SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Fresno Pacific scored 14 runs on 17 hits Tuesday against San Jose State to win the Tuesday afternoon affair, 14-5, over the Spartans at Blethen Field.
 
Six different Sunbirds had multiple hits Tuesday and eight different players drove in at least one run. Fresno Pacific (25-22) also had six players score at least two runs. The 1-2-3 hitters in the Sunbirds' lineup went a combined 10-for-17 with five RBIs and five runs scored. Alec Mehrten led the way with a 5-for-6 performance.

Tuesday's game was the Spartans' fourth in five days. San Jose State (19-17) used seven pitchers and 16 position players in an attempt to keep everyone fresh for this weekend's Western Athletic Conference series versus Sacramento State at Municipal Stadium.

Fresno Pacific's Wilson Ashford (4-4) went five innings and gave up three runs on five hits, striking out two for the victory. D.J. Slaton (1-4) gave up two runs in the first inning on two hits and a hit-by-pitch to take the loss.

BACK AND FORTH SCORING

San Jose State's Tyler Christian hit a pinch-hit, three-run homerun off the first pitch he saw in the fifth inning to make the score 4-3. It was Christian's first homer of the season and first for the Spartans by a player other than Nick Schulz. Christian finished the day 2-for-3 with three RBIs, one of three different Spartans to gather two hits on Tuesday.

Fresno Pacific would put the Spartans right back in a hole, however, in the top of the sixth with six runs, three earned, off of Drew Bradshaw, to push its lead to 10-3.

San Jose State answered again with two runs in the bottom of the sixth off of back-to-back RBI groundouts by Michael Gerlach and Kalei Contrades, making the score 10-5.

Gerlach went 2-for-4 on Tuesday with an RBI. It was his second straight multi-hit performance and third in his last four games. It also extended his hitting streak to five games. He has hit safely in eight of his last 10 games dating to April 3 at San Francisco.

CHANCES TO RALLY

San Jose State created opportunities to score in the third, fourth and eighth innings, but the team would head to the dugout with no runs in each occassion after a double play groundout ended all three threats. The Spartans loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth, only to get a strikeout and a double play to end the threat.

The Spartans got the leadoff batter on base five times Tuesday but only scored runs in one of those innings. Schulz led off the sixth with a single and Matt Lopez followed with a double, and the Spartans grounded out twice in a row to bring them home.

The Spartans resume WAC play at home this weekend when they host Sacramento State for a three-game series beginning at 6 p.m. Friday at Municipal Stadium.

Fresno Pacific 14, San Jose State 5 (Apr 24, 2012 at San Jose, Calif.)
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Fresno Pacific...... 201 106 040  - 14 17  1      (25-22)
San Jose State...... 000 032 000  -  5  9  3      (19-17)
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Pitchers: Fresno Pacific - ASHFORD, Wilson; MAZZONI, Matt(6); KILGORE, Greg(7); MEDELES, Josh(8); RIVERA, Michael(9) and VAUGHN, Michael. San Jose State - Slaton, D.J.; Russo, David Wayne(2); Kafka, Jason(4); Bradshaw, Drew(6); Contrades, Kalei(6); Broussard, Craig(7); Aldrete, Mike(8) and Gallegos, Kyle; DiRocco, Michael.
Win-ASHFORD, Wilson(4-4)  Loss-Slaton, D.J.(1-4)  T-2:52  A-147
HR FPU - TAYLOR, Blaine (3).
HR SJSU - Christian, Tyler (1).
Weather: Ptly Cloudy, 72 F, 12 mph to L
Bradshaw faced 6 batters in the 6th.