Time for another edition of Spear Speaks! We’re sorely missing the Spartans right around now, so this time we’re looking back on our favorite SJSU games we’ve had the pleasure of covering.
Kellen: My favorite game I covered this year was the 9-8 SJSU victory over Creighton in baseball on February 23. The game went down to the last pitch. Bottom of the 8th, sophomore outfielder James Shimashita hit a 3-run homer to take the lead 8-6. The Bluejays responded with 2 single home runs at the top of the 9th, but ended the game by hitting junior infielder Alex Ackerman with the bases fully loaded, giving the Spartans the win.
Jessica: For me, the most memorable game I covered during my time at SJSU would be the women’s water polo game against USC this past early March. As an avid fan and writer for the water polo team, this game was a definite highlight for many reasons. SJSU has never beaten USC because they are the number one program in the nation every year. During this game, the Spartans kept up with the Trojans like I had never seen them do before. Prior to this game, I asked head coach Beth Harberts and the players how they were going to prepare for this game and they all said they were going to just focus on their basic skills which they had never done properly in the past seasons. It definitely showed that they had practice hard leading up to the game. The Spartans opened up the game scoring first. Although USC surpassed SJSU you could see the players not giving up a fight in the water. They worked on their offensive and defensive plays. Spartan junior 2-meter defender Tyanna Supreme scored a hat trick and that was very memorable. Goalkeeper Hannah Henry had an impressive nine saves for the team. The Spartans seemed most prepared for this game against the Trojans than ever before because of practicing technical plays. Even their sprints were quicker this year having kept up with USC throughout the majority of the game. Despite the 15-11 loss, since I knew the history between the two teams and how SJSU has progressively improved year-by-year, I could see how happy the team was with the result of how the game ended. The fan turnout was pretty big and you could definitely see the boost of confidence it gave the players.
Gio: The most memorable game that I covered this year was a baseball game against LMU. What made this game so interesting was the fact there was a long rain delay. It was sunny when I first arrived at the ballpark. That changed by the middle of the first when rain clouds rolled in out of nowhere. During the game, Troy Viola hit a dinger in the rain and made for a really cool video that I posted on twitter. Although, I was drenched the whole day. Since there were no clouds in the skies, I didn’t think about bringing an umbrella. To make matters worse, they didn’t call the game until it was pouring. Being drenched from head to toe, I had to go to my car during the intermission and use my heater to try to warm up. It was useless. I was going to have to spend the rest of the day in wet clothes. The Spartans would end up losing that game 8-2. Even though it was a terrible day, I take it for granted now that we do not have any more spring games to cover. I actually do miss sitting out in the stands of Excite ballpark. I look forward to covering the games again next year.
Jarra: My choice is men’s basketball’s home win against Grambling State in November. I’d like to think of it as Seneca Knight’s coming out party of sorts, the moment he cemented himself — to me, at least — as the Spartans’ alpha and centerpiece. Knight scored 15 of his then-career-high 22 points in the second half, only missing one shot in the game’s final 20 minutes. This was our first taste of what we would see throughout the conference schedule. Knight would eclipse that night’s scoring mark six more times by the end of this season — including a 37 point outing against Colorado State, only bettered by Nevada’s Jalen Harris as the highest individual scoring game in the Mountain West.
Nick: I have to say the most memorable game I attended this year was the women’s softball team against Canisius College. It was the second game of a doubleheader on Feb. 18, and the Spartans were coming off a blowout win by the score of 8-1 in game one. Because of the obvious mismatch in the first game that was over after the fifth inning, I was expecting the second game to be over early as well. Instead, the Spartans battled through a tough game that went into extra innings. The Spartans would go on to win 3-2 on a walk-off single by Makayla Englestad in the ninth inning. Even though I got home later than I thought I would, it was an exciting game that was close to the end.
Derrick: I would say my favorite game that I covered was Opening Night for SJSU Baseball this season. The Spartans played Santa Clara at Excite Ballpark. The game saw two stars being born. Jonathan Clark put on his Superman cape as he came out of the bullpen. He had 8 strikeouts which was a career-high and started his breakout season. He kept the Spartans in the game. Then Ruben Ibara who was a redshirt last season got his shining moment. He took a mighty swing like Casey At Bat and crushed the ball to left-center for a three-run homer. He became a fan favorite this season as he batted a .344 average with 3 home runs and 8 RBI’s. This moment was the beginning of making his mark as Spartan of the Year.
