Notes

Atlantic Coast Conference: Georgia Tech brought in the fourth-ranked recruiting class this fall, in large part because of a large group of talented young pitchers. So far, the young Yellow Jackets have lived up to expectations. Coach Danny Hall has used seven freshmen pitchers, who have combined to go 4-0, 1.13 in 40 innings. Unsigned second-rounder Jonathan Hughes stepped right into the weekend rotation and has begun his college career 2-0, 0.00. They have helped the No. 23 Yellow Jackets start the year 8-0.

Big 12 Conference: After spending last spring away from baseball and concentrating on football, Oklahoma outfielder Cody Thomas is hitting . 231/.323/.461 with two home runs in nine games in his return to the diamond. Oklahoma begins spring football practice Friday, and coach Bob Stoops was asked in a press conference about Thomas’ status with the football team. He said there haven’t been discussions about the quarterback returning in the fall, but “we’d always welcome him back.”

Big Ten Conference: Michigan State is beginning the season with 14 different opponents in its first 14 games. Coach Jake Boss said he didn’t make the schedule that way intentionally, but doesn’t mind how it turned out. “It makes it little more difficult with regards to scouting reports,” he said. “But with the way the RPIs are and some of the tweaks to it, I don’t have a problem playing at a neutral site.” The Spartans are 6-0 going into this weekend’s Cox Diamond Invitational in Pensacola, Fla., where they will face Auburn, Southern Mississippi and Troy … Iowa two-way star Tyler Peyton will not pitch this weekend at Southern Illinois. The senior has some inflammation, but is still expected to be able to hit.

Pac-12 Conference: After spending the first two weekends of the season on the road, Washington (4-3) opens the longest homestand in school history this weekend with a three-game set against Santa Clara. The Huskies will play 16 straight games at home, spanning the entire month of March. Washington won’t hit the road again until it travels to Oregon State for a series April 1-3.

Southeastern Conference: No. 2 Texas A&M (8-1) hopes to have outfielder Nick Banks back this weekend after the Preseason All-American missed the last four games due to a minor injury. The Aggies welcome Yale for a three-game series, which was facilitated in part by former President George H.W. Bush. Bush was a team captain at Yale and played in the first two College World Series in 1947 and ’48. Texas A&M is home to the Bush School of Government and Public Service, as well as his presidential library. Bush will throw out the first pitch Saturday, and the Aggies will wear a special uniform for the game … Alabama closer Thomas Burrows set the school’s career saves mark Tuesday against Troy. The junior lefthander struck out three batters in 1 1/3 perfect innings to pick up his fourth save of the year and 22nd of his career. He has struck out 11 batters and has yet to allow a hit or a walk in 6 1/3 innings this season.

Other conferences: Houston lefthander Seth Romero returned from suspension Tuesday against Texas-San Antonio. The sophomore struck out four batters in three scoreless innings in his first action of the year. He was suspended for the first two weeks of the season due to a violation of team rules … South Carolina and Clemson isn’t the only rivalry this weekend. Charleston Southern and College of Charleston will also square off in the Palmetto State, and Alabama State and Jackson State will open Southwestern Athletic Conference play by renewing their rivalry. Alabama State and Jackson State have combined to win the last four SWAC East Division titles.