Aztecs Roll to 13-3 Run-Rule Victory over CSU Fullerton

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State’s offense came to life on Tuesday in a 13-3 run-rule victory over Cal State Fullerton in eight innings at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The Aztecs scored in seven of the eight frames to raise their record to 15-27 on the year and avenge a 7-1 defeat to the Titans in Fullerton on March 4.

SDSU posted his fourth-highest total of the season with 16 hits, highlighted by Jake Jackson’s solo homer along with two-run doubles by Eli Selga and Daniel Arambula.

CSF also got into the act with 13 hits of its own but stranded 16 runners, slipping to 20-20 overall with the loss.

Jackson tied Jonathan Smith and CJ Moran for game-high honors with three hits each, while Nevan Noonan and Xavier Farnum finished with two apiece. In addition, Jackson, Smith and Noonan scored three runs each.

Making his third career start, Alito McBean (1-1) earned his first collegiate victory after allowing one run on seven scattered hits and three walks in five innings of work.

Conversely, the Titans utilized seven pitchers on the night, including starter Brady Dockan (1-1), who was charged with the loss after giving up two runs on three hits in the first two innings of the contest.

For the fifth straight game, the Aztecs scored first, plating a run in their initial at-bat when Noonan ripped a two-out double off the left-field wall and raced home on Moran’s single to center.

SDSU extended its lead to 2-0 courtesy of Jackson’s solo blast with one out in the second on a 3-2 pitch from Dockan.

Fullerton trimmed the margin in half in the top of third on Jakob Schardt’s RBI single, but the Aztecs answered in their half of the inning when Zane Kelly doubled and ultimately crossed the plate on Noonan’s groundout.

The Scarlet and Black began to give itself some separation in the fourth at 5-1 thanks to Selga’s two-run double down the right-field line, which knocked in Smith and Jackson, both of whom previously singled.

The Titans narrowed the gap to 5-3 in the sixth on Carter Johnstone’s RBI single and Max Ortega’s sacrifice fly. However, the Aztecs scored the final eight runs to abruptly end the contest.

SDSU began its surge with a five-spot in the bottom of the sixth, capped by a double steal, with Noonan sliding home safely following a throw to the plate from first. Earlier, the Aztecs received RBIs on Jackson’s single and Noonan’s fielder’s choice grounder, sandwiched around Selga’s sacrifice fly, while Kelly drew a walk and eventually scored on a passed ball.

Leading 10-3, the Scarlet and Black tacked on another run in the seventh when Smith singled and stole second before darting home on Farnum’s single that skipped past the outstretched glove of Nick Miller at short.

Then in the eighth, Arambula cooncluded the affair with a double to the gap in left-center, plating Noonan and Moran, who previously singled, as the Aztec dugout erupted in jubilation.

Issac Araiza (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K) and Chris Canavan (1.0 IP, 2 H) kept the Titans off the scoreboard for the final 2 2/3 innings.

Schardt, Johnstone, Andrew Kirchner and Eli Lopez collected two hits apiece in the loss for Fullerton.

UP NEXT
San Diego State resumes its Mountain West schedule this weekend when it travels to the Silver State to face UNLV, April 25-27, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.