Spartans unable to find sunshine hosting Bulldogs

By Annabelle Del Bosque — Reporter

It was a gloomy Sunday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose where the Spartans lost the final game of their weekend series against the Bulldogs.

San Jose State baseball (4-10, 2-4 MW) fell 8-7 to Fresno State (13-19, 10-12 MW).

The Spartans’ rally began in the bottom of the second inning when senior right fielder Connor Konishi drew a walk.

Senior center fielder Jack Colette drove the ball to right field where the Bulldogs’ senior right fielder Nate Thimjon committed an error which allowed Colette and Konishi to advance into scoring position.

Spartan senior designated hitter Reece Hernandez hit into a sacrifice fly which scored Konishi for the first run of the game.

The Bulldogs’ errors led the Spartans to drive in two more runs to conclude the second inning with SJSU leading 3-0.

Fresno State drove in its first run in the top of the third inning. 

The Bulldogs decided it was their turn in the batter’s box and racked up five runs in the top of the fourth inning which allowed them to take a 6-3 lead. Fresno State shortstop Blake Wink added another run to make it 7-3.

The Spartans’ offense was stifled up until the bottom of the sixth inning when freshman second baseman Kai Saterstrom hit an RBI single to center that drove in Hernandez to make it 7-4. 

The Bulldogs retaliated with their own run to hold a 8-4 lead in the top of the seventh. However, the Spartans found a spark to gain three runs of their own to be down one run.

Back-to-back Spartan singles shortened the Bulldog lead to 8-7. 

SJSU’s defense had a quick one, two, three top of the eighth inning.

Spartan senior catcher Andrew Jurado and Konishi were left stranded on the bases at the bottom of the eight inning.

Saterstorm hit into a 5-3 double play to end the game. 

The Spartans head up the Pacific Northwest to play a two-game series against the Oregon Ducks on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Eugene, Oregon.

Follow Annabelle on Twitter @BosqueAnnabelle

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