By Haddy Barghouti – Spear Reporter | RedShirt Sophomore Neil Jansen hits a grand slam during SJSU’s 9-4 win over Portland. (Photo by Lucas Quick – Spear Photographer)
San Jose State baseball (12-8) took a 9-4 win against Portland (6-15) at Excite Ballpark on Wednesday.
The Spartans got off to a hot start, recording three hits and scoring two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
SJSU’s offense showed no signs of slowing down, adding two more runs in the bottom of the third inning. The Spartans added another run in the fourth before having one of the season’s biggest highlights, as sophomore Neil Jansen recorded the Spartans’ first grand slam of 2025, building them a 9-0 advantage.
“I wasn’t trying to do much with bases loaded,” Jansen said. “He threw a fastball on the first pitch, I just made sure I didn’t miss it and found a barrel.”
Jansen was everywhere on offense, leading the team with five RBIs and recording two hits.
“Neil had a huge swing; that was kind of the turning point for the game,” junior Luca Staiano said. “They just kept putting good swings on the ball, getting on base and good things happened.”
The Spartans had 11 hits and nine RBIs, whereas Portland had seven hits and two RBIs.
“Neil gave us a little bit of breathing room, and I thought we did a really good job on the first half of the game,” head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. “Getting base runners and you know for the most part, taking advantage of the opportunities that were given to us.”
The Spartans made an early pitching change, replacing junior Kyle Calzadiaz with Staiano in the third.
The Spartans’ bullpen also helped support the offense, as Portland did not score a Run until the seventh inning.
“I was just trying to pound the zone, let my defense work and it worked out,” Staiano said.
Staiano pitched four scoreless innings before getting replaced by junior Timmy Reeve. Staiano also allowed zero runs for the second straight game.
The Spartans have now won back-to-back games for the third time this season.
They will next face Stanford on Monday at 2:05 p.m. at Klein Field at Sunken Diamond.
