By Marissa Scott (@marissascotttt ):
San Jose State baseball snagged one of two games in Sunday’s doubleheader against the University of Nevada.
The Spartans (11-19, 4-10 MW) played 20 innings of baseball in a tight, 5-4 loss and a 6-3 win against the Wolfpack (17-12, 11-4 MW).
“We pitched really well in the second and the third game today to keep the offense down,” said interim head coach Brad Sanfilippo. “I am really proud of our effort to keep us in games.”
Junior left hander Andrew Mitchel (3-0) took the mound in the first game and pitched 6.1 innings, allowing only two earned runs and striking out seven.
Although SJSU struck first in the fourth inning off a RBI single by senior second baseman Kyle Morrison, Nevada swung back in the sixth with two runs.
An RBI single and a hit batsman gave the Wolfpack a 2-1 lead going into the seventh frame.
Nevada junior Weston Hatton pitched seven innings of one-run baseball while striking out five.
After another two-run inning in the seventh for the Wolfpack, the Spartans were down 4-1.
They started to climb back with two runs in the eighth, and another in the bottom of the ninth, tying the game at four runs apiece.
Freshman pinch hitter Samuel Olsson grounded out to the second baseman to tie the game.
An RBI-triple in the top of the 11th inning by Wolfpack senior right fielder Mike Echavia secured the team’s 5-4 win in the first game.
Shaking off the tension from the first game, the Spartans took the field for the second game with junior right hander Tevin Cadola on the mound.
Cadola (1-2) got the win in his second start of the season and allowed two runs on five innings.
“It’s always good to see a W in the column,” Cadola said. “Everybody that came in did their job, so we deserved to win.”
After Nevada scored a run in the top of the fourth inning off a homerun by Hatton, SJSU responded with four in the bottom of the inning.
Senior first baseman Shane Timmons and Morrison each had a two-RBI single to give the Spartans a 4-1 lead.
Morrison played a solid two games going 5-for-8 with three RBIs.
Olsson hit a two-run single in the sixth to extend the lead to 6-2.
Despite a Wolfpack sacrifice fly in the seventh, the Spartans went on to take the third game of the series. This was their first win against Nevada since last season on April 13.
Freshman Wesley Clawson (0-1) grabbed his fifth save of the season after pitching two shutout innings.
“We battled both games but the first one didn’t quite go our way,” Clawson said. “In the second game we pitched really well, got ahead of the batters and stayed ahead.”
The Spartans look to win two straight when they head to Santa Clara to face the Broncos on Tuesday.
