Baseball | 3/30/2015 1:48:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO – The SF State Gators will travel to Seaside, Calif., this Thursday, April 2 at 3pm as they begin a four-game home and away series with the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. The two teams will play a single game on Thursday with the series moving to SF State's Maloney Field on Friday, April 3 for a noon starting doubleheader. The four-game series will conclude this Saturday, April 4 at noon for the series finale at the Otter Sports Complex in Seaside.
The Gators are coming off a 1-3 weekend against Cal State Stanislaus. SF State lost the opener in San Francisco 7-5 in 11 innings on Friday with
Cory Davis (1-1) picking up the loss.
Chad Thurston had three of the Gators' 12 hits with
Jacob Lopez driving in two of their five runs. SF State was swept in the doubleheader this past Saturday in Turlock 8-6 and 6-2. In the Gators' 8-6 loss,
Ryan Bohnet (2-4) recorded the loss in the start while
Nick Jackson had three of SF State's 9 hits and drove in three runs. Then in the nightcap, the Warriors lost 6-2 as
Peter Reyes (2-4) had the loss in the start.
Fernando Escobar had three of SF State's four hits.
SF State snapped its five-game losing streak with a 12-4 win over the Warriors in the series finale. The Gators' 12 runs and 15 hits were both season highs. Jackson and Escobar each had three hits with Jackson scoring three times.
Bryce Cherry had a bases clearing triple to cap a four-run third inning. That was Cherry's team high third triple, which ties him with Cal State Monterey Bay's Ty Morris for the league lead.
Preston Tarter (1-3) picked up his first win of the season, pitching 5 innings, giving up four hits and three runs while striking out three.
Shane Martin recorded his first save in a Gator uniform, pitching the final four innings, giving up three hits, one run and striking out one.
After this weekend, the Gators are now 11-15 overall and 10-10 in the CCAA which places them in fifth place with 20 conference games left including 12 at home. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will receive a bid to the 2015 CCAA Baseball Championships in Stockton, Calif., on May 7-10. UC San Diego currently holds the top spot with its 18-5 CCAA record followed by Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State L.A. each at 14-6. Cal State Monterey Bay is in fourth at 16-8 followed by the Gators at 10-10.
The Gators are batting .277 as a team with four players batting over .300 in
Mark Lindsay (.374),
Nick Jackson (.333),
Chad Thurston (.304) and
Fernando Escobar (.301). Lindsay also leads the team with his 34 hits and .472 on-base percentage. He also moved into second place on SF State's career list with 190 hits, 21 behind Phil Kernan (1992-95). Kernan holds the career hits record at SF State with 211.
The senior catcher is also fourth in the CCAA in batting average and fifth in on-base percentage. Cherry is tied for 8
th with his team leading 8 doubles while
Cory Davis is tied for fourth with his four saves.
Cherry also leads the team with his .456 slugging percentage with Lopez stealing a team leading four bases. Lopez also leads the team with his 17 runs batted in and Jackson has scored a team high 16 runs.
SF State's pitching staff is led by
Nolan Sheridan's 3-3 record and 3.75 earned run average (ERA). Two Gator relievers have ERAs lower than 3.00 in Davis (2.33) and Martin (2.61) in their respective 19.1 and 10.1 innings pitched. Davis' four saves on the year gives him 17 for his career, which is the Gators' record. Sophomore pitcher
Ryan Bohnet has a team leading 23 strikeouts.
Cal State Monterey Bay is coming off a 2-2 road trip at Chico State. The Otters are 2-6 to fall to 20-12 overall and 16-8 in the CCAA. They are batting .299 as a team with a 3.35 earned run average with Greg Steinbeck leading the way with his 6-0 record and 1.43 ERA. Jeff Owen has a team leading 45 strikeouts go along with his 4-2 record and 4.02 ERA while Kory Groves has three saves with 20 strikeouts and one walk in 16.2 innings pitched.
Nine Otters are batting over .300 paced by Justin Flores' .336 average. Kevin Davidson leads the Otters with his 41 hits, 6 home runs and 34 RBIs while he is tied with Flores each with 25 runs scored. Besides his three triples, Morris also leads Cal State Monterey Bay with his 14 stolen bases and is tied with Will Rosado with 10 doubles.
After this weekend, the Gators will return to the diamond on Tuesday, April 7 at 2:30pm for a non-conference game at Sonoma State. They will return to CCAA action the weekend of April 10-12 for a four-game series at Cal State San Bernardino.
CCAA StandingsLive Stats Link at CSUMB (Thursday and Saturday)
Live Stats Link at SF State (Friday)
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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.
