May 4, 2016
SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose State needed every bit of the seven-run lead it once held in Wednesday night's showdown with Grand Canyon, as the Lopes put together a six-run ninth inning and came up just short in a 7-6 Spartan victory.
With the win, the Spartans (15-30) worked a series split with the Lopes (22-21-1) after dropping last night's contest in extra innings.
Wednesday's ballgame was all San Jose State through through the first eight innings. The Spartans scored three in the first, one in the third, two in the seventh and one more in the eighth. Three different hurlers combined to hold the Lopes to no runs on two hits to that point.
Zach Wallace (W, 2-2) did the bulk of the work. The freshman southpaw nearly doubled his previous season high in innings, going 6.2 innings - the first 6.0 of which he yielded just a hit. He ran into trouble in the ninth, though, and was tagged for three runs. Zach Tanner took over and could not get an out in the five hitters he faced, but Jake Swiech (S, 2) was able to come on and leave the tying run at third base to end the game.
The eventual winning run came off the bat of Mitch Ravizza in the eighth inning. The senior came on as a pinch hitter with two on and two out and delivered an infield single that allowed Shane Timmons to score the Spartans' seventh run of the night.
Timmons (4-5, two runs, two RBIs) put together his first career four-hit game, including a pair of RBI singles. Brendt Citta (2-4, run, two RBIs) joined Timmons with multiple hits and swatted a two-run single in the first inning. Michael Breen (1-4, run, walk, RBI), Joe Stefanki (1-5), Ozzy Braff (1-4, double, two runs, walk), Mitch Ravizza (1-1, RBI) and Dilan Smith (1-4, RBI) contributed to the 11-hit attack.
San Jose State heads to Nevada for a weekend set with the Wolf Pack beginning Friday at 6:00 p.m. from Peccole Park.