April 17, 2001
SAN DIEGO - A bases-loaded 11th inning single off the bat of San Diego second baseman Mike McCoy lifted the Toreros to an 8-7 win over visiting San Diego State at Cunningham Stadium on Tuesday.
USD improved to 27-14 on the year, while SDSU fell to 23-17.
The Toreros jumped on the Aztecs early, scoring five runs in the first inning before SDSU starter Chris Hartshorn could record an out. After a bases-loaded double by USD first baseman Jason Marion gave the Toreros their fourth and fifth runs, SDSU head coach Jim Dietz pulled Hartshorn in favor of Jon Minter. Minter came on and got the Aztecs out of the inning without any further damage.
With SDSU trailing, 5-0 after one inning, Aztec first baseman Cody Haven got the ball rolling for the Aztecs, blasting a solo home run (his first of the year) over the fence in dead center field in the second inning. SDSU put two more runs on the board in the top of the third after an RBI double from second baseman Carlo Cota and a run-scoring grounder from center fielder Chad Redfern.
The Toreros would answer with two of their own in the bottom of the third to make it a 7-3 ball game. However, the Aztecs rallied yet again, scoring two in the fourth, and eventually tying the game in the fifth after a sacrifice fly from shortstop Taber Lee scored designated hitter Andy Litteral.
From that point on, the two teams' respective pitching staffs took over. Neither team scored another run for five full innings of play, as three SDSU pitchers combined to hold USD to five hits, and four Torero hurlers joined forces to limit the Aztecs to two hits over the next five innings.
USD broke through in the 11th, loading the bases with no outs. SDSU pitcher Erik Fiedler, who started the game in left field and went 2-for-3 in the contest, struck out Torero pinch hitter David Lembo to give the Aztecs some hope, but McCoy then came up and lashed the game-winner into left.
In a game that saw a total of 16 different pitchers and lasted four hours and 16 minutes, the two teams combined to send three different pitchers to the mound who started the game at another position (SDSU's Fiedler and USD's Tom Caple, who started in center field, came in to pitch the ninth, then returned to center and Tony Perez, who started in right, pitched the 10th, and returned to right.)
Fiedler has the most interesting day, however, making only his second start of the year. As the Aztecs' leadoff man, he successfully reached base five times, scored a run and had an RBI. He then came on to face one batter in the eleventh before returning to left field. After SDSU reliever Mike Garber walked Marion, Fiedler returned to the mound and ended up suffering the loss.
Aztec right fielder Sean Pierce extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a sixth-inning single through the left side.
SDSU returns to Mountain West Conference action when it hosts New Mexico for a three-game weekend series beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday at Tony Gwynn Stadium.