The San Jose State baseball team pulled off a hard-fought 14-11 victory through extra innings Sunday against the University of California, Davis.
After splitting the series’ first two games, the Spartans (6-13 MWC) faced the Aggies (11-30 BWC) during their final game at Dobbins Field in Davis.
The game started slow for the Spartans with the Aggies taking a 4-1 lead after four innings.
The Aggies scored twice in the bottom of the first. Jalen Smith opened the inning with a triple and Cooper Morrison singled him home. Three batters later Michael Campagna drew a bases-loaded walk to drive in Morrison for a 2-0 lead.
First baseman Dalton Bowling got the Spartans on the board with a sacrifice fly to right field in the second inning that allowed center fielder Jack Colette to bring in the team’s first run.
Despite Davis’ promising start, SJSU blew the game open with a six-run rally in the fifth inning as shortstop Ruben Mercado belted a solo home run to left field to get it started.
First baseman Ruben Ibarra followed Mercado’s homer with an RBI single driving in second baseman Jackson Forbes.
Colette hit an RBI single shortly after that allowing designated hitter Ruben Hernandez to make it home.
Infielder James Shimashita added an RBI base hit to the left side to plate Ibarra.
Shimashita and Colette scored off catcher Andrew Jurado’s RBI single, putting the Spartans ahead 7-4 after the fifth inning.
But the Aggies didn’t give up so easily and added three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the score 7-7.
Jurado hit a two-run single to left field at the top of the ninth, plating third baseman Bowling and infielder Shimashita.
Hernandez and Jurado were driven home by pinch hitter Charles McAdoo and added another two-run single to increase the Spartans’ lead to 11-7.
The Aggies came right back in an energetic ninth-inning rally after consecutive singles, two hit-by-pitches and a fielder’s choice decreased their deficit to three runs.
Jake Brandel then hit a two-run single that drove home infielder Jalen Smith and catcher Michael Campagna to tie the score which forced extra innings.
The Spartans reclaimed the lead in the eleventh after a scoreless tenth inning for both teams.
Hernandez broke the tie with an RBI single that brought home Forbes and a center field error enabled Mercado to score while Hernandez touched second.
Kai Saterstrom put down a sacrifice bunt to advance Hernandez to third with one out on the board. Colette then drew an intentional walk to load the bases and build pressure for the Aggies.
The game changer came when Bowling sent a sacrifice fly into right-center field and Hernandez touched home, putting the Spartans up 14-11.
Spartans reliever Sean Prozell closed the bottom of the eleventh out easily with a 1-2-3 inning.
It was Prozell’s first season win and second scoreless frame out of the bullpen.
Following SJSU’s win and Prozell’s impressive finish, the SJSU baseball Twitter account tweeted Sunday “more like sean PROzell am I right.”
The Spartans are scheduled to visit the University of California, Berkeley at Evans Diamond on Tuesday at 3 p.m.
