SAN FRANCISCO — The bats came alive for the San Francisco State baseball team in a doubleheader sweep of Cal State San Marcos on Friday at Maloney Field. The Gators broke out for 23 runs, winning game one 11-3 and the nightcap 12-5.
Grant Vogenthaler (1-3) gave the Gators (5-14/5-9 CCAA) a strong outing in his first start of the season. The righty needed 91 pitches to get through seven innings. He scattered four hits and struck out three.
Vogenthaler worked out of a jam in the fifth. The Cougars (9-7/4-6 CCAA) had a runners on the corners with no outs but
Harley Lopez came charging in and caught Joseph Bahna's sacrifice bunt attempt. On the next play, Lopez speared a liner off the bat of Ruben Valdez and stepped on the bag at first for the double play.
From that point, the Gators grabbed all of the momentum of the 1-1 ballgame.
Jackson Kritsch led off twith a single,
Brady Dorn drew a walk, and both scored on
Trevor Rogers' hard-hit double down the right-field line. That gave the Gators a 3-1 lead and chased Cougars starter Taylor Greene (4-1). The Gators loaded them up against relievers Brady Corson ad Michael Lopez and
Connor Fidone emptied the bases with a two-out triple that made it a 6-1 Gators lead.
Chris Smutny drilled a two-run homer to left in the bottom of the seventh. In the eighth,
Brady Dorn doubled home a pair and
Jordan Abernathy drove in a run with a pinch-hit single.
The Cougars got on the scoreboard first, in the second inning. Austin Ott doubled then scored on Marcus Wilhite's slicing double down the left field line.
The bottom of the third stayed alive for the Gators after starting pitcher Taylor Greene rushed his throw to first on Dorn's sac bunt in front of the mound.
Jason Hare took advantage and tied it 1-1 with his bases-loaded single through the right side. Cal State San Marcos got a pair of unearned runs back in the top of the ninth.
In game two, the Gators batted around and hung a crooked number with an eight-run second inning.
Antone Self drove in a run,
Jason Hare scored on a balk,
Jack Harris singled home Self, Kritsch drove home a run, Loped doubled a run home, and
Brady Dorn brought two more home with an RBI triple. Cougars starter Troy Lamparello departed after an inning and a third and was charged with all eight runs, including Dorn's run on a Rogers sac fly.
The Cougars didn't roll over though and took advantage of a pair of Gators errors in the third, which allowed CSUSM to cut the lead in half, 8-4.
The Gators added onto the lead in the fourth when Dorn doubled and later scored on a wild pitch.
David Mansell made it double digits with an RBI groundout in the fifth. In the seventh,
Antone Self's two-out double scored Smutny, who walked and stole second base to move into scoring position. A dropped fly ball with two outs in the eighth allowed Kritsch to score.
Dillon Houser (2-3) picked up the win in game two. He went the distance and struck out six while allowing nine hits. None of the five runs scored against Houser were earned.
On Deck
The two teams are scheduled to meet again on Saturday at noon, weather permitting. The series wraps up on Sunday, March 11 at 11 a.m. Live stats for both games will be available and be sure check for updates on Twitter and Instagram at @sfstatebaseball.
