With Nevada's 6-2 loss to San Jose State last night, Fresno State clinched at least a tie for the Western Athletic Conference regular season baseball title.

And having already beaten the Wolf Pack two out of three this season, the Bulldogs (31-25 overall, 16-5 WAC) have secured the top seed for next week's conference tournament in Reno, Nev., entering tonight's opening of a three-game series against Hawai'i (31-22, 9-12) at Les Murakami Stadium.

But it's not as if any one team has grabbed the reins and established itself as the dominant team, so to Fresno State coach Mike Batesole, the top seed is basically just one of six in the tournament.

"I don't think it means anything really," said Batesole of earning the top seed. "You got any one of these teams that can win it. Each of those teams especially plays well at home and that probably gives Reno the advantage. Hawai'i might have the best pitching, LaTech might have the best hitting and Reno's playing at home, so it's going to be tough for everybody."

Top seed or not, the Bulldogs want to clinch the regular-season title outright, so it still needs a win, or another Nevada loss. Fresno State won the regular-season and tournament championships last year.

"We're going to attack everyone of these games like it's the last one until we do get it," Batesole said.

Last month, the Bulldogs won two of three in Fresno. The Rainbows won the series opener, 9-8, but dropped two heart-breakers in a doubleheader, losing 6-5 and 4-3. Both times FSU won in the bottom of the ninth.

Despite losing a number of key players from last year's team, such as 2006 WAC Player of the Year Christian Vitters, the Bulldogs have found ways to win with a starting lineup made up of three freshmen and a sophomore in the infield, a sophomore catcher and a freshman and sophomore making up two-thirds of the starting rotation.

"Your success between the lines is measured in how many rings you get," Batesole said. "We got one last year and if we can finish this off, we can get one while these guys are young. We did everything to make this not a rebuilding year. If we can learn and play all these guys and still get a ring, we have a chance, if we can get this one, to get three, four in a row."

But the Rainbows have ideas of their own this weekend. It is their last homestand and it is the final home appearance for eight seniors: Pitchers Mark Rodrigues, Ian Harrington, Tyler Davis and Jeff Soskin, infielders Justin Frash, Eli Christensen and Kris Sanchez, and outfielder Jorge Franco.

The highest UH can finish seeding-wise is fourth, but it can slip to sixth if it loses and San Jose State, which moved into fourth a half-game in front of the Rainbows with its win against Nevada last night, continues to win. If the Rainbows finish sixth, their first-round opponent for the WAC tournament will be Fresno State. Sacramento State (10-14) is sixth.

Hawai'i has not won a series from Fresno State since sweeping a three-game series at home in 2003.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.