Spartans remain undefeated, improve to 3-0 with win over UC Davis

San Jose State 5 UC Davis 4

Strong starting pitching and timely hitting paced the Spartans to their third win in a row to open the 2011 season as SJSU (3-0) bested the Aggies of UC Davis (1-3) Tuesday 5-4.

The Spartans rode starter Esteban Guzman for the first five innings and held a 3-1 lead courtesy of RBIs by shortstop Zack Jones and first baseman Danny Stienstra before SJSU called to the bullpen in the sixth.

Guzman, a junior, finished five innings of work while allowing just one run while scattering five hits in his first start of the season.

Freshman reliever Johnny Molero was first out of the pen for SJSU and worked 1.1 innings before head coach Sam Piraro turned to reliever Jason Kafka with a runner on second and one out.

Kafka proceeded to throw a wild pitch and walked two batters to load the bases, but was able to strike out the Aggies’ Scott Heylman for the second out of the seventh.

The next Aggies’ hitter erased the Spartans’ comfortable 3-1 lead on a single swing of the bat as David Popkins  belted a three-run triple to the alley in left field to clear the bases.

Popkins ended up standing on third as his seventh inning hit allowed UC Davis to recapture the lead for the first time since the third inning. UC Davis remained on top 4-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

            The Spartans’ own late-inning fireworks erupted in the home half of inning seven, as senior center fielder Jason Martin legged out a ground ball with two outs to extend the inning and bring Tim Quiery to the plate.

            Quiery followed suit with a hit of his own to plate the tying run and even the game at 4-4. However, the Spartans were unable to add insurance to their lead in the seventh , failing to score with the bases loaded and one out.

            With the score tied in the eighth, sophomore third baseman Tyler Christian put the Spartans ahead to stay with an RBI-double that scored Stienstra and gave SJSU the lead back at 5-4. Stienstra was the lone Spartan with multiple hits and finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

            With the lead going into the ninth inning, SJSU stuck with reliever Eric LaBaron preserve the Spartans’s first one-run victory of the season.

LaBaron (1-0) earned the win in relief, holding the Aggies scoreless over 2.1 innings of work and snuffing Davis’ scoring threat in the ninth. LaBaron was the only Spartan pitcher not charged with an earned run on the night.

            The Spartans return to the diamond tonight at home against Albany in their bid to remain undefeated. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. against the Great Danes.