Feb. 27, 2000
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State baseball team's hopes for a weekend sweep over Washington State were dashed when the Cougars emerged with a 6-3 win in the rain on Sunday at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Neither team was able to generate offense in the early going, as SDSU starter Ben Julianel and WSU starter Reggie Rivard kept the game scoreless through four innings. The Cougars (5-9 overall) broke through with two outs in the fifth inning when they banged out five singles that led to three runs.
The Aztecs (10-8 overall) responded immediately, as shortstop Edgar Gonzalez walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth. Gonzalez then stole second and came in to score when center fielder Billy Montgomery doubled to left-center. After a bunt single by third baseman Rory Shortell moved Montgomery to third, left fielder Andy Litteral had a bunt single to first that knocked in Montgomery. Rivard then got out of the inning when he struck out designated hitter Ben Rosenthal.
SDSU evened things up one inning later. With two outs and first baseman Chad Chop on third, Montgomery struck again, doubling down the left field line and scoring Chop.
With the game tied at three in the seventh, WSU took the lead for good when Justin Williams scored on a wild pitch by Aztec reliever John Skinner. The Cougars put the game out of reach in the ninth, when third baseman Ray Hattenburg blasted a two-run home run to left-center, scoring shortstop Shawn Stevenson.
Skinner fell to 0-3 on the year after taking the loss for SDSU, while Matt O'Brien picked up the win for WSU, improving to 2-0 on the year.
The Aztecs return to action at 5 p.m. on Tuesday when they host UCLA at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
WSU -- 000 030 102 - 6 12 3
SDSU -- 000 021 000 - 3 9 0
Win - O'Brien (2-0)
Loss - Skinner (0-3)
Save - None
HR - WSU (Hattenburg)