SAN FRANCISCO--- Behind pitching of SF State starter Peter Reyes, the clutch hitting of Myles Franklin and a defensive gem by Joe Chedid, the SF State Gators defeated the visiting Cal State L.A. Eagles 4-3 this afternoon en route to the series sweep.  The Gators improve to 12-12 overall and 6-8 in the CCAA with the three-game sweep.

"(Peter) Reyes was tremendous today and (Myles) Franklin was a catalyst all weekend on the offensive side," said SF State Head Coach Tony Schifano.  "That last play by (Joe) Chedid was outstanding and a game saver!"

All three games of the weekend series came down to the last out.  Yesterday afternoon, SF State won both games of the doubleheader on walk-offs 8-7 (10) and 3-2.  SF State now has won four of its last five games and are 7-5 at Maloney Field.

Christian Broussard's two-out single in the Golden Eagle half of the first inning scored Dakota Hernandez with the game's first run which gave the visitors a 1-0 lead.  Cal State L.A. (6-21, 5-11 CCAA) didn't hold onto to that lead for long as the Gators tied the score at 1-1 in their half of the first inning without a hit.  Bryce Brooks reached on a fielding error by the Golden Eagles.  He stole his fifth base to advance to second.  Brooks scored when Myles Franklin reached on a two-base throwing error by the Golden Eagles. 

The game remained tied at 1-1 until the Gator third.  Nick Jackson had a one-out single to right field, he went to second on a bunt single by Brooks.  Still with one out, Franklin hit the first pitch he saw for a two-run double to left field to give the hosts a 3-1 lead. 

SF State added an insurance run in the fifth inning.  Chad Thurston had a lead-off bunt single, which he advanced to second on an errant throw.  The Gator first baseman went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jackson and scored on a sacrifice fly by Brooks to give the Gators a 4-1 lead.

It looked like the Golden Eagles were going to cut into the Gator lead in the top of the sixth inning.  Christian Broussard had a one-out double, went to third on a ground out.  Isaac Dominguez walked to put runners on the corners with two outs, but Reyes induced the next Golden Eagle to fly out to Franklin in right and preserve the 4-1 Gator lead.

Brett Elgin came into pitch for Reyes in the eighth inning.  Broussard again had a one-out hit, this time a single up the middle.  He went to third on a single by Anthony Moreno.  Then Elgin induced the next batter to ground out to an inning ending double play (Connor Fraser-Joe Chedid-Chad Thurston).

The Golden Eagles made it interesting though in their half of the ninth inning.  With Dylan Bell in pitching for Elgin, Angel Sanchez and Armett Johnson had back-to-back singles to lead off the ninth.  Still with no outs, pinch-hitter Ryan Dixon walked to load the bases.  Ryan Welker also walked to bring in Sanchez and cut the Gator lead to 4-2 with no outs. 

Nathan Pisciotta came in relief of Bell and retired the next Golden Eagle batter on a foul out to the Gator catcher, Carter Gambrell.  Nathan Navarette then grounded out to Thurston at first which scored Johnson and cut the Gator lead to 4-3 with two outs.  Pisciotta then induced the next batter to ground out to Chedid behind second base, which the Gator second baseman made a spectacular play and threw out the runner at first and preserve the Gator 4-3 victory.

Reyes (1-0) pitched 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and one run, walking one and striking out one.  Elgin pitched a scoreless 8^th while giving up two hits.  Pisciotta recorded his first save in a Gator uniform by pitching a scoreless ninth.  Ralph Ramirez (1-3) recorded the loss in the start for Cal State L.A., while Broussard had four of the Golden Eagles' 9 hits on the day.

SF State managed 7 hits with seven players each with one hit apiece.  Franklin drove in two of the Gators' four runs and Brooks scored two of those four runs. 

The Gators will return to the diamond this Wednesday, March 30 at 3pm, when they host Cal State East Bay in a make-up game from earlier this month.  SF State lost 7-5 to the Pioneers this past Wednesday in Hayward. 

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About San Francisco State Athletics
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.
 
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