March 9, 2002
San Diego - In a game that went back and forth, San Diego State had the last word, scoring twice in the bottom of the seventh and holding on to defeat UC Irvine, 8-7, Saturday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Trailing by a run, the Aztecs got a two-out two-RBI single from Carlo Cota that scored Taber Lee and Riley Barrett with the tying and winning runs. Both runs were charged to Anteater reliever Jimmy Alstot (0-2) who took the loss.
UCI (12-12) took the early lead in the contest, scoring two runs in both the first and second innings to jump out to a 4-1 advantage. The Anteaters had base runners in every inning against SDSU starter Rory Shortell, who went five innings and was not involved in the decision for the first time in his six starts this season.
San Diego State (16-6) mounted the first comeback of the game, scoring five times in the bottom of the fifth. Anthony Gwynn led off with a single and scored on a triple by Cota. After a base hit by Jake McLintock brought Cota home, Josh Hill reached on a single. Both McLintock and Hill scored on Josh Allen's triple down the right field line, with Allen later scoring on a fielder's choice.
Not to be outdone, UCI answered back with three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-6 lead. RBI singles from Steve Guthrie and Gregg Wallis plus a bases loaded walk to B.J. Eucce did the damage.
That set the stage for Cota's heroics in the bottom of the inning. The second baseman from Calexico finished the night going 3-for-5 with a double, triple, three RBI and a pair of runs scored. McLintock also had three hits for the Aztecs including a double and two RBI.
Senior Erik Fiedler picked up the win in relief for the Aztecs to even his record at 1-1. Royce Ring, who came on with no outs and two men on in the eighth, retired the side in that inning and pitched a perfect ninth to record his seventh save of the season.
San Diego State and UC Irvine conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon (March 10) when they meet at Anteater Ballpark in Irvine at 1:00 p.m. That contest may be heard live on the Internet at www.goaztecs.com
San Diego State 8, UC Irvine 7UCI 220 000 300 - 7 10 1SDS 100 050 20x - 8 14 2Smith, Alstot (5), Raulinaitis (8) and MillerShortell, Hartshorn (6), Harang (6), Fiedler (7), Moat (8), Ring (8) and AllenW - Fiedler (1-1)L - Alstot (0-2)Sv - Ring 7)HR - NoneAtt. - 675Time - 3:44