MORAGA, Calif. – San Jose State baseball was unable to find much success in their midweek nonconference game against Saint Mary's as the Gaels took down the Spartans by a final of 14-1. With the loss, SJSU drops to 18-19 overall, but still hold a four-game lead in the conference standings at 12-6.
The Spartans turned to first-time starter Zach Ertz to make his first collegiate start on the mound. Ertz worked 2.0 innings with two earned runs against while walking four in the start. He was replaced by fellow freshman Ben Polack in the third. Polack also worked 2.0 innings, including a five-run third inning that broke the game wide open.
Despite the lopsided score, SJSU had their chances to chip into the lead, most notably in the third inning as the Spartans loaded the bases with two outs and chased Saint Mary's starter Jonathan Buckley from the game. Nathan Schneider replaced him on the bump and used just one pitch to force a groundout to end the threat.
After opening the game with three-straight base hits, SJSU was held hitless for the remainder of the night while stranding seven men on base. They finally found the scoreboard in the eighth as Ryan Belluomini scored on a wild pitch. Saint Mary's (21-15) tallied 14 runs on 13 hits as they improved to 15-1 at home on the season.
The Spartan pitching staff issued 10 free passes by way of a base on balls while Saint Mary's walked just three. Schneider picked up the win to improve to 2-0 while Ertz was charged with his first loss of the season (0-1).
Bryce Willits led the Gaels at the plate with a 4-for-6 night at the plate with three RBI and a run scored. He was one of eight Gaels to record a hit.
The Spartans will now put the game in the rearview mirror as they turn their sights towards Excite Ballpark where they will host a huge conference series this weekend against rival Fresno State. The Bulldogs check into Friday's game ranking second in the conference standings at 8-6, two games back of SJSU.
