By Chris Estrada
Things got interesting in the bottom of the ninth, but the Spartans (20-24, 10-12 MW) held on for an 8-5 victory to even up the series against the Rebels (30-18, 11-12 MW).
SJSU junior starter Andrew Mitchel was dominant on the mound once again. He remained undefeated this year, earning his sixth win after throwing seven innings allowing just one earned run with seven strikeouts.
SJSU piled on 15 hits on the day and got on the board right away batting around in the first inning to put up five runs.
Seniors Brett Bautista, Kyle Morrison, David Campbell and sophomore Kellen Strahm all had three hits on the day.
With the hit, Strahm extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
Junior second baseman Sawyer Pittman made an impact in his 10th start of the year going 2-3 with 4 RBI’s.
Junior right-hander Fineas Del-Bonta Smith pitched the final 1.1 innings. His command wasn’t sharp, allowing two runs in the bottom of the ninth leaving the potential tying run in the on-deck circle.
SJSU now has 20 wins for the first time since 2012. It also now has won 10 conference wins. Both are a first since joining the Mountain West in 2014.
On Sunday, the Spartans will look to take the series from the Rebels with the rubber match scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
Follow Chris on Twitter@estradadotc
