FRESNO, Calif. – San Jose State baseball senior left-hander Andrew Mitchel tossed 4.0 innings and allowed just two runs, but came up on the wrong end of a pitcher's duel with Fresno State's Ryan Jensen as the Spartans dropped the first game of the series 3-1 Friday evening at Pete Bieden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
Mitchel struck out just three batters and put eight runners on via base on balls, but he was solid when the Spartans needed him most. Down 3-1 in the fourth inning, Fresno State loaded the bases with two outs threatening to break the game open, however Mitchel waved the final batter to end the frame.
Unfortunately, the Spartan offense was unable to back Mitchel up as they found little success against Jensen, who went 7.0 innings with four strikeouts and three walks issued, as SJSU tallied just three hits against him. One of the three came off the bat of freshman James Shimashita in the second inning as he plated Blake Berry on a single up the middle for the Spartans' lone run.
Fresno State (10-5, 2-2) scored two off of Mitchel (1-3) in the first inning on a single through the left side and a fielder's choice. They tacked on one more in the second inning on a fielding error with two outs to take the decisive 3-1 advantage.
Mitchel was lifted after four innings for Nick Morales, who surrendered just one hit over 3.0 innings with three strikeouts. Senior Zach Wallace pitched the final inning with just one walk allowed. Overall, the Spartan pitching unit held Fresno State to just four hits and stranded 14 Bulldog runners on base.
Jensen picked up the win to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Spartans dropped to 12-9, 6-4 but still hold the lead in the conference standings.
Game two in Fresno begins Saturday at 6:05 p.m. PT.