Senior first baseman Brett Bautista’s two home runs and six RBIs paved the way for SJSU baseball’s 14-3 win over UC Riverside Sunday afternoon.
The Spartans (16-22, 6-11 MW) took their second series in-a-row for the first time this season and tied their season-high 21 hits against the Highlanders (15-19, 4-5 BW).
“Offense can sometimes be contagious,” said interim head coach Brad Sanfilippo. “Our confidence level right now with swinging the bats and scoring runs is high.”
In the third, Bautista smacked a solo shot down the right-field line. Later that frame, the Spartans hit two RBI singles by senior second baseman Shane Timmons and third baseman Kyle Morrison to give them a 3-0 lead.
That would only be the first of four three-run innings for the Spartans.
Following his solo home run, Bautista came up to bat in the fourth with two runners on base and hit his second home run to give the Spartans a 6-0 lead.
The two home runs marked the third time this season that SJSU has multiple dingers in a single game.
“Coach Flip and I have been working on a lot of things,” Bautista said. “To be able to let it fly a little bit, it’s always fun and to run those bases feels good.”
The sixth inning also brought three more runs for the Spartan offense. Two RBI singles by Bautista and Timmons followed by a groundout RBI gave the Spartan a nine-run lead.
Every Spartan starter had at least one hit, and six different batters contributed to the 14 runs.
Junior shortstop Aaron Pleschner doubled in sophomore catcher Johnny Mendoza and Bautista went on to grab his sixth RBI of the game to give SJSU an 11-0 lead, the largest lead the Spartans have had all season.
Senior right hander Jake Swiech made his sixth start of the season and was flawless. He pitched 5.1 scoreless innings and struck out five batters and was credited with the win.
“His body has started to feel good and he’s starting to be the guy he is capable of being,” Sanfilippo said. “So I am extremely happy for him.”
The Highlanders scored their only three runs of the game in the seventh and eighth innings off an RBI double and a two-run shot by sophomore first baseman Cade Peters.
The Spartans rallied for three more runs in the ninth inning to take the win and the series.“Overall it was a very good weekend,” Bautista said. “Coming up short in the first game and being able to respond to that with two wins and take the series is huge.”
In an effort to take three-straight series, the Spartans head back to Municipal Stadium to face conference-foe New Mexico starting Friday night.
