March 9, 1995
Phil Kernan went 4-for-9 this week as SF State defeated Cal State Stanislaus, 4-3, and Cal State Hayward, 6-2.
"We hit a lot in practice," Kernan said. "But it just comes down to looking for a good pitch to hit."
On Monday, Stanislaus jumped out to an early lead, scoring one run in the top of the first inning.
With one out, Gators pitcher Jason Isaacs walked Mike Schlotter. After the next hitter flied out to center field, Schlotter stole second. He advanced to third on a wild pitch.
With two outs, Isaacs walked Reggie Benton and set up runners at the corners.
Benton was thrown out on a steal attempt to second, but not before Schlotter scored the first run.
Finding themselves down early, the Gators quickly retaliated and tied the score.
With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Kernan doubled down the left field line.
The next Gators hitter Bob Simoneau slapped a single to left field, sending Kernan around to score.
Robert Walley grounded out to end the inning.
Stanislaus answered back in the top of the third and pulled ahead of SF State, 2-1.
The Gators were not behind long, tallying three runs in the bottom of the third inning.
With one out in the third, Jorge Macias started a rally by smacking a triple into deep center field.
After Kernan drove Macias home with a single to right, he stole second.
With two outs, Walley continued the rally and tripled into the right-center gap, scoring Kernan.
With Walley on third, Dereck Ornelas hit a single to the shortstop and sent Walley in to score.
Stanislaus added a run in the seventh inning, cutting the Gators' lead to 4-3.
Reliever Joey Diaz entered the game for the Gators in the eighth to shut down Stanislaus. He gave up no runs, one hit and struck one out.
Isaacs (1-2) pitched seven innings for SF State and gave up three runs (two earned), seven hits, three walks and three strike outs.
"We had really good pitching," Kernan said. "Our pitching and a couple of clutch hits won the game."
In a tough battle on Tuesday, SF State rallied in the ninth to defeat Cal State Hayward and better their conference record to 3-1.
The Gators trailed 2-1 going into the eighth inning, when Bob Simoneau's sacrifice fly scored Macias and tied the game.
Marty Cole (1-0) entered the game in the eighth and threw two innings of shutout ball to earn his first victory of the season.
With no outs and bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Wayne Northern slapped the game-winning hit when he drove in pinchrunner Mark Walker. The Gators led, 3-2.
Macias smacked a double and added two more runs to the Gators' lead.
"It was a real intense game," Kernan said. "We knew if we won, it would put us right there with Sonoma and Davis. We turned it on in the last inning."
Kernan leads the Gators' offense with a .406 batting average and 16 RBI. He is 12 hits away from becoming the Gators' all-time hit leader.
Offensively, Jason Harvey (.382), Mike Rahmoeller (.368), Joey Gandara (.357), Ivory Jones (.326) and Ornelas are the big guns for SF State.
The Gators host Sonoma State on Friday at 2 p.m.
"They (Sonoma) are in first place right now," Kernan said. "Their strength in the past has been their pitching. They're used to winning and they are always competitive."