Fresno State second baseman Patrick Hutcheson leads a surging Bulldogs squad with five home runs and 13 stolen bases on the season. Mike Batesole's squad has won 12 of its last 16 games and is markedly more confident since it hosted Stanford in March and lost two of three. The Cardinal welcome Fresno State at 6 p.m. PT Friday on kzsulive.stanford.edu and 90.1 FM. (Fans bring your headphones to the ballpark!) Hutcheson sat down with us to discuss his team's progress since their first matchup with the Farm Boys.
Fresno State play-by-play voice Paul Loeffler also joined the Bootleg baseball minds. The ESPN Spelling Bee announcer provided an in-depth look at a Fresno State team that has grown in big ways since its first meeting with Stanford.
Pepperdine is another club on the upswing that may challenge Stanford in the Palo Alto Regional. The Waves qualified for postseason play for the first time since 2008 - when they lost to Stanford in a regional that went the distance. Pepperdine catcher Miles Silverstein shares his thoughts on the Waves program.
About the Author: David Lombardi is a Stanford and Pac-12 Conference enthusiast. He has broadcast the Cardinal on KZSU for several years and is currently contributing to the Cardinal Channel. You can check several of his Stanford calls out at www.davidmatthewlombardi.com, where you can also read his West Coast-oriented blog via this direct link. For Stanford baseball insights, follow David on Twitter at davidmlombardi.
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