Maloney Field had a blast from the past Saturday afternoon as the 2012 SF State baseball team faced off against the Gators alumni. Both teams displayed powerful offenses but the alumni came out on top with a 9-8 victory.
SF State hasn’t held a baseball alumni game in a while.
“We haven’t had an alumni game in 10 to 15 years,” said Kevin Dultz, who graduated in 2011. “I don’t really care if we won or not. It was just a great time to see all of the guys.”
The 2012 Gators jumped to lead, with two runs in the first inning.
The SF State alumni answered back when Ryan Hill hit a sacrifice fly that sent Dultz home for the first run in the top half of the second inning.
Balls started to fly in the fourth inning when alumni Matt Edgecombe and Matt Memeo both hit RBIs. Immediately after, Dultz hit a single, scoring Memeo from second base.
“I just saw him take off,” Dultz said. “The ball was up so I just swung.”
The Gators alumni team maintained their momentum with another four runs in the fifth inning.
SF State Gators head coach Mike Cummins had the answer in the bottom of the fifth inning, when he substituted Matt Quintero as a pinch hitter for catcher Mark Lindsay. Quintero hit an RBI double, sending home third baseman Miguel Flores and left fielder Thomas Wood.
Coming off the bench, Quintero knew that with players in scoring position he needed to make contact with the ball.
“I was just trying to get the ball in the air,” he said.
Shortstop Sam Wilkins followed his example with a single to right field, batting in first baseman Tyler Tulowitzki.
The Gators inched forward in the sixth inning as center fielder Dustin Wold creeped into scoring position and tagged home plate on a throwing error by alumnus Bobby Carini. The 2012 Gators now trailed 7-9.
The last play of the game rested on the bat of second baseman Danny Souza, who seemed to find himself in hopeless positions throughout the entire game.
In the bottom of the second inning he struck out swinging, grounded out in the fourth, was out at third in the fifth, then found himself in the middle of a double play in the in seventh. Souza’s last play of the day came as no surprise as he hit a fly ball to right field, giving the alumni team a 9-8 win.
According to Cummins, the game was meant to get the players’ “feet wet.” It was a chance to give his athletes some playing time in front of a crowd before the regular season started. Though he did notice some improvement in the team, he sees room for improvement, especially in the outfield.
“We just got to get better everyday,” he said.
