May 17, 2018
San Jose, Calif. --- After Shane Timmons hit a leadoff double to left center in the sixth, Johnny Mendoza singled up the middle with two outs to break the 1-1 tie en route to a 3-1 win over Air Force in a key Mountain West game for both teams.
Mendoza went 2-for-4 with an RBI Thursday night and recorded his third game-winning RBI in the last six games. "I can't say enough about how clutch he has been," said interim head coach Brad Sanfilippo. "You need big hits to win games, and his approach has been awesome."
Timmons was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI. In the first inning, he helped the Spartans (24-28, 14-14 MW) take a 1-0 lead when he singled to right field to plate Brett Bautista (1-for-3, R). SJSU is 9-3 when leading after the first.
Jake Swiech (4-3) earned the win for the Spartans after pitching a season-high 6.0 innings, and allowing one run to the Falcons. In the last three weeks, Swiech has pitched against three top-10 ranked teams in national batting average and has allowed eight earned runs in 15.1 innings. Six of those runs came against UNLV.
"I felt pretty comfortable sending an experienced senior to the mound today against a really good offense," added Sanfilippo. "He went out and did a really great job. I am really happy for him, and how he has been able to pitch so well at the end of the season."
Justin Watland relieved Swiech in the seventh and threw a critical shutout inning to maintain the 2-1 lead.
Fineas Del Bonta-Smith (4-3) closed the game for the Spartans striking out three of the six batters he faced. He earned his fifth save of the season in the process.
The Spartans will return to action tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. inside Municipal Stadium.
If they win, they will qualify for the Mountain West Tournament. Air Force (24-28, 12-14 MW) lost its third conference game in its last four outings.
You can purchase buy one, get one free tickets for the game using this link: Tickets