So far this season, the SF State baseball team has shown the ability to get back in games in the final innings after trailing for most of the game.

The Gators found themselves in a similar position down 5-1 in the ninth inning of the first game of the doubleheader against CSU San Bernardino on Saturday. But like most late-inning rallies for the Gators this season, they came up just short.

After cutting the Coyotes’ lead to 5-4, SF State had the bases loaded with one out with Matt Kavanaugh, who leads the team with a .370 batting average, at the plate. But Kavanaugh grounded into a double play to end the game. SF State went on to lose the second game 7-4.

The Gators (7-32-1, 1-22 California Collegiate Athletic Association) were also unable to take advantage of a solid performance on the mound from starter Spencer Kreisberg. The sophomore gave up four earned runs on five hits with one walk and three strikeouts in seven and two-third innings.

“It’s frustrating,” SF State coach Tony Dress said. “And I feel for him and I know the team does too.”

After giving up two runs (one unearned) in the third inning, Kreisberg didn’t allow a run over the next four and one-third innings and at one point retired 11 batters in a row.

“I thought I had all my good stuff, kept them off balance and then kept us in the game for eight innings,” Kreisberg said.

But with one out in the eighth, Kreisberg hit a batter which started an inning where San Bernardino scored three runs to take a 5-1 lead. Jeff Henning relieved Kreisberg in the eighth and pitched the final one and one third innings for the Gators.

“I had just that one hit-by-pitch and that just kind of killed me and from there I couldn’t get back on it,” Kreisberg said.

After struggling against the Coyotes’ starter Kevin Wilson for most of the game, SF State finally got to him in the ninth. Wilson gave up three runs on seven hits in eight and one-third innings to record the win.

Jake Moore singled to lead off the final inning for the Gators, and two batters later, Jeff McCall gave SF State a shot in the arm with a two-run homer to left field, his first of the year. Nick Nyman added an RBI-single later in the inning for the Gators final run of the game. McCall finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs while Moore went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

The Gators also committed three errors in the game, with two by Nyman at shortstop. SF State pushed their team total to 72 mishaps this season, compared to 40 by its opponents.

“It’s hard to put a pinpoint on when it comes,” Dress said of the team’s struggles on defense. “It’s almost like the hex is on us.”

In the second game, SF State once again fell behind early. After three innings, the Coyotes (21-19, 12-15 CCAA) led 6-0 and cruised to the win.

Matt Edgecombe started on the mound for SF State and struggled to find the plate. In three innings, Edgecombe gave up six runs on seven hits with five walks, four wild pitches and two hit batters.

Evan Romanchuk led the Gators on offense by going 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. After going 0-for-4 in the first game, Kavanaugh was 0-for-2 in the second game until he hit a solo homer in the seventh for the Gators’ final run in the 7-4 loss. It was Kavanaugh’s sixth homer of the season.

“It doesn’t mean much when we don’t win so it’s not that good of a feeling,” Kavanaugh said of his homer.