SAN FRANCISCO – The visiting Holy Names Hawks took two from the SF State Gators this afternoon in a non-conference doubleheader to open up the season for teams at SF State's Maloney Field. The Hawks won game one 2-1 and took game two 5-1.
Ryan Burke led the way for the Gators going 3-for-7 with a double and a run scored.
Zach Verlaan led the off the top of the second inning for the Hawks with a single to left center. He advanced to third when Dominic Morbidelli reached on an errant throw by the Gators. Verlaan scored on a sacrifice fly by Sean Carrington.
Holy Names (2-0) doubled its lead on a run scoring single by Verlaan in the fourth inning that drove in Matthew Dufford.
SF State had a chance to cut into the Hawk lead in the fifth.
Matt Vera reached base on a one-out bunt single. He went to second on balk, but was stranded there as Jayse Bannister retired the next two Gator batters.
The Gators cut their deficit in half in the seventh.
Bryce Cherry had a lead-off single and went to third on a double to left field by
Ryan Burke. With one out, Vera was intentionally walked. Bannister got the next Gator to ground into the fielder's choice with the bases loaded. With the count 2-2,
Andrew Breen drove in Burke with the Gators' first run on a single to right center to cut the Hawk lead to 2-1.
Micah Ashburn came in for Bannister in the eighth and retired the Gators in order. Then in the ninth,
Connor Fraser reached first on a one-out walk. Ashburn induced the next batter to ground into a game-ending double play and preserve the Hawk 2-1 victory.
Bannister (1-0) picked up the win in the start for the guests, pitching seven innings of five-hit ball giving up one run, striking out three and walking one. Ashburn recorded his first save by pitching two scoreless innings. Verlaan finished game one, 3-for-4 with a run scored and a RBI.
Nolan Sheridan (0-1) recorded the loss in the start for SF State, pitching five innings of four-hit ball, giving up two runs (one run) while striking out three.
Ryan Bohnet pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, striking out three and walking one.
Shane Martin also came in to pitch for the Gators as he pitched 0.1 scoreless innings.
Five different Gators had one hit in
Mark Lindsay, Cherry, Burke, Vera and Breen.
SF State (0-2) took a 1-0 lead in the night cap on a run scoring single by
Joseph Chedid. Cherry had a lead-off walk and went to third on a single by Burke. He then scored on a one-out single to left field by Chedid.
Hawk starter Ricardo Torres induced the next Gator to ground into an inning ending double play.
Holy Names took the lead with a three-run third inning capped by back to back run scoring doubles by Dufford and Benjamin Gamba.
The Hawks added two more runs on Carrington's two-run home run in the fourth to increase its lead to 5-1.
Torres recorded the win for the Hawks while Trent Carrier picked up the save. Dufford and Gamba each had two hits apiece for the victors.
Peter Reyes, pitching in his first game in over a year, recorded the loss for SF State. Three Gators pitched scoreless innings of relief in
Grant Vogenthaler,
Matthew Hernandez and
Cory Davis.
Burke had two of the Gators' five hits in the night cap.
The two teams will conclude their three-game series under the lights at Laney College's Field of Dreams in Oakland this Tuesday, February 3. First pitch is scheduled for 6pm.
SF State will return home this Friday, February 6 as the Gators will host the Central Washington Wildcats in a four-game weekend series. The two teams will play back to back doubleheaders at Maloney Field. First pitch is scheduled for 11am on both days.
Box Score Game OneBox Score Game Two---
Gator Athletics has a proud tradition of competitive success within the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The department offers 12 intercollegiate sports programs: Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Women's Track & Field, Women's Volleyball and Men's Wrestling.
Gator Athletics places great emphasis on academic performance as well as athletic achievement. The program offers student athletes the opportunity to reach their educational goals, as well pursue meaningful athletic accomplishments. For more information, visit SF State Athletics' website, Twitter and Facebook pages.
