March 2, 2016
SAN JOSE, Calif. - One night after finding some ninth-inning magic, San Jose State's baseball team fell 90 feet short Wednesday night and dropped its first-ever contest with No. 20 Michigan, 6-5.
San Jose State (4-6) got a leadoff infield single by Justin Beck (1-4, run), and then a walk and wild pitch put the tying and winning runs in scoring position. The Wolverines (7-2) made a call to bullpen, though, and Mac Lozer induced a pair of groundouts to pull out the save.
The Spartans took advantage of a walk and Michigan error to take a 1-0 lead in the third. After Aaron Pleschner (1-2, run, walk) bunted the two men over, Hunter Tidwell (0-2, run, sac fly, RBI) lofted a ball to center deep enough for Beck to score.
Michigan bounced back with a run in the fourth and a four in the fifth, though, and looked every part of the No. 20 team in the country.
In the bottom half, San Jose State responded with four runs of their own to pull back even at five apiece. A base hit, hit batter and pair of walks scored the Spartans' second run of the game and left the bases loaded for Shane Timmons, who tripled to center field to clear the bases and tie the game. David Campbell (1-4) laced the next pitch to the right side, but an outstanding play by the Wolverines' second baseman denied what would have been a Spartan lead.
U-M carried the momentum into the top of the sixth and plated a two-out run on a walk and double. That one proved to be all it would need, as Lozer and two other Wolverine pitchers combined to keep the Spartans off the board in the final three frames.
San Jose State heads to Las Vegas for its first road and conference games of the season when it takes on UNLV this weekend.