By Georgia Blair — Staff Writer
San Jose State (14-9, 8-4 MW) took the series from Fresno State (10-7, 2-4 MW) in enemy territory with a come-from-behind 7-5 win.
The Spartans were trailing by one run heading into the ninth inning with just three outs left to find a spark.
Junior Kellen Strahm led off the inning with a towering solo shot to left center to tie up the game. The center fielder finished 4-for-5 with 2 RBI’s and 3 runs scored.
“Without Kellen in that last inning we wouldn’t be having this conversation (about winning) right now,” head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. “I thought our offense was good and our defense and pitching did enough to keep us in the game.”
The Spartans jumped out to an early lead off the bat of Strahm in the first inning after an RBI single scored sophomore Connor Konishi.
SJSU extended its lead to 3-0 in the third with two more runs on singles from junior Troy Viola and freshman James Shimashita.
The Bulldogs tied the game up in the bottom of the fourth inning on a wild pitch, an RBI single and a home run.
Freshman Jonathan Clark threw three scoreless innings in his first collegiate start but lost some steam in the fourth and was replaced by senior Zach Wallace.
Wallace and Nicholas Morales combined for 1.0 inning of work and then Wesley Clawson came into the game. The sophomore threw 3.0 innings of one-hit baseball to earn himself the win.
The Bulldogs took their first lead of the game in the fifth on another RBI single but the Spartans battled back to tie the game up with a suicide bunt off the bat of junior Johnny Mendoza to score Strahm in the seventh.
FSU was able to take another lead in the bottom of the eighth scoring one run to make it 5-4.
After the Strahm home run, Mendoza, Viola and freshman Richard Kabasinskas combined to bring in two more runs and extend the Spartan lead 7-5 in the top of the ninth.
Senior Fineas Del Bonta-Smith got his seventh save of the season after coming into the game in the eighth inning.
The Spartans sit firmly on top of the Mountain West standings but Sanfilippo said there was still a long way to go in the season.
“It’s a marathon for sure,” Sanfilippo said. “We still have a lot to prove.”
The Spartans continue their road trip with a midweek non-conference game on Tuesday slated for 1 p.m. against the University of Michigan.
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