COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The San Francisco State baseball team split a pair of seven-inning games at Colorado Springs Saturday afternoon. Offense was not an issue as the Gators combined for 26 hits between the two games. In game one, the Gators were up 5-0 before falling behind 10-7. Game two saw the Gator batters at their best as four home runs helped them take a 16-9 win.
- The Gators sit at 2-1 on the young season while UCCS sit at 1-6.
- SF State hit five home runs between two games: Three from Kody Gardner and two from Michael Cunningham. A season ago, the team only hit 17 home runs with no player hitting more than three.
- The Gators also had six stolen bases between the two games and triples from Sammy Gonzales and Matt Sugden.
- Dating back to a season ago, Daniel Santos is currently on a 14-game hit streak.
- Between the two games, the Gators had nine walks with seven coming in game two.
Game One
Sammy Gonzales hit a lead-off triple to open the game and
Nick Upstill put the ball in play to allow Gonzales to come home.
Daniel Santos, the 2022 CCAA Freshman of the Year, hit a one-out double in the third and Upstill recorded his second RBI of the day when he singled to center field. Cunningham followed up with a single to get on base and Gardner hit the Gators' first Home Run of the season to give them a 5-0 lead.
SF State allowed its first run of the day in the bottom of the third when a single into shallow outfield brought the runner at second home. The following batter hit into a double play to end the inning. The Mountain Lions added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth with a two-run double to center.
A two-out rally in the fifth brough home two more runs. Gardner had another impactful hit in drilling a double to deep right center to bring Upstill home.
AJ Schrader registered his first hit of the season with a double that brought Gardner home to make it a 7-3 game. Mountain Lions responded with back-to-back solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth to spark a four-run inning. UCCS scored three more runs in the following inning to take a lead they would hold on to.
- Gary Grosjean started on the mound and lasted 4.1 innings while giving up eight hits and five runs.
- Andrew Silva drew the loss in relief after giving up three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Jacob Crain and Gabrial Lopez also saw time in relief.
- Hunter Owens earned the win in relief for UCCS.
Game Two
Cunningham launched a lead-off home run to open game two and
Christian Smith's first hit as a Gator brought in an additional run to give the Gators a 2-0 lead. The Mountain Lions would retake the lead but an eight-run fourth inning proved to be the difference maker for the Gators. Down 4-3 in the top of the fourth, Cunningham hit a three-run homer to reclaim the lead. After singles from Santos and
Justin Clark got them on base, Gardner hit another three-run homer for the Gators.
Nicholas Cook and
Christian Smith each drew free bases and stole second and third to position themselves in scoring position. Sugden hit a double to bring both home and give the Gators an 11-4 lead.
Up 12-9 in the top of the seventh, the Gators scored some insurance runs before heading into the bottom of the inning. With bases loaded, Cook hit a two RBI single. Cook and Smith stole second and third respectively and
Gavin Haimovitz hit another two RBI single to give the Gators a 16-9 lead going into the bottom of the inning.
- Tyler Franks started game three and lasted 3.2 innings while giving up six hits and five runs. He also tossed three strikeouts.
- Justice Naraghi earned the win in relief, throwing 1.2 scoreless innings and a pair of strikes.
- Will Gabriel drew the loss.
The Gators will wrap up the series Sunday, February 12 at 11 a.m. MT. Live stats will be available through
sfstategators.com/livestats_bsb and live stream at rmacnetwork.com. Updates will be available on twitter at SFStatebaseball.
