March 19, 2008

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - San Diego State was unable to take advantage of five Long Beach State errors, scoring only a pair of runs off those miscues as it dropped a 6-2 decision to the 6th-ranked 49ers Tuesday evening at Blair Field. The Aztec had runners in scoring position in six of the first seven innings, but were unable to capitalize on their opportunities, something that LBSU was able to do on several occasions. All told, SDSU left 12 runners on base.

Both teams used five pitchers over the course of the contest, with each team's starting hurler being involved in the decision. For Long Beach it was Tyler Topp (1-1) picking up the win after going five innings and allowing a pair of unearned runs on seven hits. SDSU starter Jon Berger went 4.2 innings, giving up the six runs (five earned) on six hits to see his record fall to 1-3 on the year.

San Diego State (10-9) opened the scoring in the first as Pat Colwell led off the contest with a single. Colwell was caught off first on a pickoff move by Topp, but first baseman Shane Peterson dropped the ball while chasing Colwell toward second. A single by Troy Hanzawa, the first of his three hits on the night, was followed by a sacrifice fly from Nick Romero to give SDSU the early lead.

LBSU (13-3) answered in its half of the second, scoring twice on a hit batter, single, error and passed ball. The Aztecs wasted little time in tying the score in the next frame as Romero's single brought home Colwell, who had reached on an error and advanced to second on a Hanzawa single. SDSU then had runners on second and third with one out and finished the frame with the bases loaded, but were unable to add to its run total.

The 49ers took the lead for good in the bottom of the third on walk to Danny Espinosa, a stolen base and an RBI single by Jason Corder. It was Corder who would again plague the Aztecs two innings later when his two-run homer down the left field line capped a three-run outburst and provided the final 6-2 score line. He finished the night with two hits and three runs batted in.

Besides Hanzawa, the only other Aztec to record more than one hit in the game was second baseman Garett Green, who contributed a pair of singles. Colwell scored both of the team's runs while Romero was credited with SDSU's lone RBI.

San Diego State now returns to Mountain West Conference play as it travels to Salt Lake City this weekend for a three-game series against Utah. The first game of that set is scheduled for Thursday, March 20, at 6:00 p.m. (MDT) at Franklin Covey Field.