Baseball | 4/11/2016 4:52:00 PM

SAN FRANCISCO--- The SF State Gators' baseball team will return to the diamond this weekend in La Jolla, Calif., for a three-game series with the UC San Diego Tritons.  The series will start this Saturday, April 16 with a doubleheader (two nine-inning games) at Triton Ballpark with first pitch scheduled for 2pm.  The two teams will conclude the series on Sunday, April 17 at 11am with a single game. 

SF State is now 16-14 overall and 9-10 in the CCAA after going 1-1 in its two games this past week.  The Gators are in fifth place in the CCAA North Division, 2.5 games out of third place which is currently held by Cal State Monterey Bay.  The top three teams in each of the CCAA's two divisions will receive a bid to the CCAA Baseball Championships May 14-16 at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif.

The Gators, under the direction of first-year head coach Tony Schifano, have won 7 of their 10 games including four of their last six games.  As a team, SF State is batting .273 while the Gators have a team earned run average of 4.07. 

SF State's offensive attack is led by Myles Franklin who leads the Gators with his .402 batting average, 24 runs scored, 8 doubles, two triples, 18 runs batted in, .565 slugging percentage and .482 on-base percentage.  Bryce Brooks has a team leading 38 hits with Chris Nicholson hitting a team high four home runs.  The Gators are 39 for 47 this season in stolen base attempts with Nick Jackson leading the way going 13-for-16 followed by Franklin (10-for-10), Brooks (5-for-7) and Andrew Breen (3-for-3). Brent Montgomery has a team leading four victories on the mound wtih Peter Reyes recording two of the team's 5 saves.  Ulices Moreno has a team los 2.64 earned run average and Ryan Bohnet has struck out a team leading 25 batters.

The Gators started their week last Tuesday with a 12-1 non-conference win at CCAA foe, Sonoma State.  They pounded out 19 hits led by Jackson and Logan Marston each with three hits.  Ryan Burke hit a three-run home run while Nicholson had a solo home run and Jackson stealing three bases. Dillon Houser (3-2) pitched three scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out four.  Josh Whetstone, in his first appearance of the season, pitched two innings of relief, giving up two hits and one unearned run.  Shane Martin and Grant Vogenthaler combined for four scoreless innings of relief pitching, giving up two hits and striking out four. 

Then this past Sunday afternoon, the Gators lost 6-3 in a 16-inning affair with Cal State San Marcos at Maloney Field.  Nathan Pisciotta picked up the loss in relief for the Gators.  SF State had nine pitchers pitch on Sunday including starter Peter Reyes who went 5 innings, giving up 7 hits and two runs, striking out three and walking one.  Martin pitched four scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and striking out three while Ulices Moreno and Dylan Bell each pitched a 1.1 innings giving up no runs and striking out a combined five batters.  Brooks had three of the Gators' 9 hits with Jake Faulkner with two.  Jackson had two stolen bases while scoring a run along with Franklin and Nicholson.

In the latest CCAA statistics report that was released today, four players are in the top 10 in the CCAA in 8 categories.  Franklin is third in on-base percentage (.482), fifth in slugging percentage (.565) and tied for fifth in batting average (.402).  Jackson is fourth with his 13 stolen bases and tied for 7^th with 6 sacrifice bunts while Nicholson is tied for seventh with his four home runs and four sacrifice flies.  Montgomery is tied for 9^th with his four victories.

The Gators will return to the diamond this weekend for a three-game conference series at UC San Diego.  The Tritons are 23-13 overall and 13-11 in the CCAA while going 17-6 at home.  They are 4-6 in their last 10 games but have won three of their last five games including splitting at Sonoma State yesterday afternoon.

UC San Diego has a team batting average of .271 with a team earned run average of 3.66.  Two batters are batting over .300 in Jack Larsen (.336) and Gradeigh Sanchez (.306).  Larsen leads the Tritons with his 48 hits, four home runs, three triples and .510 slugging percentage.  Sanchez has scored a team leading 30 runs also leads the team with his .428 on- base percentage and 8 doubles.  Tyler Plantier has driven in a team leading 29 runs while Brandon Shirley has a team high 7 stolen bases. 

Tim Nelson leads the Tritons with his 5-1 record while Cameron Kurz has recorded a team leading 5 saves.  Kylie Mora has a team low 1.93 earned run average and Adam Leichman has a team leading 34 strikeouts. 
After this weekend's series at UC San Diego, the Gators will face Stanislaus State in a home-away four-game series.  The series will start in Turlock with a 3pm starting game on Friday, April 22.  It'll move to SF State for a noon starting doubleheader (nine and seven inning games) on Saturday, April 23.  The series will conclude in Turlock for a noon starting single game on Sunday, April 24. 

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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.
 
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.