SAN FRANCISCO — Jackson Kritsch's clutch hit in the bottom of the ninth sent the San Francisco State and Academy of Art baseball teams in extra innings but the Gators fell 2-1 in 10 innings on Tuesday at Maloney Field.

Chris Smutny led off the bottom of the ninth with a double down the third-base line and pinch runner Kyle Smith advanced to third on Antone Self's sacrifice bunt. Smith scored on Kritsch's two-out single to right center, which tied the game at 1-1. Brady Dorn was hit by a pitch to load the bases but the Gators (0-5) left them loaded. SF State went quietly in the tenth with a pair of strikeouts, which brought the game tally to 15 strikeouts.

SF State stranded 13 runners, including runners at third base in the first three innings, and the bases loaded in the ninth.

Academy of Art (2-3) got on the board first thanks to an unearned run in the first. Gators starter Dillon Houser induced what should have been a routine fly ball but instead resulted in a dropped fly ball. That allowed Elijah Smith to reach second and Smith scored two batters later on a sac fly that would have otherwise ended the inning.

The Gators' pitching was a strong spot on Tuesday. Houser started and went two innings in the by-committee non-conference outing. Jeff Piver struck out three in two perfect innings, followed by two shutout innings from Tyler Franks and an inning and two thirds from Grant Vogenthaler. Cameron Crone took the loss. He struck out three but also walked three, but allowed just one hit, Zak May's game-winning double to center field in the top of the tenth.

The Gators also got some defensive help from the infield. Second baseman Zac Neumann dove up the middle and tossed to Kritsch covering second with a behind-the-back flip that ended the ART U threat in the sixth. Third baseman Antone Self's 5-3 double play limited the ART U damage in the tenth.

"You don't win with 15 strikeouts. I thought we battled and grinded in the first series but today we took strike three with guys in scoring position," said Head Coach Tony Schifano. "Our pitching was phenomenal today. We didn't give up our first earned run until the tenth inning. We had a chance to win because of our pitching."

On Deck
SF State's search for its first win of the season gets no easier when the team heads to UC San Diego, which is ranked No. 4 in the NCBWA NCAA Division II poll. The teams will open conference play with a four-game series beginning Friday, Feb. 16. Live stats and video will be available from the Tritons and in-game updates will also be available on Twitter at @sfstatebaseball.