Three game non-conference recap (Stanford, UC Davis, Pacific)

Stanford at San Jose State: 5/3/2011

Final Score: Cardinal 3 Spartans 1

SJ State: Craig Hertler 3-for-4, Jason Martin 1-for-3 RBI.
Stanford: Brian Ragira 1-for-3 RBI, Tyler Gaffney 1-for-4 RBI

W: Dean McArdle (6-2)-- 5 1/3 IP 3H 0 ER 4 K
L: Roberto Padilla (8-4) -- 5 IP 3 H 1ER 3K
SV: Chris Reed (5)

San Jose State at UC Davis: 5/4/2011

Final Score: Aggies 6 Spartans 5

SJ State: Craig Hertler 4-for-4 with 2 RBI, BB
UC Davis: Scott Heylman 3-for-4 RBI/David Popkins 2-for-3 2 RBI, BB

W: Tom Briner (3-1): 1.1 IP 0 ER 0K
L: Zack Jones (0-2): 1.2 IP 5 ER 2 K (Blown Save)

Pacific at San Jose State: 5/10/2011

Final Score: Spartans 7 Tigers 5

SJ State: Danny Stienstra 1-for-2 HR(2), RBI, 2 BB/Nick Borg 2-for-2, RBI, BB
U of P: Tyger Pederson 2-for-5, 2 RBI/Jason Taasaas 2-for-3, HR(2), 2 RBI, BB

W: Andy Hennessey (3-3): 7 IP 3 ER 7 K
L: Matthew Carvutto (2-2) 2 IP 3 ER 0K
SV: (none)

Spartans swat Hornets to take series

SJSU improved their conference record to 9-7 by taking three of four from Sacramento State over the weekend.
Strong starting pitching was a theme to the weekend for the Spartans, limiting the Hornets to nine runs in the four game series.
Senior pitcher Andy Hennessey pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings in the series finale, helping SJSU rebound from a 2-0 defeat the day before in their only loss during the weekend.
The Spartan's also defeated the Hornets once on Friday (5-3) and once on Saturday (5-4) behind strong pitching performances by Roberto Padilla and Blake McFarland.
Stanford, UC Davis and Pacific will oppose SJSU in the upcoming week before they take a weekend off from conference play.
SJSU will resume WAC play when they travel to play Hawaii for a four game series.
The Rainbow Warriors are atop the WAC standings, but a sweep for the Spartans would give them a better conference record if the weekend were to go in their favor.

SJSU statistical leaders as of April 27, 2011.

Pitching:
Roberto Padilla (7-3) 2.82 ERA (Team-high 70 IP, three complete games) (Opp. hitting .221 vs Padilla)
Blake McFarland (5-2) 5.00 ERA (couple of rough starts inflating ERA)
Estaban Guzman (5-1) 2.76 ERA (0 HR allowed in 45 2/3 IP) (12 BB/53 K) (nearly 5:1 ratio)
Zack Jones (0-1) 2.25 ERA (41 K in 28 IP) (7 saves)

Hitting:
Danny Stienstra .383 BA, 1 HR, 37 RBIs. (Has struck out just six times in 167 at-bats, best in the conference). (.479 SLG, .433 OBP), (0 Errors, 341 put-outs).
Jacob Valdez .336 BA, 1 HR, 14 RBIs. (.437 OBP leads team as a freshman)
Zack Jones .321 BA, 2 HR, 20 RBIs. (team-high .486 SLG %)

Spartans punished by Aggie offense, get redemption against Louisiana Tech.

