SAN BERNARDINO– Cal State San Bernardino held off a two-out rally by the visiting SF State Gators in game two of this afternoon's doubleheader as the Coyotes won both games 12-5 and 6-5. The two teams will finish off the weekend four-game series with a 11am starting nine-inning game tomorrow at San Bernardino's Fiscalini Field.
Game OneSF State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning in the opener.
Nick Jackson led off the inning reaching on an error. He went to second on a sacrifice by
Fernando Escobar and scored on a run scoring single by
Mark Lindsay. The Coyotes took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Aaron Owen and Warren Fishback had back to back solo home runs.
SF State had a chance to cut its deficit in the top of the fourth when
Chad Thurston and
Bryce Cherry had back to back lead-off singles, but Parks Smithey retired the next three Gators on two infield pop ups and a fly out to center field.
Grant Buchanan had a lead-off double in the Coyote fourth and scored on a one-out single by Kevin Meriwether to increase their lead to 3-1.
The Gators cut the Coyote lead to 3-2 in their half of the fifth inning.
Andrew Breen had a lead-off walk and went to second on a single by Jackson. With one out, Lindsay singled to load the bases. Breen scored on a sacrifice fly to center field by Thurston. Daniel Diaz came on to relieve Smithey and retired the final out of the inning on a pop up to third.
The hosts increased their lead to 7-2 with a four-run fifth inning capped by a Meriwether single that scored Buchanan. The Gators came back with a run of their own in the top of the sixth inning.
Ryan Burke was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He went to second on a
Matt Vera single. With one out and runners on the corners, Breen singled home Burke with SF State's third run of the game. Cal State San Bernardino increased its lead to 11-3 with a four-run sixth which was started by an Owen lead-off home run.
SF State cut the deficit to 11-5 with a two-run seventh. Thurston and had a lead-off single went to third when Cherry reached on a two-base error.
Will Hein came in to pinch run for Cherry. Then with one out, Vera hit a two-run single to drive in Thurston and Hein. The next two Gators flew out to left and center to keep the score 11-5 Coyotes.
Fishback's RBI single in the seventh which scored Owen gave the Coyotes an insurance run and increased their lead to 12-5.
Hein and Burke had back to back lead-off singles in the Gator ninth, but Coyote reliever Chris Neff retired the next three batters and preserve the 12-5 CSUSB win.
Ryan Bohnet (2-5) picked up the loss for the visitors, pitching four innings.
Matthew Hernandez and
Joseph Chedid pitched the final four innings for the Gators. SF State had 13 hits in the opener paced by Thurston's three-hit attack with Vera and Lindsay each with two.
Owen and Buchanan had four hits apiece to lead the Coyote 17-hit game. Parks Smithey recorded the no-decision for CSUSB with Daniel Diaz (1-1) picking up the win in relief.
Game TwoIn the night cap, SF State (13-20, 12-15 CCAA) once again took a 1-0 lead in its first at bat. Jackson and Vera had back to back infield singles to lead off the game. They advanced a base on a ground out by Lindsay. Jackson scored on a ground out by Thurston for the game's first run.
Jackson doubled the Gator lead with a two-out run scoring single in the second scoring
Connor Fraser who had a two-out single. In between the Gator two hits, Breen walked to advance Fraser to second.
The Coyotes took advantage of a Gator error in their half of the second. Trevor Williams had a lead-off double and scored when Meriwether reached on SF State's error to cut the Gator lead to 2-1. CSUSB (9-26, 7-19 CCAA) took the lead with a three-run third. Damion Edmonds and Owen had back to back lead-off doubles. Fishback was hit by a pitch and advanced a base with Owen on a sacrifice. Owen scored on a ground out by Buchanan. The Coyotes took a 4-3 lead on Williams' two-out single that brought in Fishback with the go-ahead run.
The hosts added two insurance runs in the fifth to take a 6-2 lead heading into the final two innings.
Thurston led off the Gator sixth with an infield single. He went to second when Garrett Heisigner walked with no outs.
Jacob Lopez singled to load the bases for SF State. Thurston scored when
Danny Souza grounded into a double play, but Heisinger went to third. Fraser drove in Heisinger to cut the deficit to 6-4 with a two-out single to right field. Ruben Rios came on and struck out the final Gator in the sixth.
The Gators had another rally cut short by the Coyotes in their last at bat. With two outs, Lindsay reached on an error. Escobar came into pinch run for Lindsay. He went to third on a single by Thurston. Escobar scored on a double by Heisinger to put runners on first and third with two outs and the Gators down 6-5. Matt LeVert came in and recorded his third save of the season by inducing a game ending ground out.
Kamden Haglund (2-6) recorded the win in the start, pitching 5.2 innings, giving up 7 hits, four runs and walking three. Rios pitched one inning, giving up two hits and one unearned run with LeVert recorded the save.
Peter Reyes (2-5) picked up the loss for the Gators with
Shane Martin pitching 1.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up just one hit and walking two.
Three Coyotes had two hits apiece in Edmonds, Williams and Owen as the hosts had 9 hits in the night cap. Jackson, Thurston and Fraser each had two hits apiece for SF State.
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.
