Wild pitches from California State University, Los Angeles and a strong pitching performance from right-hander Ryan Garza helped San Francisco State University take a 9-5 win in the series opener on Friday.
The Gators seek to clinch a postseason spot as the fourth seed in the California Collegiate Athletic Association baseball standings after improving their record to 25-20. With a winning score of .556, they rank just below California State University, Monterey Bay with a .622 winning score.
Head coach Tony Schifano was pleased with the advantage the Gators could get because of Garza’s performance on the mound. The junior righty pitched seven strong innings with 105 pitches and six strikeouts.
“He pitched extremely well,” Schifano said. “[He] gave us a chance; we kind of started off slow offensively, and we’re kind of scraping away to score some runs — and then we just kind of broke out.”
Garza said he was glad to give his team the strong outing they needed to focus on the game offensively after allowing five walks in his last game.
“Based on my last outing, I’ve had a little more walks than I’d like to,” Garza said. “So the mindset today was just fill up my own attack and let my stuff work.”
Schifano was proud to see the Gators take advantage of the wild pitches thrown by the CSULA pitchers, Owen Hunt and Dorsey Chatham, allowing SFSU to score three runs on just wild pitches.
As the Gators finish their last home series, they attempt to advance to the playoffs while playing against the seventh seed, CSULA.
Infielder Jacob French had a productive outing, going 3-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs, adding to his team-leading record of 63 hits this season. He also scored a run and drove in a run, helping the team win the game over CSULA.
“I’m always pretty aggressive early in the count,” French said. “I like to see the fastball early, which I haven’t been getting a lot this season, but whenever I get it, I like it a lot. I hammered up the middle singles, and then later in the count they threw a lot of off speeds. Try not to do too much. Keep it simple.”
The Gators were patient while CSULA threw a couple of wild pitches, hit three players at the plate, and allowed nine walks in the game. The Gators made the most of their errors and took the final 9-5 lead.
French said that SFSU is eager to take that playoff spot and how they’re making these last games count.
“We’re a little banged up right now,” French said. “We’re all trying to get healthy and right now we’re pushing to make the playoffs. Get up and I got to dig in — win a couple of games.”
With four games left in the season, the graduating seniors will be missed by their fellow teammates. Garza touched on how he’s excited to see how they close the season.
“Glass half full type of deal,” Garza said. “Obviously, they know they’re on their last run, but it’s also their time to give it everything they got because there’s no repercussions. Just a lot of respect for them and standing through honesty with the program and it’s gonna be fun. Excited to see.”
