By Gio Gaxiola — Reporter
The San Jose State baseball team went 2-2 in a four game weekend series against Utah Valley at Excite Ballpark over the weekend.
Here are the top takeaways from the series.
James Shimashita and Troy Viola are the heart of this team
Both of these guys had tremendous plays on the field and at the plate all weekend. On both Friday and game one Saturday, Shimishita threw two runners out at the plate. “He has been a really good defender in right field,” head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. “When he threw that guy out at the plate, it was a huge momentum stop and it got the momentum back in our dugout.” He also had a diving catch in the outfield to end the inning.
Viola had a play on Sunday where he was able to throw out a bunting batter, laying out in the process. He also had a nice day at the plate in game one on Saturday, going 3-7, just missing the homerun for the cycle and two RBIs.
It seems when these two guys are playing well, the team feeds off that energy.
Dalton Bowling’s first career home run
In game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, freshman first baseman Dalton Bowling hit a 3-run shot over the left field fence. He also had four RBIs in the game.
Bowling was a huge spark plug for the Spartans as they were able to win that game 10-1 in a real offensive outburst.
“I got two strikes early in the count, then I choked up on the bat and sat on a fastball,” Bowling said about his home run. It is the second time this year the Spartans scored 10 or more runs in a game.
Missed opportunities at the plate
A common theme for the four-game weekend series was the fact the Spartans could not find the plate. In game four, they had seven runners left on base. In the bottom of the ninth, the Spartans had bases loaded and two outs. They were unable to convert and lost the game 1-0.
“Today we did a poor job of creating opportunities,” Sanfilippo said. “We let their starter stay in for eight innings and didn’t get to their bullpen, we got to do a better job to get to the pen.”
In total for the weekend series, the Spartans left 34 runners on base, 14 alone in game one on Saturday.
They are going to have to figure out how to get runners or it is going to be a long season. The Spartans are currently 5-7 in the young season. While there is always room for improvement, you can see the potential in flashes from this team.
They look to try to notch another win on Tuesday. When they hit the road and play St. Mary’s at 2 p.m.
Follow Gio on Twitter @GaxiolaGio
