May 13, 2008

Aztecs vs. Long Beach State recap

SAN DIEGO - Five Long Beach State pitchers combined to toss a one-hit shutout as the 49ers defeated San Diego State, 10-0, Tuesday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium. It was the final home contest of the 2008 campaign for the Aztecs, who fell to 30-23 overall. LBSU, ranked 25th in the nation this week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, improved to 30-18.

Long Beach State got out of the gate quickly, scoring four runs in the first inning off SDSU starter Brandon Villalobos, who spent two seasons as a 49er out of high school. After retiring the leadoff batter, the Aztec lefty gave up a walk, single and hit batter before shortstop Danny Espinosa sent a ball over the left centerfield wall for a grand slam.

Espinosa's hit ended Villalobos night prematurely as he would wind up being tagged with the loss in his first start of the season to fall to 0-2.

A pair of Aztec errors in the second inning led to two more 49er runs, this time off freshman Craig Rasmussen. The visitors added a single marker in the sixth off James McLaughlin then scored three unearned runs in the seventh off Shane Kaufman that came on one hit, two walks and two SDSU errors.

San Diego State used a total of 10 pitchers on the night as was the plan prior to game. Only five of the 10 runs they gave up were of the earned variety as they struck out 11 LBSU hitters and walked four.

The five hurlers utilized by the 49ers walked three and struck out seven with the lone hit allowed being an infield single by Pat Colwell in the third inning. Starter Dustin Rasco was credited with the victory to move his record to 2-0 on the year.

San Diego State will conclude its 2007 regular season with a three-game series at ninth-ranked Cal State Fullerton starting Thursday, May 15, at 7:00 p.m. (PDT) at the Titans' Goodwin Field.