The San José State baseball team opened its weekend series with an 8-3 win over Grand Canyon University on Friday night at Excite Ballpark, strengthening its push toward a spot in the Mountain West Tournament.
Senior Jake McCoy opened the scoring in the first inning on a sacrifice fly, giving the Spartans an early 1-0 lead.
McCoy delivered again in the third inning with a two-run home run, moving up to seventh all-time in home runs for the season in SJSU history.
McCoy said he’s focused on the team’s success rather than individual milestones.
“Honestly, it feels good,” McCoy said. “Started the season off a little bit at a struggle for sure, took a day off. … I haven’t really been paying attention to the whole all the time list, but we’re just trying to get as many as we can and a big thing is the wins.”
Junior JC Osorio-Agard hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, bringing home McCoy and freshman Peyton Rowles to give the Spartans a 6-1 lead.
On the mound, senior right-hander David Thomas delivered a complete-game performance, keeping the Antelopes off balance for most of the night.
Thomas limited baserunners and controlled the game from start to finish.
He said he focused on staying ahead and keeping things simple on the mound.
“I’m just getting ahead with twice pitch strikes and keeping them off the bases and the offense did their thing, so it was easy to go out there and do it,” Thomas said.
After giving up a home run in the top of the eighth inning, Thomas stayed composed and quickly settled back in.
“It was a solo shot home run, so it doesn’t hurt much – just keep going after the hitters,” Thomas said. “We got a little unlucky with the pop fly … but you know, just attacking again and not letting it affect you.”
GCU made a push in the eighth inning, scoring two runs to cut into the lead.
The Spartans quickly responded in the bottom half.
Alex Fernandes hit a triple, and senior Rocco Caballero followed with a two-run home run to extend the lead back and help secure the win.
Thomas said the offense made his job easier on the field, helping him stay relaxed after giving up runs.
“When you put up eight runs, it’s easy to go out there and pitch,” Thomas said. “Rocco gave up two, then we came back and scored two. It’s easy to go back out there, you don’t need to use the bullpen.”
Caballero went 2 for 4 for the second game in a row following their previous victory against the University of San Francisco.
SJSU head coach Brad Sanfilippo said that his team understands how important the final stretch of the season is.
“A lot of teams are relatively competitive and pretty even,” Sanfilippo said. “I feel that if we play good baseball, we can compete with any of them, so you gotta give yourself a chance to get into the tournament, and again, we understand the importance of all these games, and we are trying to do that.”
With the win against the Antelopes, the Spartans are currently behind the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for a spot in the Mountain West Tournament.
After dropping Game 2 of the series to GCU 5-4 on Saturday, the Spartans bounced back on Sunday with a 6-1 victory to win the series 2-1.
San José State’s baseball team is set to play San Diego State on Friday, May 8, at Tony Gwynn Stadium in San Diego.