Following a three day assault that resulted in SJSU yielding more than 11 runs per game in a four game series with New Mexico State -- the Spartans got back on track this weekend by taking three of four at home from the visiting Louisiana Tech Bulldogs to improve their conference record to 6-6.
Senior pitcher Blake McFarland responded by throwing his best game of the season against Louisiana Tech on Saturday, just a week after his worst start of the season against the Aggies where he lasted just three innings and gave up seven earned runs in the loss.
Against Louisiana Tech, McFarland bounced back by tossing a complete game shutout, limiting the Bulldogs to five hits while striking out nine in his fifth win of the season (5-2).
McFarland's gem came in the final game of the series, a 4-0 win that followed the Spartans' 3-2 extra-innnig victory the night before.
The only loss of the series for SJSU came on Friday in the first game of a double-header that by WAC rule is a seven inning contest.
Eric LaBaron started the game for SJSU on the mound, but lasted only one inning in his first start of the season after serving primarily as a relief pitcher in 2011.
LaBaron allowed three runs in the first, but SJSU eventually took the lead 4-3 in the bottom of the fifth inning before freshman Johnny Melero allowed a pair of runs in relief that allowed the Bulldogs to recapture the lead 5-4, this time for good.
Aside from the sole loss, SJSU outscored Louisiana Tech 25-2 in the three games the Spartans' won.
The most lopsided victory came in the first game of the series, a game that saw SJSU score nine runs in the first en route to a 18-0 thumping of the visiting Bulldogs.
Junior pitcher Roberto Padilla pitched six scoreless innings on his way to his team-high seventh win of the season (7-3) and only allowed three base runners in the game (2 hits, 1 BB).
Shortstop Nick Borg had five RBIs to pace the Spartan offense, hitting a pair of triples to cap his 3-for-5 performance.
The 18 runs is the most SJSU has scored in one game in 2011, surpassing the 14 they scored in a win against Wisconsin Milwaukee in March.
SJSU will travel to play Sacramento State this weekend in a four game set, trailing Hawaii (7-1), Fresno State (8-3) and Nevada (4-3) in the WAC standings.
The Hornets occupy last place with a 1-7 conference mark, but did win a game 2-1 against Fresno State last weekend and defeated St. Mary's 5-4 on Monday to enter having won two of their last three.

SJSU's last two WAC series: (4-4)
Game 1 at New Mexico State: SJSU 5 NMST 9
Game 2 at New Mexico State: SJSU 8 NMST 16
Game 3 at New Mexico State: SJSU 7 NMST 3
Game 4 at New Mexico State: SJSU 8 NMST 20

Game 1 vs. Louisiana Tech: SJSU 18 Louisiana Tech 0
Game 2 vs. Louisiana Tech: SJSU 4 Louisiana Tech 5
Game 3 vs. Louisiana Tech: SJSU 3 Louisiana Tech 2
Game 4 vs. Louisiana Tech: SJSU 4 Louisiana Tech 0

WAC Standings entering this weekend:
1. Hawaii  7-1
2. Fresno  8-3
3. Nevada 4-3
4. SJSU    6-6
5. NMST  5-7
6. LATech 4-8
7. SacST   1-7

Spartans send strong pitching to face fearsome New Mexico State offense

While still lacking recognition from national polls after splitting a series with No. 14 Fresno State, SJSU will travel to face the conference's most prolific offensive unit over the weekend when they play New Mexico State.
The Aggies lead the WAC in nearly every major offensive catagory, helping fuel a 24-8 record and a lineup that is spewing with gaudy batting averages.
Outfielder Tanner Waite leads the WAC, hitting at a clip of .486 entering the weekend while shortstop Ryan Aguayo and second baseman Parker Hipp are both hitting better than .400 in more than 90 at-bats.
Hipp also leads the nation in RBIs with 47.
Mediocre opposition may be feeding the Aggie prowess, but WAC conference will reveal if the 2011 team is as fearsome as their non-conference schedule may suggest.
SJSU now is ranked No. 69 in the NCAA RPI poll after Tuesday's 10-0 win against USF, improving their overall record to 22-11.
Against their toughest opponents (then No. 2 UCLA and then No. 9 Fresno State), SJSU has fared well, posing a 4-3 record against two of the nation's best pitching staffs.
The Spartans' have now won games against UCLA's Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Fresno State's Greg Gonzalez, three pitchers who will likely be among the nation's leaders in ERA, wins and innings pitched.
They had a lead in three of the four games versus Fresno State, watching Sunday's game turn on an 0-2, two-out pitch, that Fresno State first baseman Jordan Ribera sent packing for a three run home run.
SJSU eventually lost 5-3, leaving 11 runners on base and failing to score a run in three separate innings that yielded runners in scoring position with less than two outs.
New Mexico State split their series with Louisiana Tech to open WAC play, averaging less than three runs per game and being victimized by shutouts tiwce by Bulldog pitching.
The two shutouts may be the first sign that the Aggies nonconference schedule may be inflating what appears to be unrealistic offensive numbers half way through the season.
The series starts Friday, with SJSU's Roberto Padilla taking the hill after a strong showing last week against Fresno State in which he pitched into the ninth inning.

