San Jose State baseball held its home opener against Cal Poly on Monday, at Excite Ballpark where the game was stopped at the end of the eighth inning because of lack of night light availability on the pitch.
The game was postponed to April 18 in San Luis Obispo.
After the eighth inning, with the Mustangs leading 11-10, the game was stopped because the field got dark.
Junior shortstop Theo Hardy went 3-for-5 and batted in three runs. Junior right fielder Charles McAdoo went 2-for-3 while recording a homerun.
Starting pitcher Ethan Ross would only pitch two innings, striking out three while only giving up one run.
McAdoo said the team wanted to set the tone early for their home opener.
“We just got to keep our heads down and work,” McAdoo said. “I feel like we are all solid right now. As the year progresses, we're going to keep getting better and that's all that matters.”
The Spartans came in hot after taking 2-of-3 against Loyola Marymount University and looked like they were going to add another win to their column, but their bullpen couldn’t corral the Mustangs.
The Spartans started the game with an explosive bang as McAdoo would hit a solo home run, giving the Spartans an early 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
“I was looking for something up in the zone and that's what I got,” McAdoo said. “I hammered it.”
The offense continued its momentum throughout the first few innings, scoring four runs in the second fourth inning that included a second inning RBI single by junior left fielder Robert Hamchuk that extended the SJSU lead to 9-3.
The Spartans’ did not hold onto that lead as Cal Poly battled back to score seven runs in the top of the seventh inning.
SJSU Pitcher Cade Cushing opened the seventh inning, giving up a lead-off single and eventually gave up three runs.
Corey Sanchez would relieve Cushing, but couldn’t finish the inning after giving up two hits and two walks. Junior Cade Van Allen came in to relieve Sanchez later in the seventh inning.
With two outs and the bases loaded, the Spartans were clinging out to a 9-9 tie when Van Allen threw a wild pitch allowing Cal Poly to take their first lead of the game 10-9.
SJSU responded with a run of their own in the bottom of seventh inning, but once again the Spartans could not stop Cal Poly in the eighth.
The Spartans allowed another run in at the top of the eighth inning which gave the Mustangs an 11-10 lead.
The umpires would call the game in the bottom of the eighth inning after the field grew dark with the Spartans home stadium not having lighting equipment.
“I was really happy with our effort early, especially offensively, to come out and score to extend our lead 9-3,” said Head Coach Brad Sanfilippo. “We’re learning some good things about our club and I think our guys learned a lesson today in terms of just understanding that regardless of what the lead is, you have to play and pitch aggressively.”
The Spartans relief pitching has struggled in late-game situations this season as they have given up a total of 16 runs past the seventh inning.
“We’re trying to figure out who can fill those roles,” Sanfilippo said. “We need to figure out the back end for sure, that’s a piece right now that hasn’t been what we would like it to be.”
The SJSU baseball team is scheduled to play in a four-game series against the University of Washington starting at 1:05 p.m. on Thursday at Excite Ballpark in San Jose.
