OAKLAND, Calif. — The San Francisco State baseball team split a non-conference doubleheader with Academy of Art on Sunday at Laney College. SF State took game one 8-5 in 13 innings and fell 5-1 in the seven-inning nightcap.

In game one, the Gators (2-1) got in business in the second inning. Jordan Abernathy got things started with a single to right center and advanced to second after Chris Nicholson was hit by a pitch. Trevor Greenley put SF State on the board with an RBI double to left center that plated Abernathy and Nicholson, then catcher Mike Phelan drove home Greenley with a single down the right field line.

ART U (1-2) trimmed the lead to one thanks to Mike Maleski's infield single on a 3-0 pitch and Erick Luna's RBI groundout. Myles Franklin singled and stole second, then scored on another single from Abernathy. The Gators had an opportunity to keep adding on but Nicholson struck out on a full count with runners in scoring position.

Nicholson made up for it in the top of the eighth inning with his first home run of the seaon. The insurance run proved vital, as ART U scathed the Gators bullpen for two more runs in the bottom half of the frame. A leadoff walk in the ninth also proved costly, as Cameron Jones came around to score with two outs. The Gators bullpen settled down after that and allowed just two hits in extra innings. Cy Vojak earned the win with five strikeouts and just one hit in three scoreless innings of work. Brent Montgomery picked up his second save with a scoreless 13th inning.

Offensively, the Gators scrapped it out with a two-out rally in the 13th. Sam Schmidt and Zac Neumann kept the inning alive with back-to-back singles, then Franklin drove home the eventual game-winning run with his fourth hit of the day. Abernathy added a pair of insurance runs with his double to left center.

The Urban Knights scored five runs on six hits in the nightcap. The Gators were limited to three hits by ART U starter Luke Lacy, who went the distance. Gators starter Andrew Najeeb-Brush tossed 4.2 innings of work and struck out eight but was touched for three runs. Trailing 2-0 after the Urban Knights plated a pair in the second, freshman Jack Harris drove in the Gators' lone run in the fourth with a two-out single. SF State had a chance to tie or take the lead but Lacy got out of the inning with a strikeout. Lacy got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fifth.

Up Next
SF State heads to Sonoma State on Monday, Feb. 13 for a 2 p.m. game. Later in the week, the Gators head south to Azusa Pacific for a four-game series with the Cougars.