SAN FRANCISCO – The SF State baseball team earned a hard fought split on Saturday afternoon at Maloney Field, in doing so, the Gators took the season opening series against cross-Bay rival Holy Names. The visiting Hawks took Saturday's opener 9-2, with the Gators taking the nightcap 4-3.
"I'm very proud of the guys for finding a way to win the series with their backs against the wall," said head coach
Tony Schifano. "Joseph Chedid and
Peter Reyes were tremendous on the mound and the offense found a way against very good pitching."
Defensive miscues plagued the Gators (2-1) in game one. SF State committed five errors that led to four unearned runs.
Matthew Hernandez took the hard luck loss for the Gators he falls to 0-1. He threw 3.1 innings, allowing six hits, four runs, two earned, with a pair of walks.
Chris Nicholson went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
In the nightcap
Joe Chedid took the ball for SF State, he threw 4.0 solid innings in the seven inning game. For the afternoon he scattered three hits, three unearned runs, with a walk and two strike outs.
Dillon Houser earned the win pitching a perfect inning of relief in the fifth, and
Peter Reyes earned the save throwing two shutdown inning sin the sixth and seventh, while striking out three.
The Gators pounded out seven hits in the nightcap with
Nick Jackson scoring a pair of runs, including the game winner on a wild pitch.
In the opener, the Hawks took a 2-0 lead after the first two innings. They doubled their lead with a two-run fourth inning. Holy Names added an insurance run in the sixth inning when Dusty Zeisler stole home.
SF State got on the board in the sixth when
Carter Gambrell scored on a single by
Alex Kotheimer. Gambrell reached base on a lead-off single and later scored.
The visitors added another run in the seventh and three more in the eighth, two off a two-run home run by Chris Gnos.
Nicholson's sacrifice fly drove in
Logan Marston in the Gator eighth to make the final 9-2 Hawks.
Then in the night cap, Holy Names again took a 1-0 lead in the second when Gnos scored on a wild pitch after reaching base on an infield single.
SF State took a 3-1 lead in its half of the third inning.
Dalton Pizzuti had a lead-off single, went to third on a one-out walk to Jackson. He scored on a double by
Connor Fraser. Jackson scored on a sacrifice fly by Nicholson and then Fraser scored on a two-out single by
Myles Franklin.
Holy Names tied the game at 3-3 with a two-run fourth inning. The score remained tied at 3-3 until the Gator half of the fifth inning.
Jackson had a lead-off single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Frasser. He then stole third with two outs and scored on a wild pitch with two outs to give the Gators a 4-3 lead.
Reyes came in and held the visitors hitless in the final two innings, while striking out three batters en route to his first save of the season.
The Gators will return to the diamond this Friday, February 12 at 4pm in Fresno, Calif., to begin a three-game series with the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds. The two teams will play a single non-conference game on Friday. Then on Saturday, they will play a doubleheader starting at 11am in Fresno.
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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.
Game One Box ScoreGame Two Box Score--
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.
