Feb. 24, 2001
San Diego - San Diego State used some clutch hitting and excellent starting pitching to sweep a doubleheader from Gonzaga by scores of 6-5 (10 innings) and 11-2 on Saturday at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The win pushed the Aztecs over the .500 mark for the first time this season as they raised their record to 7-5 on the year. The Bulldogs' fell to 2-3.
In game one, Taber Lee's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 10th drove in Pilar Amaya from third to give SDSU the win after Gonzaga had earlier come from behind twice.
The Aztecs led 3-0 after six innings only to have the Bulldogs score four in their half of the seventh. The key blow was a three-run homer by designated hitter Barry Matthews that gave Gonzaga the lead. Aztec starter Chris Dunwell, who threw the first seven innings, had allowed only two hits and had struck out six going into that inning. A two-out error made all four Bulldog runs unearned.
SDSU came back in its half of the seventh to take the lead on a two-out, two-run double by Ben Leuthard. However, Gonzaga's Nate Gold hit a solo homer in the eighth to send the game into extra innings.
in the Aztec 10th, Leuthard doubled to start things off for SDSU. After an intentional walk to Amaya and a fielder's choice, Anthony Gwynn walked to load the bases and set the stage for Lee's game winner.
Reliever Royce Ring picked up his third win against no losses while the Bulldog's David Hixson saw his record fall to 2-0.
Game two was an offensive show for San Diego State which collected 17 hits as every starter reached base safely at least once.
The Aztecs struck early with a four-run second and added six more in their half of the fourth to effectively put the game away behind the pitching of starter Marcos Mendoza. The junior lefty evened his record at 1-1, throwing seven innings and giving up a pair of runs while striking out nine. John Skinner pitched a perfect eighth and freshman Mike Moat struck out three in the final frame to close it out. Bulldog starter Scott Stencil gave up SDSU's first nine runs as his record fell to 1-1.
SDSU's offensive effort was led by Gwynn who went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI. Amaya, Garret Cook, Jacob Minter, Carlo Cota and Cody Haven each contributed a pair of hits to the Aztec cause.
Game three of the series between the Aztecs and Bulldogs, originally scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. start on Sunday (Feb. 25), has been moved up to a noon in an attempt to beat the anticipated rain forecast for the San Diego area in the late afternoon.
Game OneSan Diego State 6, Gonzaga 5 (10 inn.)GON 000 000 410 0 - 5 7 2SDSU 000 201 200 1 - 6 12 2Matthews, Clelland (6), Hixson (7) and MunhallDunwell, Fiedler (8), Ring (9) and ManfredW - Ring (3-0)L - Hixson (0-2)Sv - NoneHR - GON: Matthews (2), Gold (1)
Game TwoSan Diego State 11, Gonzaga 2GON 001 000 100 - 2 7 3SDSU 041 600 00x - 11 17 2Stencil, Jackson (4), Everson (6), Simonitsch (7) and MunhallMendoza, Skinner (8), Moat (9) and Manfred, Perdue (7)W - Mendoza (1-1)L - Stencil (1-1)Sv - NoneHR - NoneAtt. - 227