By Marissa Scott (@marissascotttt ):
Senior designated hitter Shane Timmons had a 5-for-5 night with four RBIs in the 9-3 win over Santa Clara University Tuesday night.
The Spartans (12-19, 4-10 MW) scored in five different innings and had 13 hits against the Broncos (15-15, 4-8 WCC) at Stephen Schott Stadium.
“Offensively we executed short game stuff and situationally we hit and did enough to give us a little bit of cushion,” said head coach Brad Sanfilippo. “I was extremely happy with how we played tonight.”
The Spartan offense exploded against Broncos pitching, hitting .361 and going 13-for-36.
“We came out on a Tuesday game and gave a crosstown rival good energy,” said senior second baseman Kyle Morrison. “We had a chip on our shoulder going into the game and fortunately we came out on top.”
Coming into the game, the Spartans were ranked No. 4 in the nation with 37 double plays in 30 games. To end the seventh inning, the Spartans turned their 38th of the season and continued to climb the national leaderboard.
“It’s definitely one of the most important plays in baseball,” Sanfilippo said. “You get chemistry and communication in the middle that is important to be able to be a good double-play combination.”
On the mound, senior right hander Jake Swiech (1-1) threw five innings and gave up one run while grabbing his first win of the season.
SJSU drew first blood in the top of the first inning when Timmons singled in sophomore center fielder Kellen Strahm who smacked a one-out triple to right field.
The team followed the first inning with two more one run innings by a fielder’s choice and a sacrifice fly. This gave way to a 3-0 lead going into the fourth.
In the bottom of the fourth, Bronco senior first baseman Jake Brodt hit the first of his two home runs in the game.
In SCU’s first game of the season, Brodt smashed two grand slams in one inning, a feat that has only been accomplished in Division I NCAA baseball seven times.
After the solo shot, the Spartans answered with four runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth.
Back-to-back singles by Timmons and senior right fielder Chris Williams knocked in three runs.
Timmons came up to bat in the sixth and had his second bases-loaded single of the night followed by another sacrifice fly which brought the score to 9-1.
Although the Spartans didn’t score anymore runs, Josh Zanger and Cameron Keup were able to hold the Bronco offense to two runs and secure the win.
With a two-game winning streak under their belt, the Spartans seek to carry their momentum into the three-game conference series against Fresno State starting Friday night.
“We’re feeling pretty good,” said Morrison. “We already took a series from Fresno and we just want to climb our way back up the tables and it starts with Fresno game 1 on Friday.”