POMONA, Calif. — All weekend, the San Francisco State baseball team showed no quit. In the first game and facing elimination, the Gators came back from a 4-0 deficit to win it 5-4. In the winner takes all game two, the Gators used a big six-run eighth to take a 9-7 lead but were unable to close it out in the top of the ninth, falling 12-9 in the Championship game.
- The Gators ends its tournament run at 32-24. The Otters improve to 35-18 and win the CCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
- SF State played more games than any team that weekend with six. Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State Monterey Bay each played four
- Justin Johnson, Jacob French, Derek Laferriere and Nicholas Allred were named to the All-Tournament team.
- SF State and Monterey Bay both finished with nine hits in game one but the Otters edges the Gators in game two 13-10.
- Nicholas Allred was the RBI leader in both games for the Gators, recording two in game one and four in game two.
- Johnson, who had been the hot hitter all weekend, now has 85 hits on the season, tied for second most.
Neither team recorded a hit through three and a half innings.
Theo Dopkins pegged the first batter faced but made a spectacular snag on the mound for a double play to clear the bases.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Otters recorded their first hit of the game and went on to score four runs on five hits to lead 4-0.
AJ Schrader finally broke up the no hitter in the fifth, but the Gators could move him past first.
The Gators made it a new ball game in the seventh. With bases loaded and no outs,
Nicholas Allred and
Kyle Olimpia hit back to back sac flies.
Anthony Alvarez came in to pinch hit and singled up the middle, placing runners on first and second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch.
Armando Murillo singled to third to bring one runner home and the throw to first sailed past the first basemen, allowing Alvarez to come home.
With Johnson on first and two outs,
Nicholas Allred singled through the left side to bring him home and take the lead.
Heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Gators sent
Nathan Shinn to the mound. Shinn faced the minimum to shut the door in game one.
- Theo Dopkins faced the minimum through three, not giving up a hit in his longest outing of the season.
- Ryan Garza came in during the fourth, giving up the four runs.
- Ian Sullivan came in after Garza, giving the Gators a scoreless frame
- James Kobylt (1-0), who had not pitched this weekend, gave the Gators a fresh arm out of the pen. He gave the Gators three scoreless inning, giving up three hits and a walk in his best outing in a Gator uniform.
- Nathan Shinn came in during the ninth and picked up his second save of the season.
Jaden Sheppard struck first for the Otters with a solo shot that was just shy of the left foul line. With runners on the corners, the Otters hit an RBI single up the middle to go up 2-0. The Otters doubled up in the third and added another run in the seventh to lead 5-0.
With a pair of runners on, Allred launched the ball over the fence to cut the Otters lead to two.
In the eighth, the Otters took advantage of the tired pitching staff, scoring on a wild pitch and an RBI to lead 7-3. But the Gators stormed back in the bottom of the inning. With no outs and the bases full, Schrader drew a walk to plate one.
Kyle Olimpia and Allred each hit singles to advanced everyone and come with one run.
Anthony Alvarez cleared the bases with a triple to give the Gators a 9-7 lead heading into the ninth.
Gators needed one more out with bases loaded to claim victory but the Otters came back and scored five more runs. The Gators had runners on the corners and a chance the flip to the top of the line-up but the Otters made a good defensive play at third to seal the Gators' fate.
- Daniel Smith made his first start, going 1.2 innings before getting the hook.
- With the Gators pitching staff drained, they went for a bullpen approach the rest of the way. Eight pitchers took the mound, with River Diaz De Leon going the furthest with 3.2 innings of work.
- Mickey Radanovich, who came into the ninth for the save, took the loss.
The Gators await to hear their postseason fate on Sunday. The NCAA Selection Show will take place tomorrow, May 12
th, at 7:30 PM PST on
NCAA.com. SF State came into the CCAA tournament ranked sixth in the region and will hope their deep tournament run will help solidify a bid into the NCAA West Regional.
