By Alex Stoev (@alexstoevsjsu) – Spear Reporter | Senior left fielder Jake McCoy batting vs New Mexico on March 13 (Photo by Alex Stoev – Spear Photographer)
It was a masterful performance defensively in San Jose State baseball’s (7-12, 2-1 MW) 3-0 victory over the University of New Mexico (13-7, 1-2 MW) on Sunday.
The Spartans wrapped up their first conference series with a winning record, riding their defense in the game as senior pitcher Dylan Smith and junior pitcher Tyler Albanese only allowed four hits to the Lobos batting staff.
In the first inning, it looked like Smith was going to have a long day as the Lobos had the bases loaded with nobody out.
He stayed calm and got out of the inning with no runs allowed and continued to do so until being subbed in the sixth inning.
Smith talked about what needs to go right between him and the infielders and outfielders to make sure no runs are scored in similar situations.
“It’s just trusting our guys knowing that if I throw a pitch that gets hit, I know the guys behind me are gonna make something happen,” Smith said. “I think they have trusted me to know that I’m not gonna get behind too many counts, but if I do they’ll have my back.
Senior right fielder Alex Fernandes had another solid day, going 1-2 at the plate for one hit, walked three times and scored a run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
While being the first up to bat, he talked about how he sets the tone for the guys batting behind him.
“We talked about it before the game, to score runs most of the time you just need a lead off,” Fernandes said. “Going in there to lead off the game, that’s really what I want to do is set the tone any way I can whether it’s a hit or a walk then it’s awesome.”
Batting is still an issue for the Spartans, as they currently sit 265th in the nation in batting average at .232.
Fernandes talked about what improvements he wants to see at the plate and emphasized on the importance of staying consistent.
“It’s all about consistency and being on time for a fastball,” Fernandes said. “If we can do that as an offense and be consistent, execute and if we hit the heater when the time comes that puts us in a good spot.”
SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo talked about what the confidence is like for future conference matchups like UNLV coming up.
“This conference is always a dogfight,” Sanfilippo said. “You got to show up each weekend and you just got to try and win a series. You also gotta go on the road and hopefully win a series or two.”
The Spartans will get a day break before playing against San Diego State at 1:05 p.m. on Tuesday at Excite Ballpark.
