By Ryan Carlson and Ernie Gonzalez
For the third time this year, the San Jose State baseball team will play the University of San Francisco.
The Spartans (14-20) have won four of five coming in, and are now just two games back of fourth place in the Mountain West standings.
The first meeting between the two teams took place on February 24 in San Francisco where the Dons (20-16) dominated the Spartans 10-0. SJSU was held to just two hits in the shutout.
The very next day, the Spartans beat the dons with solid pitching and a standout performance by senior outfielder Brett Bautista’s, who cashed in three RBIs in the 6-1 win.
Keeping it on Bautista, he’s been a valuable spark for the Spartans the the last five games, as SJSU has gone 4-1 with a 9.4 runs per game average with him on the leadoff slot.
Shane Timmons has also been on a tear since last Tuesday’s Santa Clara contest. The senior slugger has gone 12-for-18 with 13 RBIs and has gone deep twice, inching closer to becoming the program’s all-time home run leader.
In 36 games this season, Dons’ pitching has given up nine or more runs just three times, so it will be interesting to see if the Spartans can keep the hot bats rolling.
The rubber match begins at 5 p.m. tonight at Municipal Stadium