SAN FRANCISCO– The SF State Gators battled this afternoon to earn a split with the visiting Chico State Wildcats in a conference doubleheader at SF State's Maloney Field.
Ryan Bohnet earned the victory in the Gators' game one 6-4 win over the Wildcats. In the night cap, Chico State held on for a 9-8 win.
"(Ryan) Bohnet gave us a strong effort in game one and (Brent) Montgomery made some big pitches to close it out," said SF State head coach
Tony Schifano. "Game two was a battle. They threw the first punch in the first and we answered! However, we fell a little bit short. There's a lot of character and fight in this group!"
Ryan Bohnet (3-2) pitched 6.2 innings, giving up 9 hits, three runs while striking out two and walking one in earning the victory. Gator reliever,
Brent Montgomery, recorded his second save by pitching 2.1 innings giving up three hits, one run, while walking and striking out one.
The Wildcats took a 1-0 lead when Josh Falco scored on a ground out by Andru Cardenas in the top of the second. Faco reached on a one-out walk, went to third on a single by Jerrett Maas and scored on Cardenas' ground out.
SF State took a 3-1 lead in its half of the second.
Carter Gambrell had a one-out single, advanced to second on a balk and went to third on a single by
Joe Chedid. Gambrell scored on a single by
Andrew Breen, which Chedid went to third on still with one out. Breen stole second and Chedid gave the Gators a 2-1 lead when he scored on a sacrifice fly by
Nick Jackson. With two outs,
Bryce Brooks drove home Breen with a single through the left side to increase the Gator lead to 3-1.
The game remained 3-1, hosts, until the bottom of the sixth inning. Jackson walked with one out and stole second. He then went to third on a wild pitch. The Gator centerfielder scored on a bunt single by Brooks to increase the Gator lead to 4-1. Brooks went to second on a single by
Myles Franklin. He scored on a single by
Ryan Burke as the Gators took a 5-1 lead heading into the last three innings.
Chico State (30-15, 20-13) cut the deficit in half with a two-run seventh inning. Brandon Phillips had a one-out pinch hit single to center field. He went to second on a single by Sonny Cortez. With two outs, Ben Gamba tripled home Phillips and Cortez to cut the Gator lead to 5-3. The Wildcats added another run in the eighth inning when Cody Snider scored on a ground out by Cardenas. Snider reached on a lead-off walk.
SF State added an insurance run in the eighth inning. Brooks had a lead-off walk, went to second when
Logan Marston was hit by a pitch with two outs. Both runners advanced a base on a wild pitch.
Chris Nicholson then hit the sixth pitch he saw for a two-out single that brought in Brooks to give the Gators a 6-4 lead. In the Wildcat ninth, Cameron Santos had a one-out single but Montgomery induced the next two batters to ground out to Brooks at shortstop and fly out to Franklin in right to preserve the Gators 6-4 victory.
The Gators had 15 hits on the day led by Brooks and Burke each with three hits apiece. Brooks also scored twice and drove in two runs. Gambrell, Breen and Franklin each had two hits apiece for the Gator offense.
AJ Epstein (2-1) picked up the loss in the start for Chico State. Cortez had three of the Wildcats' 12 hits on the day.
The Wildcats took a 4-0 lead in the night cap with a four-run first inning. Cortez had a lead-off single, went to second on a ground and advanced to third when Gamba reached on an error. Cortez scored on a single by Dillon Kelley. Chico State added three more runs in the inning with two outs to take a 4-0 lead.
SF State (20-22, 12-18 CCAA) cut the Wildcat lead in half with a two-run first inning. Franklin had a two-out walk, went to second on a single by Burke.
Dalton Pizzuti walked to load the bases for the Gators. Nicholson then was hit by a pitch to bring in Franklin with the Gators' first run of the game. Still with two outs,
Connor Fraser walked to bring in Burke to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Gators tied the game at 4-4 with a two-run second inning. Jackson had a one-out double, went to third on an error by the Wildcats. Brooks drove home Jackson with a single to left field. Franklin advanced Brooks to third on a one-out single. Burke walked to load the bases. Then with two outs, Nicholson walked to bring in Brooks with the tying run.
The hosts took a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning on a two-out single by Fraser which brought in Pizzuti with the go-ahead run. Pizzuti reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to second on a single by Nicholson and scored on Fraser's single to left field.
Chico State took a 6-5 lead with a two-run fifth inning. Kelley and Snider had back to back singles to lead off the inning. They each advanced a base on a wild pitch. Kelley tied the game at 5-5 when he scored on a wild pitch. Snider also scored on a wild pitch to give the visitors a 6-5 lead.
The Wildcats increased their lead to 9-5 with a three-run seventh inning capped by a one-out three-run home run by Dallas Porter (his first of the season). SF State did not go away in its half of the seventh. Jackson had a one-out single, advanced to second on a ground out by Brooks. With two outs, Franklin singled Jackson to third to put Gators on the corners. Burke then hit the sixth pitch he saw for a three-run home run over the left field fence to cut the Wildcat lead to 9-8. This was his third home run of the season. Steven Baker came into pitch for the Wildcats and induced the final out on a ground out to Santos at second for the Chico State 9-8 win.
Stuart Bradley (5-1) picked up the win in relief for Chico State, pitching one scoreless inning of relief, giving up two hits and walking one. Steven Baker recorded his first save by pitching a 0.1 inning of relief. Kelley had four of the Wildcats' hits to lead their offensive attack.
Houser (4-4) recorded the loss in the start for the Gators, pitching 4.0 innings, giving up 9 hits and six runs (three earned) and walking one. SF State had 9 hits in game two with Jackson, Franklin and Burke each with two hits apiece. The two teams will conclude the four-game series tomorrow afternoon with the series finale at noon at SF State's Maloney Field.
Box Score Game One
Box Score Game Two
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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.
