SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Jose State baseball started its season 2-0 after a pair of wins against Santa Clara at Stephen Schott Stadium. The Spartans won the first game 8-5 and the second 4-3.
Game One
Senior left-handed pitcher Andrew Mitchel struck out six in 4.0 scoreless innings of work and freshman James Shimashita plated six runs on two hits as San Jose State baseball started the season with an 8-5 win.
Mitchel, the 2018 Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year, picked up where he left off in 2018 as he was spotless in his four innings, walking just three batters and surrendering a pair of hits. He faced 19 batters before being lifted to start the fifth in favor of Nicholas Morales.
Shimashita, an outfielder from San Diego, had an outstanding collegiate debut as he laced a 3-run double to right-center with two outs in the first to plate the game's first runs for the 3-0 lead.
Kellen Strahm opened the fourth with a RBI groundout to make things 4-0 before Shimashita broke the game open on a single to left with the bases loaded. The ball was misplayed by the left fielder allowing all three runners to score and the lead stretched to 7-0.
Shimashita finished the game 2-4 with a double and 4 RBI. Strahm and Connor Konishi each tallied three hits.
The Broncos struck back with four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. Morales gave up a 1-out solo home run and walked three more to load the bases. After a RBI groundout for the second out, he was lifted for senior LHP Zach Wallace, who allowed two runs to score on a base hit before closing the door on the inning with a strikeout.
Wallace (1-0) was credited with the win after 2.0 innings of work with two hits and zero runs allowed.
The Spartans added an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Strahm scored from third on Johnny Mendoza's sac bunt attempt that was misplayed by the first baseman.
Fineas Del Bonta-Smith entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and got the Spartans out of a bases-loaded jam. He returned in the ninth, and after allowing three straight base hits and one run was able to close the door and pick up his first save of the season.
SJSU finished with nine hits and committed zero errors. Santa Clara was charged with five errors, leading to four unearned runs. Starter Keegan McCarville (0-1) was charged with the loss after giving up six runs, four earned, on five hits in 4.1 innings.
Game 2
The second game of the doubleheader saw a low-scoring affair as the Spartans bounced back from giving up three runs in the fourth inning to win 4-3. Shimashita continued his outstanding play as he plated two more runs to bring his total to six for the doubleheader.
Starting pitcher Tevin Cadola pitched 5.0 innings with four strikeouts, and despite giving up all three runs in the fourth, picked up his first win of the season.
Like the first game, the Spartans struck first in the first inning, this time off the bat of Strahm, who plated Konishi on a sac fly to dead center. SJSU scored again on Shimashita's RBI groundout in the fourth to take a 2-0 lead.
Santa Clara answered in the bottom of the fourth, however, scoring on a sac fly to right field before lacing two solo home runs to left-center to take a 3-2 lead. Cadola (1-0) remained in the game and went on to become the pitcher of record after the Spartans regained the lead in the sixth.
It was once again Shimashita who plated the tying run on a single that was misplayed in left field allowing a run to come across. One batter later, he came home himself as Troy Viola knocked him in on a RBI single for the 4-3 advantage.
Senior Josh Zanger took the mound to start the bottom of the sixth in relief of Cadola and pitched an outstanding four innings, surrendering just one hit with zero walks and four strikeouts to pick up the save.
San Jose State and Santa Clara will play one more on Monday at 2:30 p.m. in Santa Clara.
