By Sara Biela (@sarabielaa ):
Shane Timmons’ explosive performance at the plate helped propel San Jose State baseball to a 15-7 win over Fresno State.
The Spartans (13-20, 5-11 MW) combined for 21 hits against Bulldog (21-13, 8-9 MW) pitching, with the senior first baseman going 4-for-5 with eight RBIs.
Timmons put SJSU on the board first with an RBI single up the middle that scored senior left fielder Brett Bautista.
Senior second baseman Kyle Morrison’s two-run double and sophomore catcher Johnny Mendoza’s RBI groundout made it 4-0 after one frame.
The scoring didn’t stop there as the Spartans added two more runs in the second.
Timmons’ RBI double and senior right fielder Chris Williams’ sacrifice fly helped extend the lead to six after two innings.
The Bulldogs got their first runs as junior second baseman Jeremiah Burks cut the Spartan lead in half with a three-run homer in the third.
Timmons continued to roll and responded with a home run himself that plated two more runs to make it 8-3 SJSU in the fourth.
FSU’s junior starting pitcher Edgar Gonzalez exited after allowing eight runs on 11 hits in four innings.
After the Bulldogs added a run in the fifth, the Spartans blew the game wide open with a five-run seventh inning.
Junior shortstop Aaron Pleschner gave SJSU its ninth run with an RBI single.
Later in the inning, on a 2-0 count, Timmons stayed hot and launched his second homer of the game for a grand slam to extend the lead to nine.
FSU scored four runs in the last two frames, but the damage was already done.
Junior starting pitcher Andrew Mitchel earned his fourth win of the season with six innings of work.
Alongside Timmons, senior third baseman David Campbell also had a four-hit night.
The rubber match of the rivalry series is scheduled for Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
