May 6, 2000
San Diego - For the second day in a row, San Diego State jumped out to an early lead and went on to a decisive victory over Brigham Young at Cougar Field in Provo, Utah. On Saturday, it was the Aztecs taking a 7-1 lead after three innings as they went on to defeat the Cougars by a score of 9-2.
With the win, the Aztecs (28-26, 16-10 MWC) all but wrapped up the number-two seed at the Mountain West Conferecne Tournament (to be played May 17-20 at UNLV) as they extended their second-place lead to two-and-a-half games over third-place BYU with three games left in the conference season. With the loss, Brigham Young fell to 14-13 in league play and 26-25 overall.
For the second consecutive day, San Diego State got outstanding pitching and explosive offense.
On the mound, it was freshman Chris Hartshorn throwing his first collegiate complete game as he limited Brigham Young to two runs on six hits while striking out five and walking only one. One day earlier, it had been senior Jermey Cook who went the distance in SDSU's 16-5 victory. The two games were only the second and third complete-game efforts of the season for the SDSU pitching corps.
As was the case on Friday, all nine Aztec starters hit safely, this time led by senior Paul Lockhart who went 4-for-5 with a pair of runs scored. Shortstop Edgar Gonzalez, first baseman Chad Chop and third baseman Matt Ricardy each went 3-for-5 as the Aztecs exploded for 20 hits on the day.
SDSU took a quick lead with a pair of runs in the first on an RBI double by Jacob Minter and run-scoring single by Brandon Rogers.
The big blow of the game came in the second when seldom-used second baseman Carlo Cota connected for a three-run home run after Chop and Chad Redfern had doubled and walked respectively. It was the sophomore's first homer as an Aztec as he finished the day with four runs batted in.
Up next for San Diego State is a non-league game against UC Riverside on Tuesday, May 9, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs will then host the UNLV Rebels in the final conference series of the year May 12-14.
San Diego State 9, Brigham Young 2SDSU 232 000 200 - 9 20 3BYU 010 100 000 - 2 6 2Hartshorn and RogersRay, Fernley (3), Crump (8) and DaviesW - Hartshorn (5-4)L - Ray (3-4)SV - NoneHR - SDSU: Cota (1)Time - 2:26Att - 361