April 30, 2016
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Josh Nashed recorded a perfect 4-for-4 afternoon and Shane Timmons was not far behind with a 3-for-4 effort as San Jose State topped UNLV, 5-3, Saturday afternoon at Municipal Stadium.
The Spartans (14-28, 6-17 MW) out-hit the Rebels (18-24, 9-11 MW) by a 12-9 tally, though early on it looked like Kenny Oakley (L, 4-5) picked up where D.J. Myers left off yesterday. Oakley held the Spartans to just three hits over the first four innings and kept them scoreless until the fifth inning.
Nashed (4-4, RBI) and Timmons (3-4, RBI) combined for seven of the team's 12 hits, including the two most important knocks of the afternoon. With the game knotted at 3-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Timmons delivered a two-out single to left with runners at the corners to put San Jose State on top for good. Nashed followed up with a base hit through the left side to score Braff with an insurance run to make it 5-3.
Matt Brown (W, 2-5) made the lead stick with 2.1 innings of excellent relief work. The sophomore right-hander yielded just one hit and faced the minimum thanks to a game-ending double play ball. Brown took over for Jonathan Hernandez with two on and two out in the top of the seventh and got out of the jam on three pitches.
Hilario Tovar made his fourth start of the season - his first since March 28 - and tied a career high of 6.0 innings pitched. He scattered six hits and surrendered three runs while walking one and striking out four.
Kyle Isbel's one-out triple to right center in the top of the third set up A.J. VanMeetren's RBI groundout that gave UNLV an early 1-0 lead.
The one-run Rebel lead stood until the fifth, when the Spartans finally broke through off Oakley and plated three runs on five hits. After Michael Breen doubled and Dillan Smith singled to put men on the corner, Aaron Pleschner singled through the left side to give the Spartans their first run of the weekend. Joe Stefanki executed a hit-and-run perfectly with a dribbler through the vacated hole at second base to score drive in Smith, and Ozzy Braff laid down a safety squeeze to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
UNLV answered right back with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to knot the score at 3-3, where it would stay until the decisive bottom of the seventh.
Smith (2-3, run) put together a two-hit ballgame for a second consecutive game. Breen (1-4, run), Pleschner (1-4, two runs, RBI) and Stefanki (1-4, RBI) added hits. Each of the first five hitters in the order drove in a run in the win.
San Jose State calls on Josh Nashed in Sunday's 1:00 p.m. rubber match, while the Rebels will go with Dean Kremer.