SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State put one in the win column as they took down Creighton, 8-4, Saturday at Excite Ballpark to even the series. The Spartans tallied a season-high 13 hits in the victory.
"I'm just really proud of our effort," head coach Brad Sanfilippo said. "It's the second game of the second weekend, and things obviously haven't started the way we wanted them to as far as wins and losses, but I think our guys have done a good job of keeping things in perspective and showing up to the yard to do the work necessary to win. I'm really happy that they get to feel this today knowing that they have been putting in the right stuff. They went through a little bit of adversity at the beginning of the year, but have done a good job of staying together and supporting each other."
SJSU (1-5) used a monster opening inning to take an early 6-0 lead that they never surrendered. After Troy Viola hit a two-out double to put two runners in scoring position, a fielding error on the Creighton third baseman allowed the first run to come across as Ruben Ibarra scooted home from third. Dalton Bowling then played Viola on a RBI single and Alec Ackerman followed suit with a RBI double of his own to make it 3-0.
The next batter up was Ruben Mercado who hit a routine grounder to short, but the ball slipped past the shortstop to allow Bowling to score. Junior outfielder Jack Colette then put a bow on the inning with a 2-RBI double to dead center for the 6-0. All six runs came with two outs and were unearned.
"It was nice to score early to give ourselves a little bit of a cushion," Sanfilippo said. "The six-spot was nice to probably relieve a little bit of tension, and we knew that there was still going to be a game and that Creighton was going to come back. They're a good team. The game obviously wasn't over, but it was a nice start that allowed us to just pitch and settle in."
Creighton (3-2) began to claw back beginning in the third as they plated a pair of runs, but the Spartans tacked on two insurance runs of their own in the sixth as Konishi laced a 2-RBI single to left with two outs.
The Bluejays made an attempt at some late inning drama as they put themselves in a solid position in the eighth. A bases-loaded hit by pitch plated one run and another came across on a fielder's choice. Spartan reliever Jonathan Clark was unfazed however and struck out the next batter looking to put an end to the threat.
Clark (1-1) picked up the win after working the final five innings. The sophomore from San Diego gave up just three hits while striking out six. He relieved starter Kevin Kyle to start the fourth. Kyle was also solid in his second outing with the Spartans, scattering seven hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts.
The SJSU offense had five players finish with multiple hits and seven of the starting lineup record at least one hit. Ibarra led the way with a three-hit afternoon, including a double. Viola and Colette each finished with two hits, including a double while Ackerman and James Shimashita tallied a pair of base hits each.
Creighton starting pitcher Ryan Windham (0-2) was charged with the loss and was chased from the game after the first inning. The Bluejays tallied 10 hits as a team and left 12 runners on.
The rubber match between the Spartans and Bluejays is set for 12:00 p.m. PT tomorrow.