By Matt Weiner (@MattWeiner20) – BSB Beat Reporter
SJSU 10 (9-6, 2-3) vs Nevada 15 (6-5, 3-1)
Winning pitcher: Casey Burfield (1-1)
Losing pitcher: Micky Thompson (1-2)
The Spartans came into their three-game series against Nevada riding high on a three-game win streak.
This momentum has been tempered and possibly moving backwards after suffering a sweep, outscored 46-25 in the process.
Micky Thompson started for SJSU and punched in his worst start of his fledgling Spartan career.
From start to finish Thompson wasn’t able to get the ball over the plate, walking the first three hitters he faced. Credit to Thompson for getting three consecutive outs after a sacrifice fly, strikeout and flyout.
His excellent crisis management in the first frame dissipated in the second inning as Thomspon walked the first four hitters.
He was caught red handed messing with the bull, waving a big red handkerchief like he was trying to get sand off a beach towel. The bull wasn’t a fan of being toyed with and retaliated in the form of a grand-slam by Joshua Zamora, one of two homers he hit on Sunday.
With the Spartans walking nine batters the day before there was an immediate need to throw strikes and Thompson wasn’t able to fill that role. His line ended at 1.1 innings, eight earned runs, eight walks, but only allowed two hits which sheds light on how malignant his control issues were.
“We tried to see if he could settle in a little bit, but obviously couldn’t find his way back into the zone,” said SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo.
Sunday marked the third time in the series the Spartans scored in the first inning, this time on a Jack Colette ground ball up the middle with the bases loaded, scoring James Shimashita.
Colette went 1-5 at the plate with a team-high 4 RBI.
Just like Friday and Saturday, striking first didn’t mean anything as Nevada roared back scoring eight unanswered.
Aaron Eden came in for Thompson in the second inning and ate up a solid chunk of outs, going for 4.2 innings and
The Spartans’ bats were sufficient for the third-straight game, scoring 10 runs. At the same time, the pitching staff allotted so many runs that it feels like nothing.
Due to Nevada’s short porches and big gusts of wind, the Spartans clubbed out seven home runs in the series including one on Sunday.
Similar to Saturday’s loss, the Spartans tacked on a couple runs with the game virtually over in the ninth inning. Saturday, it was Charles McAdoo knocking one out of the park and Sunday it was a medley of hits from McAdoo, Colette, and Padilla plus walks from Hunter Dorraugh.
“I think our guys understand the game isn’t over, but when the tempo is so slow it’s hard and not the recipe of success.” Sanfilippo said.