San Jose State baseball opened up its season Friday with a four-game series at Excite Ballpark in San Jose against the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
The Spartans had the upper hand in the series, defeating the Mavericks in three of the four games.
Friday’s game concluded with the Spartans lighting up the score board and securing a victory over the Mavericks 14-9.
Outfielder Robert Hamchuk led the offensive attack with a homerun bomb which gave the Spartans their first points of the season in the bottom of the first inning.
“Originally my approach was not to swing the first pitch but I went up there and set the tone,” Hamchuk said. “I was just ready to hit.”
He said this gave him the opportunity to set the bar for the team and build momentum and faith for everyone to last through the weekend series.
The Mavericks put up 4 points and the Spartans another 2 points in a big third inning, which set up for an exciting fourth inning with the game tied 4-4.
Infielder Theo Hardy broke the tie when he hit a three run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning which gave the Spartans all the momentum entering the fifth inning with a four-run lead 8-4.
“We’re going to do some great things, our hitters are always going to score a bunch of runs and we’re going to get a lot of zeros on the board,” SJSU pitcher Ethan Ross said.
Friday's 14-9 victory over the Mavericks was the Spartans’ first home-opening win since 2018.
Saturday started off rough for the Spartans as they played a double-header that had the Mavericks stealing the first game of two with a 15-0 shutout over the Spartans.
SJSU left-handed pitcher Corey Sanchez said team members acknowledged that they had a bad game but made sure they came back stronger.
“That's how college baseball works, you [have] to wash out the last game no matter if it's a win or loss and just get right to the next one,” Sanchez said.
The turnaround was quick for both teams as they concluded Saturday’s double-header, but this time it favored the Spartans as they secured a 5-4 victory.
SJSU Utility player Hunter Dorraugh and catcher Omar Gastelum stepped up for the team Saturday, as they hit three home runs in total, giving a much needed bounce-back victory.
Saturday marked Gastelum’s first home run of his SJSU career during the third inning.
“That was my first division home run, it meant a lot,” Gastelum said. “It was a family effort today, seeing all my boys right there around second base, it was a nice feeling.”
SJSU left-handed pitcher Micky Thompson emphasized the family dynamic in the team because players support each other during every game.
Thompson said he appreciates the relationship he has with Gastelum, who helped him through the game when things weren't going the way he expected.
“Omar is great behind the plate, he was like ‘I'm going to talk to you, I'm going to work with you,’” Thompson said. “It's huge to have that trust with him behind the bench.”
Sunday was the series finale of the opening weekend and the Spartans put out another impressive offensive performance closing the series with another win against the Mavericks 14-11.
Designated hitter Charles McAdoo hit a grand slam during the fifth inning, leading Dorraugh, outfielder Jack Colette and Hamchuk to home base.
McAdoo’s grand slam led the team score from 6 to 10.
Dorraugh hit a home run during the sixth inning which marked his third home run of the opening weekend series.
This marked the Spartan’s first season opening series win since winning a series against Santa Clara University in 2019.
Sunday’s game set the record for the Spartan’s most home runs and hits since last year, when they won against UC Davis with a score of 14 to 11.
SJSU Head baseball coach Brad Sanfilippo said he is looking forward to a normal season after the coronavirus pandemic began.
The team traveled a lot the past couple of seasons so playing a home game is refreshing, Sanfilippo said.
“It feels nice to come out and celebrate some normalcy, play well and get a win,” he said.
The SJSU baseball team is scheduled to play one home game at the Excite Ballpark against University of Northern Colorado on Tuesday Feb, 22 at 3:05 p.m.
