Baseball | 5/2/2016 5:47:00 PM
SAN FRANCISCO–The SF State Gators will end their 2016 regular season with five conference games including a four-game home-away series with Sonoma State this weekend. SF State will travel to Hayward this Tuesday for a 3pm starting game against Cal State East Bay. The Gators will then play Sonoma State in a home-away series this weekend concluding with Senior Day this Sunday, May 8 at SF State's Maloney Field.
The Gators, who are mathematically still alive for one of the six spots in the upcoming CCAA Baseball Championships, are 21-22 overall and 13-18 in the CCAA after going 3-2 last weekend. SF State is currently in fifth in the CCAA North Division, 4.5 games out of the third spot which is currently held by Cal State East Bay. The top three teams in each of the two divisions will receive a bid to the 2016 CCAA Baseball Championships May 11-14 at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton, Calif.
SF State started the week with an 11-4 non-conference win over the visiting Hawai'i-Hilo Vulcans last Tuesday afternoon. The Gators were down 4-0 heading in to the third inning and scored 11 unanswered runs on 17 hits to take the non-conference victory. Ryan Burke led the Gators' offensive attack going 4-for-4 with three runs batted in and scoring four times. Logan Marston was 3-for-3, driving in three runs and scoring once on his solo home run. They were two of six Gators to have at least two hits in the game.
Matthew Hernandez (3-4) picked up the win in relief, pitching three scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out three. Dylan Bell, Zack Zevenbergen and Joe Chedid combined to pitch 5 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.
The Gators then split their four-game CCAA series with Chico State this past weekend at Maloney Field. They opened up the series with a 14-7 loss to the Wildcats on Friday. SF State led 4-3 heading into the fourth inning, but the Wildcats scored 11 runs in the next five innings to take the series opener 14-7. Ulices Moreno (2-2) recorded the loss in the start for the hosts. Bryce Brooks, Myles Franklin and Chris Nicholson each had two hits apiece for the Gators.
On Saturday, the Gators split their doubleheader with Chico State winning the opener 6-4 and losing the night cap 9-8. In the opener, SF State took a 3-1 lead after two innings and then added two more in the sixth and one more in the eighth to take game two 6-4. Brooks and Burke each had three hits apiece and Carter Gambrell, Chedid and Franklin each had two hits. The Gators stole six bases with Andrew Breen stealing two and Nick Jackson, Gambrell and Franklin each stealing one base.
Ryan Bohnet (3-2) recorded the win in the start, pitching 6.2 innings, giving up 9 hits, three runs, striking out two and walking one. Brent Montgomery recorded his second save of the season, pitching 2.1 innings, giving up three hits, one run, striking out one and walking one.
The Gators lost the night cap 9-8 as they held a 5-4 lead in the middle innings, but Chico State scored 5 combined runs in the fifth and seventh to take the 9-8 win. SF State had a chance to tie the game in its half of the seventh as Burke hit his second home run of the season, a three-run shot to put the Gators closer but the Wildcats got the final out on a ground out. Jackson, Franklin and Burke each had two hits apiece while Jackson stole his team leading 16th base of the season.
Dillon Houser (4-4) recorded the loss with the Gators sending four pitchers to the mound in game three.
Then on Sunday in their series finale, the Gators rallied to defeat the Wildcats 6-2 with a 5-run seventh keying the victory. Jake Faulkner, Chedid and Brooks each had two hits apiece while Franklin, Brooks and Faulkner each stole a base.
After this weekend, the Gators are batting .273 as a team and have a team earned run average of 4.05. Four Gators have over a .300 batting average in Burke (.350), Brooks (.345), Franklin (.341) and Marston (.339). Marston leads the team with his .536 slugging percentage and Franklin has a team leading .435 on-base percentage. Brooks has a team high 56 hits and three triples while Franklin leads the team with his 10 doubles and 32 runs scored. Other team leaders are Chris Nicholson (4 home runs), Burke (23 runs batted in) and Jackson (16 stolen bases).
Ryan Bohnet leads the Gator pitching staff with his 3.00 earned run average and 35 strikeouts while Houser and Brent Montgomery each have a team leading four wins. Peter Reyes has two of the Gators' 7 saves.
In the recent CCAA statistics, as a team the Gators are in the top six in six statistical categories. They are fourth in sacrifice hits, earned runs, stolen bases, fifth in hit by pitches and sixth in home runs and earned run average. Three Gators are in the top ten in three individual categories in Jackson (5th-stolen bases), Faulkner (tied for 7th-hit by pitches) and Franklin (tied for 8th-stolen bases).
The Gators will first face Cal State East Bay tomorrow afternoon at 3pm in Hayward. The Pioneers are 27-16 overall and 18-14 in the CCAA after going 2-1 at UC San Diego this past weekend. They are in third place in the CCAA North Division. The two teams have faced each other three teams this season already with the Pioneers wining 7-5 and 6-2 and SF State winning 14-3.
The Pioneers are batting .318 as a team and have a team earned run average of 4.59. Eight Pioneers have over a .300 batting average led by Rudy Navarro's .411 average. Navarro also leads the team with his 38 runs scored, 15 doubles, 36 runs batted in, .530 slugging percentage and .464 on-base percentage. Chris Porter leads the squad with his four home run while Raymond Jones has a team high four triples. Michael Thomas has stolen a team leading 12 bases.
Alex Vesia leads their pitching staff with his 2.99 earned run average, five victories and 49 strikeouts. Derek Oetken has 7 of their 9 saves on the season.
SF State will then face Sonoma State this weekend in a four-game home and away series. The series will begin this Friday, May 6 at 2pm at SF State's Maloney Field. The two teams will then travel to Rohnert Park this Saturday for an 11am starting doubleheader at Sonoma State's Seawolf Diamond. The series will conclude with an 11am starting regular home season finale. Prior to the game at 10:30am, the Gators will recognize their seniors in Ryan Burke, Joe Chedid, Connor Fraser, Shane Martin and Peter Reyes.
The two teams have faced each other two other times in non-conference games with the Gators winning 6-1 and 12-1.
The Seawolves are 18-26 overall and 16-17 in the CCAA after going 2-2 against Stanislaus State this past weekend in a home-away series. As a team, Sonoma State is batting .244 while they have a 3.99 earned run average. Ryan O'Malley leads the Seawolves with his .352 batting average, .593 slugging percentage, 34 runs scored, 57 hits, 31 runs batted in, 14 doubles and two triples. O'Malley is also tied with Grant St. Martin with 7 home runs each while Daniel Carerio is second on the team with his .318 batting average.
Cody Bennett leads the pitching staff with his 1.65 earned run average while three players are tied for the team lead each with three wins in Ryan Luna, Matt Hammonds and Hayden Turpin.
Live Stats From Cal State East Bay
Live Stats from SF State
Live Stats from Sooma State
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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.