SJSU dominates Dons, gets pay back in rematch



The Spartan offense swung their way past USF Tuesday, 10-0.



SJSU beat USF 10-0 on Tuesday, avenging a loss by the same score earlier in the season to the Dons.

Johnny Melero got the start and allowed just one hit in four innings before giving way to D.J. Slaton and John Austin who completed the shutout.

Senior Outfielder Jason Martin had three hits for SJSU, as did freshman second baseman Jacob Valdez who also stole a base.

Martin became SJSU's all-time hit leader just more than a week ago in a game against UC Santa Barbara.

No. 9 Fresno State splits series to open WAC play at SJSU

Fresno State senior first baseman Jordan Ribera awoke from a season-long offensive slumber on Sunday,  sending a three-run home run over the center field fence to break a 2-2 tie and earn No. 9 Fresno State a series split in its four-game series with San Jose State over the weekend.

The 5-3 loss erased SJSU’s bid to take three of four from the defending Western Athletic Conference champions, as the Spartans won the opening game of the series on Friday before splitting a double-header on Saturday. 

“When we’re up two to one in the series, our guys are very well aware of how important the fourth game is,” said head coach Sam Piraro. “Our feeling is that when we play at home, we want to win every series we play.” 

Missed opportunities characterized Sunday’s loss, as SJSU left 11 runners on base and were one strike away from getting out of the seventh inning jam that resulted in Ribera’s tiebreaking blast.

“It was an 0-2 pitch,” said Piraro. “He (Eric LaBaron) obviously didn’t locate it where he wanted to and Ribera turned it into a game winner.”

Ribera now has two home runs in 2011 after leading the nation in that category with 27 last season.

Sophomore third baseman Tyler Christian got the initial scoring started for SJSU with a two-run homerun to left field in the bottom of the fourth

Trailing 2-1 going into the fifth inning against SJSU starting pitcher Andy Hennessey, Fresno State pushed the tying run across with two outs after a base hit by senior shortstop Garrett Weber.

SJSU’s sophomore right fielder Tim Quiery potentially took away a run earlier in the inning, leaving his feet in right-center field to take an extra-base hit away from Fresno State and preserve the lead for the time being.

“Our positioning was very good,” said Quiery. “I got a good jump on the ball and just tried to make a play.”

While Fresno State was able to tie the game later in the inning with Weber’s single, Quiery’s catch prevented what could have been a much bigger inning for the Bulldogs.

“It was a spectacular catch,” Piraro said. “Tim did a great job of diving because he felt he had a chance. He got a great jump on the ball and had the courage to make the play.”

With the game tied 2-2 heading into the bottom the seventh, senior reliever Eric LaBaron set down the first two Bulldog hitters he faced before issuing a walk and a hit batsman to bring Ribera to the plate.

LaBaron got ahead of Ribera with two quick strikes, but his third pitch hung in the zone long enough for last season’s WAC hitter of the year to belt it over the 390 foot mark in centerfield.

“He’s a big time home run hitter,” said Piraro.

SJSU managed to score a run in the bottom of the ninth on senior first baseman Danny Stienstra’s team-leading 29th RBI of the year, raising his average to .382 after a 2-for-4 day at the plate.

Stienstra has been the anchor of the SJSU offense in 2011, batting cleanup and leading the team in RBIs (29), hits (50), average (.382), doubles (12), total bases (62), at-bats (131) and games played (32).

“It really comes down to hard work and being persistent,” said Stienstra. “If you’re not having a good day, you still have to try to maintain a good attitude. I’ve just been trying to stay positive and I think that has helped a lot.”

Sunday’s 5-3 loss put the Spartans at 21-11 overall on the season, while the Bulldogs improved to 22-5 on the season.  

Both teams sit at an even 2-2 in WAC play after the series split.

Despite Sunday’s loss, the Spartans became the first team to defeat Fresno State more than once during a series in 2011 and maintain a winning record (4-3) against teams ranked in the top-10 nationally, taking two games from then ranked No. 2 UCLA earlier in the season.