TURLOCK, Calif. – San Francisco State scored four runs in the top of the third inning to key a 6-4 victory over host Cal State Stanislaus in a California Collegiate Athletic Association contest Thursday afternoon at Warrior Field in Turlock, Calif.
The Gators also got out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth en route to their fourth straight win and sixth in their last seven outings, improving to 16-18 overall and 9-12 in conference play, while the Warriors slip to 15-15 on the season and 11-10 in the CCAA.
SF State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on Kevin Dultz's (Altadena, Calif., Glendale CC) RBI groundout, which plated Drew Andersen (Gilroy, Calif., William Penn Univ.), who led off with a single and later stole second while advancing to third on a flyout.
After CSUS scored a single marker in the bottom of the first, the Gators pushed across four runs in the third to build a 5-1 cushion. Nick Nyman (Susanville, Calif., Lassen College) got the flurry started with an RBI single to bring in Andersen, who walked and promptly swiped his second base of the game. Following a walk to Dultz, Ryan Williams (Woodland, Calif., Yuba College) drove in Nyman with a base hit to right center as Dultz motored around to third. Moments later, Dultz was tagged out at home on Nick Bowerman (Oakley, Calif., Mount Mercy College) grounder to third, with Bowerman reaching safely on the fielder's choice. Greg Kline (Las Vegas, Nev., San Joaquin Delta College) then stepped up to the plate and singled home Williams and Bowerman, who each advanced a base when Warrior starter Vinny Pacchetti uncorked a wild pitch.
SF State stretched the margin to 6-1 in the fifth when Bowerman knocked in Dultz with a sacrifice fly to right after Dultz drew a base on balls to lead off the frame and soon advanced to third on a Williams single.
The Warriors took advantage of a pair of Gator fielding errors in the bottom of the sixth, notching two unearned runs to trim the deficit to 6-3.
The score remained that way until the bottom of the ninth when John Canepa knocked in Andrew Graves with a one-out run-scoring single, narrowing the gap to 6-4. After a strikeout, Canepa and Corey Conflenti, who was earlier hit by a pitch, each moved up on a balk, while Michael Johnson walked. However, Casey Filkins struck out looking on a 1-2 pitch by SF State reliever Nic Banaugh (Novato, Calif., College of Marin) to end the game.
Banaugh recorded his first save as a Gator, getting the final two outs in the ninth to preserve the victory for starter Spencer Kreisberg (Tigard, Ore., Los Medanos College) (2-4), who gave up just one earned run on five hits and three walks in seven innings before yielding to Kyle Mastellar (Corning, Calif., Shasta Junior College). Meanwhile, Pacchetti took the loss, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks in 3 1/3 innings.
Williams had three of SF State's nine hits, while Andersen scored two runs as the Gators defeated CSUS for the first time in 11 meetings.
The two teams will square off against one another at SF State's Maloney Field on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at noon, before wrapping up the series on Saturday with another single contest in Turlock starting at noon.
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