Grand Prairie, Texas - San Jose State baseball trailed CSU Bakersfield 4-3 in the fifth inning, but allowed seven unanswered runs for an 11-3 loss on opening day of the Western Athletic Conference Championship Tournament in Grand Prairie, Texas.
After allowing two runs in each of the first two innings, Spartans' catcher Dane Lund hit a bases clearing double in the fifth, cutting the Roadrunners lead to 4-3. Kalei Contrades doubled, Richie Johnson singled and Ricky Acosta was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Lund.
Lund's three RBI was all the Spartans could muster against CSU Bakersfield's Jeff McKenzie (13-2), the 2013 WAC Pitcher of the Year. McKenzie threw a complete-game, scattering ten hits while striking out three.
In the second inning, McKenzie got out of a jam with runners on first and second when Contrades lined into a 3-6 triple play. First baseman Dylan Christensen caught the line drive for one, stepped on the bag to double up one runner and fired to second to double up the other.
SJSU starter David Wayne Russo threw 6.1 innings allowing nine hits, ten runs, five earned, to go with three strikeouts and two walks. Two throwing errors in the Spartans infield led to unearned runs in both the second and fifth innings.
"Two bad throwing errors killed us today," said San Jose State head coach Dave Nakama. "You can't expect to win when you make plays like that. The game could have been a lot different."
The Roadrunners opened up an 8-3 lead with four runs in the fifth after one of the throwing erros. They tacked on three more in the seventh to make it 11-3. Catcher Frank Martinez finished 2-for-4 with four RBI while Oscar Sanay and Mylz Jones each tallied two RBI for the game.
San Jose State had ten hits in the game from five players who all hit safely twice.
The Spartans continue action in the pool-play style WAC Tournament tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. against UTSA. Right hander Kyle Hassna (3-5, 2.50) will start for SJSU while UTSA sends lefty Michael Kraft (5-5, 4.02) to the mound.
Pool A Composite Standings:
CSUB 1-0
UTSA 1-0
SJSU 0-1
SAC 0-1