SAN BERNARDINO– The SF State Gators came back and won this afternoon's series finale 4-3 over the Cal State San Bernardino Coyotes at Fiscalini Field in San Bernardino.
Preston Tarter picked up the win with
Cory Davis recording his sixth save of the season. SF State had 11 hits on the day with
Mark Lindsay reaching base on all five of his plate appearances.
Tarter improved to 2-4 with the win as he pitched five innings of six-hit ball giving up two runs (one earned) striking out two and walking four. Davis came on in the sixth and pitched four innings of one-hit ball, giving up one unearned run, striking out five and walking three. This was Davis' 19
th career save in a Gator uniform as he holds the all-time career saves record at SF State.
SF State took a 1-0 lead in its half of the first inning as
Nick Jackson reached base safely for the 19
th straight game with a lead-off single. He went to second on a one-out single by Lindsay. They each advanced a base on a balk. Jackson scored on a sacrifice fly to right field by
Chad Thurston.
Cal State San Bernardino tied the game at 1-1 in its half of the first when Aaron Owen walked with one out. He advanced to third on an errant pick-off attempt. Owen scored when Warren Fishback grounded out to
Connor Fraser at third.
The Coyotes (9-27, 7-20 CCAA) took a 2-1 lead on Trevor Williams' single with no outs which brought in Owen with the hosts' second run of the game. Owen reached on a lead-off single, went to third on a single by Fishback and scored on Williams' single.
The score remained 2-1 Coyotes until the Gator sixth inning when they scored three runs on five hits.
Fernando Escobar had a lead-off single. He went to third on Lindsay's double to left center. This was Lindsay's 199
th career hit in a Gator uniform, which places him 12 behind Phil Kernan who had 211 hits during 1992-95. Thurston, who batted .600 for the weekend, drove in Escobar with the tying run on a single through the left side. Lindsay scored the go-ahead run on a balk to give the Gators a 3-2 lead. With one out,
Jacob Lopez drove in Thurston with the inning's third run which increased the visitors' lead to 4-2.
Davis came in to pitch for Tarter in the sixth inning. He walked the lead-off batter (Grant Buchanan) and the second batter (Jose Hernandez) reached on an error. Buchanan scored with two outs when Lindsay threw out Hernandez at second to cut the Gator lead to 4-3.
In the Coyote eighth, Buchanan had a lead-off single and went to second on a sacrifice by Herandez but was stranded their as Davis struck out the final two batters.
SF State (14-20, 13-15 CCAA) had a chance to add some insurance runs in the ninth.
Andrew Breen had a one-out single, but was retired at second when Jackson reached on a fielder's choice. Escobar singled Jackson to second with two outs. Jackson went to third on his 6th stolen base of the season. Lindsay walked to load the bases; this was his 60
th walk of his career which ties him for tenth with Jonathan Cook (1996-98) on the Gators' career list in walks. The Coyotes induced the next Gator to ground out to short stop and keep the score at 4-3 SF State heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Davis retired the first Coyote on a fly out to Jackson in centerfield. The second out was a ground out to Fraser at third. The senior reliever struck out his fifth batter to record his 6
th save of the season, which ties him for sixth on the Gators' single season list.
Tyler Rahier (0-5) picked up the loss in relief, pitching 3.1 innings, giving up 6 hits and three runs, striking out one and walking two. Dylan Mitchell started the game, pitching two innings, giving up three hits and one run. Owen, Fishback and Buchanan each had two of the Coyotes' 7 hits.
SF State, who is tied with Cal State Dominguez Hills for 6
th place in the CCAA heading into the final three weeks, had 11 hits on the day. Escobar, Lindsay, Lopez and
Bryce Cherry each had two hits to lead the Gators. Thurston drove in two of the Gators' four runs.
The Gators will return home this Tuesday, April 14 at 3pm for a non-conference game with the Academy of Art Urban Knights. This will begin a season ending three week stretch for SF State, which the Gators are home for 11 of their final 14 games including six straight at The Swamp at Maloney Field. After Tuesday's non-conference game, SF State will host Chico State in a four-game CCAA series beginning with a single nine-inning game this Friday, April 17 at 3pm.
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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.
