By Ethan Ndachi – Spear Reporter | Redshirt senior Jeriah Lewis bats vs Utah on Mar. 8 (Photo by Abby Westrope – Spear Photographer
It was a big win for the San Jose State baseball team Sunday afternoon at Excite Ballpark as they defeated Utah State 8-5 and win the series 2-1.
SJSU improves to 10-5 this season and marks their first series win over a power-four opponent since 2011.
“That’s a big series win for us especially going into conference,” Junior Jake McCoy said. “To come back on a Sunday and go pound for pound with them, it’s amazing.”
McCoy was proficient in keeping the Spartan’s offense afloat, getting three runs and earning two RBIs.
SJSU started off fighting an uphill battle, as at the top of the second inning Utah State was able to fire ahead with three big runs.
But not for long, as redshirt senior Jeriah Lewis hit a fantastic home run to return fire at the bottom of the 2nd and put SJSU on the board.
“I made some adjustments from these past few games,” Lewis said. “I just went out there with more confidence.”
SJSU had an emphasis on energy and effort today and was the driving force in their victory.
“In college baseball, energy is everything,” Lewis said.
“They [Utah] actually told us [we had the] best energy they’ve played against so far,” McCoy added.
The pitching was crucial this afternoon, SJSU was able to keep Utah quiet for five innings in a row.
Senior Win Scott pitched to the sixth and secured the winning decision as a pitcher, earning five strikeouts along the way.
“[Scott] did a heck of a job,” SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. “[Scott] stayed with it, Nolan George was really good coming out of the pen, and then obviously Tyler Albanese to shut it down.”
The team looks to improve their defensive mistakes however, having committed three errors compared to Utah’s one.
Despite the defensive improvements that need to be made, taking the fight to Utah is something that coach Sanfilippo was very proud of.
“That’s a really good team over there that we just won a series from, so I’m pretty happy with that,” Sanfilippo said.
