Baseball | 2/8/2016 4:56:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO– The SF State Gators will return to the diamond this weekend for a three-game series at Fresno Pacific this Friday and Saturday, February 12 and 13. The series will commence with a 4pm single game on Friday and conclude with an 11am starting doubleheader on Saturday.
The Gators are coming off a 2-1 weekend against Holy Names University. SF State's pitching staff held the Hawks to a .220 batting average while posting a 2.16 earned run average.
Ulices Moreno and
Dillon Houser each picked up their first wins as a Gator. Moreno pitched three innings of relief in Friday's 5-1 series opening win. Houser pitched one scoreless inning of relief in the Gators' 4-3 series finale victory on Saturday.
Peter Reyes recorded his 8
th save in his career at SF State, which now ties him for 8
th on the Gators' all-time career saves list with Franz Gonzalez and Keith Albright.
In their 5-1 series opening win on Friday afternoon in Oakland, the Gators used a four-run fourth which was started by a three-run home run by
Joe Chedid to key their season opening victory. Chedid was one of four Gators to have multiple-hit days with
Nick Jackson,
Ryan Burke and
Andrew Breen. The play of the game was when
Carter Gambrell picked off a runner in the bottom of the fifth inning with two runners on and one out.
Ryan Bohnet started the game for SF State pitching four scoreless innings of four-hit ball, striking out four and walking one. Moreno pitched three innings of relief, giving up three hits and one run, striking out two and walking one.
Brent Montgomery pitched the final two innings of relief, giving up just one hit, striking out two and walking one.
On Saturday afternoon at Maloney Field at SF State, the Gators lost the opening game of the doubleheader 9-2 as
Matthew Hernandez recorded the loss in the start. SF State had 6 hits in the game with two coming off the bat of
Connor Fraser.
Chris Nicholson drove in a run with Gambrell and
Logan Marston each scoring the Gators' two runs. In the nightcap, the Gators took a 3-1 lead in their half of the third inning capped by a
Myles Franklin two-out run scoring single. The Hawks tied the game at 3-3 with a two-run fourth inning, but the Gators took the lead for good in the fifth inning. Jackson had a lead-off single, went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Fraser. The junior centerfielder then stole third with two outs. He later scored on a wild pitch for what proved to be the game-winning run.
Chedid pitched four innings of three-hit ball in the start in game two on Saturday, giving up three unearned runs, striking out two and walking one. Houser came on in the fifth and pitched a scoreless inning with Reyes pitching two scoreless innings en route to his first save of the season with three strikeouts.
For the season, the Gators are batting .253 with three players batting .500 in
Ryan Burke,
Alex Kotheimer and
Dalton Pizzuti. Jackson and Gambrell are right behind them with their .429 averages and Breen next at .400 and Fraser at .364. SF State (2-1) has 23 hits this season of which five are extra-bases with Fraser leading the way with two doubles and Chedid with the Gators' home run. Jackson has both of the Gators' stolen bases. Pizzuti leads the Gators with his .667 on-base percentage followed by Jackson at .556. Chedid has a team high .667 slugging percentage with Breen next at .600.
Their pitching staff has posted a 2.16 earned run average in the Gators' first three games. Eighth Gator pitchers have a 0.00 earned run average in Chedid, Bohnet, Reyes, Montgomery, Houser,
Dylan Bell,
Brett Elgin and
Nathan Pisciotta. Bohnet has a team leading four strikeouts and Reyes has the Gators' lone save.
Fresno Pacific is 2-3 after splitting its four game series with Stanislaus State. The Sunbirds swept the Warriors in both games on Friday by 6-5 scores in Fresno. Then on Saturday, Fresno Pacific was swept by Stanislaus State 9-0 and 10-4. They lost their 2016 opener on January 30, 5-2 at Cal State Monterey Bay.
As a team, the Sunbirds are batting .194 as a team with Davy Vartanian leading the Fresno Pacific offensive attack with his .444 batting average. McKay France (.375) and Preston Scott (.300) are also batting over .300 for the Sunbirds with Scott hitting two doubles and hitting their only home run. In the first five games, the Sunbirds' pitchers have posted a 5.63 earned run average. Austin Tatum and Kevin Maqill have posted their two wins and Josh Medeles has 11 of Fresno Pacific's 38 strikeouts.
After this weekend, SF State will have Academy of Art in a three-game non-conference series. The series will start with a 5pm series opener in Oakland at Laney College's Field of Dreams on Friday, February 19. Then on Saturday, February 20, the two teams will move the series to SF State's Maloney Field for a noon starting single game. The series will conclude in Oakland on Sunday, February 21 at 1pm.
Coach Schifano on this upcoming series with FPULive Stats for Weekend Series at FPU -----
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.
