SAN FRANCISCO— SF State Gators used a six-run third inning in the night cap of this afternoon's doubleheader to key their split with the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. Nic Banaugh picked up the win in the night cap while Matthew Cummins recorded his third save in the Gators' 6-4 win. SF State lost the opener 2-1.

“Nic Banaugh did a great job of battling this afternoon for us,” said SF State Head Coach Mike Cummins. “In the opener, Branden Petrangelo pitched good enough to win, but our situational hitting was not good enough to get the win,” added Cummins.

Cal State Monterey Bay (8-11, 5-6 CCAA) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Jared DeCastro scored after leading off the inning with a single up the middle. He advanced to second on a single by Tommy George and went to third on a one-out walk to Chris Lopiccolo. DeCastro scored on a ground out by Tyler Young.

SF State then erupted for a six-run third inning on seven hits. Michael Cala opened the second with a lead-off single and advanced to second when Ben Mielke was hit by a pitch. With one out, Cala and Mielke moved up a base on a wild pitch. Cala scored the tying run on the next pitch as there was another wild pitch as Drew Andersen walked. Kevin Dultz then hit a run scoring double to right field that drove in Mielke. The Gators made it 3-0 on a RBI single by Andrew Suvunnachuen that drove in Andersen. Still with one out, Trevor Pasiecznik drove in Dultz with a single to left field. Tyler Tulowitzki then hit a single to left to load the bases for Ian Fregosi, who then drove in the fifth run of the inning in Suvunnachuen on a single to center field. The scoring barrage ended on a two-out single by Mielke that drove in Tulowitzki with the sixth run.

The Otters battled back as Lopiccolo drove in Randall with a single in the fourth to cut the Gator lead to 6-2. They scored two more runs in the sixth inning to cut the host's lead to just 6-4 heading into the seventh.

Matthew Cummins came to relieve starter, Nic Banaugh, in the top of the seventh. He retired the first batter on a ground out. DeCastro then reached on an error and advance to second on a two-out single by George. With the tying run on first, Cummins got the final out on a fly out to Mielke.

Banaugh (2-1) picked up the win, pitching 6 innings while giving up 9 hits and four runs (three earned), striking out three and walking two. Cummins gave up just one hit and struck out one in the seventh en route to his third save of the season.

Dultz had two of the Gators' nine hits to lead their hitting attack.

Paul Brock (2-1) recorded the loss for the Otters. Three Otters had two hits apiece in DeCastro, Packard, and George.

In the opener, the Otters took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning. DeCastro had a lead-off single and advanced to second on a one-out walk to George. Packard then singled home DeCastro with the game's first run. Young then singled home George to give the visitors a 2-0 lead.

SF State (7-10, 2-9 CCAA) got on the board in the fifth inning as Devon King opened the inning with a double. He then scored when Michael Cala reached on an error with one out.

The Gators had two chances to tie the game in the final two innings. In the eighth, Cala opened the inning with a lead-off single. Ivan Otsuka then pinch-ran for him and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Mielke. Tanner Van Meter got the next Gator to strike out and the final out on a foul out to Lopiccolo.

Then in the ninth, Andersen walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice by Suvunnachuen. Jake Paolinetti then came in and walked Fregosi and Tulowitzki to load the bases. Pasiecznik then came up and hit a line drive to George that George made a game-saving play and then doubled up the Gator runner at second to end the game and to preserve the Otters 2-1 victory.

Aaron Appino (1-4) picked up the win, pitching5 innings, giving up three hits and one unearned run while striking out three and walking one. Patrick Fletcher recorded his first save of the season getting the final two outs on the double play line drive by Pasieznik.

DeCastro had three hits while Danny Nelson was 2-for-4 for the Otters.

Branden Petrangelo (2-3) recorded the loss, pitching nine innings of seven hit ball, giving up two runs while striking out five and walking three. Four different Gators had a hit apiece in Dustin Wold, Cala, King, and Suvunnachuen.

SF State will look to salvage a split in this weekend's four-game series with the Otters as they travel to Seaside, Calif., for a noon starting nine-inning game tomorrow afternoon

Box Score Game One

Box Score Game Two