Feb. 13, 2003

Box Score

San Diego - After two days of rain, the San Diego State Aztecs were finally able to play their home opener Thursday afternoon. For both the players and fans, it was well worth the wait as SDSU downed the 20th-ranked Jaguars, 5-0, behind the pitching of right-hander Mike Moat. The win was the third straight for the Aztecs, who improved to 3-4 on the year while the contest served as the season opener for South Alabama.

The story of the game was Moat (1-1), who continues to impress in the early going. The junior from Longmont, Colo., allowed just three hits (one a bad hop single), walked none and struck out nine in his eight innings of work. He did not allow a hit until a leadoff double by Adam Lind in the fifth. Lind ended the inning at second base.

In the next inning, Moat gave up a one-out double to center fielder T.J. Touchstone. Touchstone ended the inning at second base. In the eighth, an error and a fielder's choice allowed Jaguar shortstop Brett Parker to reach third with one out. He was stranded there by Moat.

The Aztecs cashed in Moat's performance with some timely hits to secure the victory. They opened the scoring in the third on a two-out RBI single by Peter Stonard, the first of his two hits on the day.

SDSU added three runs in the fifth on a one-out double by catcher Josh Allen, a run-scoring single from Anthony Gwynn, and a two-run homer by shortstop James Guerrero, the first round-tripper of the freshman's Aztec career. Guerrero later scored the Aztecs' fifth run on an RBI infield single by Jake McLintock in the seventh.

Junior right-hander Joey Pace, making his fourth relief appearance of the season, closed out the game. After a leadoff single in the ninth, he struck out the next two batters and induced a groundout to second to preserve the shutout.

South Alabama starter Tony Neal (0-1) was just as impressive as Moat over his four innings. The senior, who missed last season after undergoing arm surgery, walked one and struck out four, but took the loss after surrendering SDSU's first run in the third inning.

Up next for San Diego State is a three-game home series with Santa Clara beginning tomorrow (Friday, Feb. 14) at 6:00 p.m. That game can be heard live on the internet at www.goaztecs.com with Alan Horton's pre-game show beginning at 5:50 p.m. (PST).

San Diego State 5, South Alabama 0
USA 000 000 000 - 0 4 1
SDS 001 030 10x - 5 7 2
Moat, Pace (9) and Allen
Neal, Heath (5), Adams (6), Jackson (6), Lynd (7), Angst (8) and Land, Sytko (8)
W - Moat (1-1)
L - Neal (0-1)
Sv - None
HR - SDS: Guerrero (5th-one on)
Att. - 602
Time - 2:35