SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State baseball picked up their third-straight win on Tuesday night as the Spartan offense posted big numbers in a 13-10 marathon victory over the University of San Francisco Dons. SJSU put up at least four runs in three different innings and held off a late USF comeback attempt to improve to 3-5 on the season.
The teams combined for 23 runs and 28 hits for the evening in a game that spanned 4:02.
The scoring barrage began in the second inning as the Spartans plated the first five runs. Robert Hamchuk plated the first on a RBI single and Santiago Cantu scooted home on a wild pitch. Ruben Ibarra then dug in and whacked a 3-run homer out of the park in the left-center, his second round-tripper of the young season.
For the next three innings, it was the Dons' turn to put up the numbers as they scored one run in the third and fourth and tacked on two more in the fifth to cut their deficit to 5-4. The Spartan offense roared right back in the bottom of the fifth, however, as the plated four more runs to take a commanding 9-4 advantage.
With two outs, Drew Williams drove in the first run on a RBI single that plated Ibarra, who slid safely into home just before the Dons' catcher got his mitt down. A bases-loaded walk and hit-by-pitch allowed two more runs to scratch across before Hamchuk doubled up on his RBI count with a single to centerfield. Ryan Belluomini was thrown out at the plate on the play to end the inning.
Not satisfied with the already sizable lead, the Spartans tacked on four more runs in the sixth. Reece Hernandez brought in the first on a RBI double. Troy Viola then plated two of his own on a single left, and crossed the plate himself on a RBI triple to dead center by Dalton Bowling.
Leading 13-4, it appeared as if the work was all but done, but USF had other ideas as they began to methodically chip away in the final two innings. They plated five runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth before a strikeout ended the contest with the tying run at the plate.
Ibarra and Hamchuk's two-hit nights led the way for the Spartan offense that tallied 11 hits for the evening. Nine different players in the lineup ended up with a hit. On the other side, the Dons tallied 17 hits of their own with four players ending with multi-hit nights. Nick Yovetich led the way with a 4-for-5 performance.
Despite working just the opening three innings, Spartan starting pitcher Ben Polack picked up the win, his first of the season. The southpaw racked up five strikeouts with four hits allowed before giving way to the bullpen. Trevor Allen, Dom Eberle, Jake Hernandez and Jonathan Wiltfang all made an appearance on the hill. Wiltfang had an especially strong outing as he worked the final 1.2 innings, holding the Dons' offense to three hits and one run to hold off the comeback bid.
USF starter Eric Reyzelman (1-1) was charged with the loss and was replaced after just 1.2 innings. The Dons used eight relievers in the loss.
The Spartans return to action for a four-game home set against Utah Valley beginning on Friday. First pitch is set for 6:00 p.m. PT.
