By Larry Larkin (@larrylarkinsjsu) – Spear Reporter
Hunter Dorraugh swinging at a pitch to try and put the Spartans in the lead. I Photo by Andrew Hartley – The Spear
San Jose State baseball (15-23, 10-10 MW) beat Mountain West leader Fresno State (25-13, 14-6 MW) 12-7 on the road Saturday in a high-scoring game.
It was a back-and-forth affair as both teams exchanged leads throughout the game. It was three home runs that elevated the Spartans into clinching the series win.
“I’m proud of our effort today against a tough Fresno State team,” SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. “Big win for us to get the series win in a tough place to play.”
Tied 1-1 through two innings, the Bulldogs scored three runs in the third inning. Two of those runs came on back-to-back solo home runs by redshirt junior Rocco Peppi and senior Tommy Hopfe.
Redshirt freshman Jared Lewis tied the game for the Spartans in the fourth inning with a three-run home run, his first career home run.
Fresno State responded in the fifth inning and scored three runs to take a 7-4 lead.
Then the Spartans scored eight runs in the final three innings of the game.
The Spartans’ all-time home run leader Hunter Dorraugh hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning, cutting their deficit to 7-6. Dorraugh went 3-for-5, hit a home run and had two RBIs in the game.
SJSU took an 8-7 lead in the eighth inning when junior Nathan Cadena hit a two-run home run. Cadena went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk.
The Spartans scored four runs in the ninth inning to put the game away, starting with redshirt senior Dalton Bowling’s RBI single.
Later in the ninth, senior Theo Hardy hit a three-run double to give the Spartans a 12-7 lead.
SJSU currently sits fourth place in the Mountain West standings.
San Jose State will look to get the series sweep as it wraps up its three-game series on the road against Fresno State on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m.