SEASIDE, Calif. — Johnny Juarez's pinch-hit double in the bottom of the tenth inning lifted the San Francisco State baseball team to a critical 14-10 win at No. 16 Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday.

Chris Smutny led off the San Francisco State (22-24/21-19 CCAA) half of the tenth with a double, then Harley Lopez drew a four-pitch walk. They both moved up 90 feet on Zac Neumann's sacrifice bunt, then Jack Harris was intentionally walked to load the bases. Juarez came off the bench and roped a two-run double down the left field line. Antone Self was intentionally walked to reload the bases and Chris Hayman added a pair of insurance runs with a two-out single back up the middle.

A pair of unearned runs in the eighth gave the Otters (33-13/27-13 CCAA) a 9-4 lead, though it didn't stick, as the Gators exploded for six runs to take the lead, 10-9. Damon DeVirgilio led off the inning with a pinch-hit walk, then Jackson Kritsch, Smutny, and Lopez recorded three consecutive singles through the left side. Brady Dorn drew a six-pitch walk, Harris recorded a sacrifice fly, then Jordan Abernathy singled to tie the game at 9-9. Self singled and Jason Hare's squeeze bunt gave the Gators the go-ahead run.

San Francisco State jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second. The Otters wiped the lead away with a four-run third, then grew the lead to 7-2 in the fifth. The Otters got to Gators starter Matthew Hernandez for his most runs allowed in a game this season. Still, the senior tallied six strikeouts, giving him 77 on the season. That moves him into fourth place all-time in a single season by a San Francisco State pitcher. His 142 career strikeouts tie former teammate Ryan Bohnet (2014-17) for fourth-most in program history.

Brett Elgin tossed a six-pitch 10th to shut the door. Jeff Piver (2-1) picked up the win despite allowing the tying run in the bottom of the ninth.

On Deck
After Cal State East Bay took the series finale 6-3 from Sonoma State, San Francisco State is now a game game up on SSU. The Gators and Seawolves close out the regular season with a four-game series. The Gators host Thursday, May 3 and Saturday, May 5 with a doubleheader on Friday, May 4 in Rohnert Park. Live stats will be provided, and check for in-game updates on Twitter and Instagram at @sfstatebaseball. Also, be sure to like SF State Baseball on Facebook.