The San José State baseball team squared off with the University of San Francisco at Excite Ballpark and suffered a tight loss of 5-2.
SJSU (8-17, 4-8 MW) came in at fifth place in the Mountain West Conference while USF (15-10, 0-0 WCC) entered the game in seventh place in the West Coast Conference.
The Spartans had solid pitching in the game, led by sophomore right-handed pitcher Cade Cushing and Corey Sanchez, redshirt senior and left-handed pitcher.
Cushing led as starting pitcher and struck out two batters in three innings. Sanchez played relief pitcher and struck out a pair of batters in two innings.
An SJSU error in the third inning gave momentum to USF. Cushing in addition to a double by freshman infielder Charles-Étienne Pelletier that put the Dons up 2-0.
Junior right-handed pitcher Nolan George added to SJSU’s pitching woes when he gave up a double to USF in the fourth inning, putting SJSU at a 3-0 deficit.
The Dons sealed SJSU’s fate when USF junior infielder Matty Fung singled into right field advancing to second, picking up two RBIs allowing graduate student outfielder Logan Leax and senior catcher Michael Campagna.
SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo said there is room for improvement for the team.
“It was a close game, the more stuff you give away, the more opportunity you have to have those things come back to bite you,” Sanfilippo said. “(There was) some decent fight. We got the tying run on first base in the ninth inning, but we gotta figure out a way at some point to figure out how to win that game.”
A combination of hits from redshirt senior and outfielder Robert Hamchuk and sophomore outfielder Neil Jansen gave hope for a SJSU comeback in the sixth inning.
Meanwhile, senior shortstop Theo Hardy picked up an RBI while grounding out to second base in the sixth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Hamchuk doubled down and scored the first point while Hardy grounded the ball to second base.
Jansen scored the final point of the night for SJSU off a double hit by Hamchuck that led to the last and his only RBI of the game.
“I just think it’s experience,” Sanfilippo said. “As coaches we continue to search for answers and try to figure out the right combination of players. We've not figured (that) out up to this point.”
Senior catcher Matt Spear batted in the ninth inning but was unable to answer the surge by USF.
“From a defensive standpoint, you know, just hanging as many zeros as possible would be the main goal,” Spear said. “Zeros are big especially when our bats are coming alive at the end of the game.”
Fung had five at bats, three hits and two RBIs to lead the visiting team.
I thought we did a good job on the bullpen to keep the game close for sure,” Sanfilippo said. “Obviously, the ninth inning got away from us which is disappointing.”
SJSU is scheduled to play UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Mar. 28 at 4:05 p.m. in Santa Barbara, Calif.
