SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco State baseball team returned home to Maloney Field on Friday for the start of a four-game conference series with Cal State San Marcos. The Gators scored early and often and got a fantastic pitching performance from Jack Higgins in a 12-0 series-opening victory.
- Ten different SF State (8-3/2-3 CCAA) players recorded a hit while the Gators tallied 17 total.
- Nick Upstill went 4-for-5 with a run and three RBI.
- Trevor Rogers snapped an 0-for-7 skid with a 2-for-4 day that included a run and a walk.
- Riley Cleary went 2-for-3 with a run and a pair of RBI.
- Jason Hare went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI.
- Rudy Aguilar had a 2-for-3 day with two runs and two RBI.
- Hare's single through the left side got the Gators on the board in the second.
- A seven-run third inning put the game out of reach early. SF State posted six hits, including two-run hits from Cleary, Aguilar, and Upstill. On Upstill's double, the throw to third skipped away and into the dugout, which allowed Jonah Gonzales to score and made it 8-0.
- Gonzales singled home a run in the fifth and Upstill drove home another run with a double to center.
- Hare added an RBI groundout in the sixth.
- Kyler Crone drew a bases-loaded walk in the seventh for the Gators' final run of the day.
- Higgins (2-1) was sensational for the Gators. He needed just 88 pitches to throw a four-hit, complete-game shutout. He allowed leadoff singles in the second and fourth, and saw the shutout threatened in the ninth but he got a fly ball to end the game. He struck out eight and did not issue a walk.
- Cougars starter Dylan Wannamaker (0-2) gave up eight runs, seven earned, on 10 hits in just three innings of work. Will Van Duren and Colby Lane both allowed a pair of runs, while Nate Robinson was the one bright spot on the mound for Cal State San Marcos with one and two thirds innings of scoreless relief.
The series continues on Saturday, February 22 with an 11 a.m. doubleheader. The series will be broadcast on the CCAA Network with live stats available at sfstategators.com. Be sure to follow San Francisco State Baseball on Twitter and Instagram at @sfstatebaseball.
