FRESNO, Calif. - Grant Weiss homered and drove in five runs, Devan Ornelas hit a two-out grand slam in the top of the ninth and the Lions baseball team defeated Fresno State 12-8 on Tuesday night in Fresno, Calif. 

 

The Lions took an early lead with some timely hitting in the first inning. Christian Dicochea singled on a chopper to third to open the frame before Sam Biller traded places with him on a fielder's choice up the middle. Brendan Bobo lined a single up the middle before Daalen Adderley walked to load the bases. Benny Casillas chopped a base hit up the middle to score the first run of the ballgame before Weiss was hit by a pitch to plate another.  

 

The Bulldogs battled back and tied the game in the bottom of the second. 

 

The Lions once again went ahead in the top of the third. Diego Baqueiro led off the inning with a hit by pitch before Bobo singled for the second time. Casillas reached on a single up the middle before Weiss laced a ball through the left side for two more RBI.  

 

The Bulldogs once again tied the game in the bottom of the third.  

 

In the top of the fourth, Biller launched his ninth homerun of the season. On a 2-1 pitch, Biller blasted a towering shot down the right field line that stayed just fair. The result was a one run lead for the Lions.  

 

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game in the bottom of the sixth with a three-run inning. They took a two-run lead into the last third of the game.  

 

Weiss was back at it again in the top of the seventh. Bobo lined yet another single into center field for his third of the game, setting up Weiss's game-tying heroics. The designated hitter blasted a no-doubt homerun over the left-field wall to tie the game up once again.  

 

The Bulldogs put one more up on the board in the bottom of the seventh, but that was the end of their scoring for the night.  

 

Dicochea battled after going down 0-2 in the eighth. He fouled off a pair of tough pitches before drilling an elevated fastball over the left-field fence for his third homerun of the season.  

 

After shutting down the Bulldogs in the bottom of the eighth, the stage was set for Ornelas to provide the finishing blow. Adderley and Casillas both singled to right field. After Adderley was lifted for pinch runner Trey Becker, both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch. The Bulldogs intentionally walked Weiss to load the bases with one out. After pinch hitter Brett Zimmerman struck out on a full count, Ornelas stepped to the plate. On a 2-1 count, Ornelas put a good swing on a fastball down and in and lined it over the right-field fence for the first grand slam of the season for the Lions.  

 

The Lions were 5-for-12 with two outs and notched eight two-out RBI.  

 

On the pitching side, the Lions were exceptional with two outs. The Bulldogs were 1-for-10 with two outs and only scored one run in two-out situations.  

 

Seamus Barrett, Ryan Mullan and Jeff Heinrich combined for the final four frames and struck out six while only allowing a single run. Heinrich picked up his second win of the season out of the pen and was lights out with the pressure on. 

 

The Lions open up West Coast Conference play on Friday against Gonzaga at 6:00 p.m. (PT) in Spokane, Wash. The three-game series has already been adjusted, with Sunday's game being moved to 12:00 p.m. and further movement is expected. All WCC matchups will be streamed on ESPN+ and stats can be followed at LMULions.com. 

 

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