Aztecs Fall in Series Finale at UNLV
San Diego State fell victim to the long ball on Sunday in a 10-3 defeat to UNLV in the finale of a Mountain West weekend series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
LAS VEGAS – San Diego State fell victim to the long ball on Sunday in a 10-3 defeat to UNLV in the finale of a Mountain West weekend series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
The Rebels (23-20, 9-12 MW) hit four home runs to account for the final nine runs of the contest and secure the sweep of the Aztecs (15-30, 10-11 MW), who occupy the fourth spot in the conference standings, two games behind Nevada and New Mexico, both of which are tied for second.
UNLV starter Sam Simon (2-3) picked up the victory after giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks with a trio of strikeouts in seven innings, combining with Alex Navarette (2.0 IP, 1 H) to keep SDSU scoreless over the final five frames.
The Aztecs grabbed the early lead when Nevan Noonan launched his fourth home run of the season, a solo shot off Simon with two outs in the first.
The Rebels eventually tied the game in the third when Paul Myro IV touched home after Elijah Rodriguez reached on a fielding error at second. Earlier, Myro drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on Dean Toigo’s single to center.
SDSU responded with a pair of markers in the top of the fourth when Daniel Arambula led off with a double to center and subsequently raced home on Zane Kelly’s two-bagger following a flyout. Moments later, Kelly stole third and crossed the plate on Evan Sipe’s sacrifice fly, giving the visitors a 3-1 advantage.
However, the lead proved to be short-lived, as the UNLV knotted the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the inning when Cooper Sheff led off with a single and Dwight Allen II followed with the first of his two home runs on a 1-2 pitch from Aztec starter Garvey Rumary.
The Rebels vaulted in front for good at 7-3 in the fifth, courtesy of two deep balls with two outs, as Allen went yard once again with a solo blast, while Toigo followed with a three-run shot, driving in Chase Gallegos and Myro, who previously doubled and walked, respectively.
UNLV closed out the scoring with another three-run homer in the sixth, this time off the bat of Sheff, who smacked an 0-1 offering from new reliever Xavier Cardenas III, who spelled Peyton Rodgers after the latter yielded consecutive singles to JP Hefft and Cole Koniarsky.
Allen went 4-for-5 at the plate, matching Toigo (3 hits) and Gallegos (3 hits) for game-high honors with three RBIs, while CJ Moran led the Scarlet and Black with three hits of his own in the loss.
On the mound, Rumary (2-5) was saddled with the loss after giving up seven runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings.
UP NEXT
San Diego State concludes its road swing on Tuesday, April 29, when it makes the short drive up the freeway for a rematch at UC Riverside, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT. The Aztecs will be looking to avenge a 7-2 defeat to the Highlanders in San Diego last month.