SJSU stays perfect by outlasting Albany in 17 inning affair

The longest game of head coach Sam Piraro’s 24-year tenure at SJSU showcased the Spartans erase a four-run defecit tobeat Albany 6-5 Wednesday night in 17 innings.

SJSU starting pitcher Sean Martin lasted only 3 1//3 innings in his season debut, forcing the bullpen to go the remaining 13 2/3 innings.

“Sean is a lot better than what he showed tonight,” Piraro said. “Albany’s left-handed hitters really handled him so I wanted to find a way to offset that.”

Piraro turned to freshman reliever D.J. Slaton after Drew Bradshaw entered the game but failed to record an out. Slaton struck out both the batters he faced in the inning to keep the deficit at four.

“D.J. kept us in the game both mentally and physically tonight,” Piraro said. “We weren’t scoring a lot of runs so if we go down by six or seven at that point it doesn’t look good.”

            Sophomore third baseman Tyler Christian led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to left field to put the Spartans on the board for the first time.

            Still trailing 4-1 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning, SJSU rallied with a leadoff hit by freshman second baseman Jake Valdez who was making his first start of the year for the Spartans. The Spartans loaded the bases on a Tim Quiery single before Danny Stienstra singled in a run and Anthony Bona tied the game at four with a two-run single.

            SJSU fell behind again in the top half of the eighth but tied the game in the bottom half on Christian’s second home run of the night.

            “I was looking for a fastball,” Christian said. “Luckily, I got one belt-high and didn’t miss it.” 

            The game was tied 5-5 until the bottom of the 17^th inning when SJSU started another rally, this time with two outs and no runners on base. With the bases clear, Christian walked and Valdez was hit by a pitch. Senior outfielder Tommy Gale stepped in with runners at first and second and delivered the game winning hit down the right field line to score Christian and give SJSU the 6-5 victory.

            “It’s all about mental toughness,” Gale said. “I just tried to stay within myself and not do too much. I think that’s why the game went so long because guys were trying too hard at the plate.”

The 17 inning game was Piraro’s longest game since becoming SJSU’s head coach and lasted five hours and twenty three minutes. SJSU next travels to play UCLA on Friday to begin a three game series over the weekend at Jackie Robinson Stadium in Los Angeles.