However, the Spartans would lose Opening Night to Broncos by a score of 7-3. This game was memorable because I was fortunate enough to broadcast the game for KSJS FM. Growing up as a kid with Autism it seemed impossible just to put on a headset and broadcast a sporting event. However, for one night I was able to live my dream of being a broadcaster. That is what makes sports so beautiful. The underdog like me gets to feel like he made it to the top of Mount Everest. In this case, my Everest was being a sports broadcaster.
Kenia: The best game I attended to see the Spartans play was in February against the Wyoming Cowboys. The reason why I liked this game is because it was the first game I was covering. Besides that, I had the chance to see the basketball players pay respect to Kobe since he had just passed away. The players did a really good job too through the entire game they were giving their best and even though they did not win that game they stayed really close to winning and it made me happy to see how hardworking the spartans are once it is game mode. I had a great experience and I will always remember my first ever college basketball game.
Austin: Here at The Spear, we divide football game assignments into three positions: the writer gets the press box, while the photographer and social media person watch from the sidelines. I love covering football from the press box. It’s nice and warm, there’s free food and you get the best seats in the house. It’s a great gig.
For the Spartans last game of the 2019 season against Fresno State, I drew the short straw: it was my turn to work social media. Normally, I wouldn’t mind too much. Watching a Division I football rivalry down at field level is as good as it gets. Except it was freezing out. I’m a SoCal kid, even after living in The Bay for over a year I’m still not used to the weather. So I’m down on the field in a pretty thin hoodie recording video on my phone with the wind blowing rain in my face. It was miserable. My hands were numb even before kickoff.
The Senior Night festivities end, and it’s time for the game. The Bulldogs waste no time. 10 minutes in, they’re already up 14-0. Great, my last game as a student, and I’m freezing my butt off watching a blowout in the pouring rain. The entire first half was absolutely miserable. The Spartans only manage a field goal, and the Bulldogs force a safety. 16-3 at the half. Boring game.
I got a chance to warm up with some coffee in the press box at halftime (shoutout to Lawrence Fan). I psyched myself up for the second half. I thought to myself, it’s my last half of football as a student, and I’m on the field taking video. I should try to enjoy it.
The last 30 minutes were easily the most memorable series of events I was able to cover in my time at SJSU. The Spartans mounted a comeback led by Josh Love in his final game, and there were some spectacular plays happening yards away from me.
When the final whistle blew and SJSU pulled off the win by a single point, the entire team rushed to the corner of the field, towards that beautiful Valley Trophy. After a few seconds of debating whether I should join them, I finally said: “screw it, I’m running.” I took off towards the celebration and was able to capture the best video I ever was able to grab for The Spear.
It’s funny how sports work like that. In the most miserable of circumstances, when you’re just wishing you could go home, anything could happen at any time. That day, I learned that even if you think you’d hate it, never say no to an opportunity. You never know what you might miss out on.
Max: The best SJSU game I went to this year was probably the baseball game on Feb. 25. SJSU went on to beat USF by a score of 13-10. In a high scoring game at Excite Ballpark, there were a lot of fireworks. Ruben Ibarra, yes the same Ibarra that just won the Spartan of the Year award, hit a huge 3-run-homerun. The beauty of this game to me was that neither team was truly out of the game. The Spartans did take a commanding lead late in the game but USF was able to make it a close comeback.
As a kid I loved playing baseball and going to a bunch of Oakland Athletics games. In the summer I am an A’s Access holder which allows me to get into every A’s home game for free. Throughout my whole life I have treated baseball as a pastime, I wonder where the nickname, “America’s pastime” comes from? Well it is fair to say that on this Tuesday night time passed as this exciting game took four hours and two minutes. What started as a warm 75 degree night that seemed perfect for baseball slowly turned into a cold windy night. Although I was quite cold at the end of the game, the finish was something I couldn’t keep my eyes off.
With that win, the Spartans were able to gain some momentum by winning at the time their third straight win. The team was as happy as can be and after starting the year by losing five straight games this was the type of momentum they needed to carry going forward. The fans that stayed until the end showed their dedication to the team and just like I did the enjoyed a long but entertaining SJSU baseball game.
Alex: The most memorable SJSU sporting event I covered was when women’s basketball traveled to Reno and took down the Wolf Pack in overtime. Basketball is by far my favorite sport and watching this women’s basketball team prove everyone wrong has been a highlight for me at the Spear. This was by far my favorite team to cover during my time with the Spear. I remember sitting on the edge of my seat as I watched Fieme’a Hafoka’s game-winner. It is hard to find a lot of moments like this in SJSU sports, so seeing this one live was really special to me.
