SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State baseball was unable to keep the win streak rolling as they suffered a 13-2 defeat to Portland Monday at Excite Ballpark.
The Pilots plated 12 runs in the first three innings to take control of the contest and never looked back. Five of the runs came way of the long ball as Cody Hawken blasted a three-run shot to break the game open in the first inning at 4-0 and Daniel Lopez plated two more with a two-run shot in the second inning. Portland struck for four runs in the first, five in the second and three in the third innings.
Following the scoring barrage through three innings, SJSU settled in and the Spartan bullpen performed well for the rest of the day. Zach Wallace, Finn Del Bonta-Smith, Justin Watland and Jackson Ertz combined for just four hits and one run allowed over the final five innings.
The Spartans offense broke through in the fourth inning for a pair of runs to break up the shutout. James Shimashita singled home Nico Malbrough and Troy Viola plated the other on a deep sacrifice fly to right field. SJSU finished with just five hits on the game, with Malbrough leading the way with a pair of singles.
SJSU starter Ben Polack was charged with the loss to drop to 1-3. Pilot starter Nate Packard (3-1) pitched 7.0 innings with four hits and two runs against to pick up the win.
With the loss, SJSU drops to 17-16 overall but still hold a three-game lead in the conference standings at 11-4. They return to the diamond this weekend as they travel to Las Vegas for a three-game set against UNLV.