March 16, 2002
San Diego - Air Force pitcher Johnny Koegel limited San Diego State to five hits and reliever Erik Fisher snuffed out a late rally as the Falcons recorded a 7-6 victory over the Aztecs Saturday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. With the win, Air Force improved to 13-9 on the year overall and 1-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Aztecs, who lost at home for the first time after 10 straight wins, fell to 17-8 (1-1 MWC).
SDSU got on the board first, scoring a run in the fourth on a leadoff triple by Carlo Cota and sacrifice fly by Jake McLintock. Cota finished the night with two hits, two runs scored, and two RBI's while teammate Taber Lee also had two hits and two runs batted in.
Air Force came back in the top of the fifth with four runs to take a lead it would not relinquish. Singles by Brian LaBasco and Price Paramore, third baseman Bowie Frost delivered a double to left center to score LaBasco. Catcher Dan Petro then hit a fly ball that was dropped by Aztec left fielder Josh Allen for a two-base error. Nelson Prouty then hit a ground ball back to pitcher Rory Shortell who threw home to get the runner, only to have catcher Brian Manfred drop the ball after making the tag. A sacrifice fly later in the inning by Adam Howes gave Air Force a 4-1 advantage.
The Falcons added two more runs in the sixth to open a 6-1 lead, but the Aztecs fought back on a two-out two-RBI single by Cota in the bottom of the inning. Air Force then increased the lead to 7-3, before SDSU mounted another rally in the bottom of the eighth.
Back-to-back Air Force errors followed by an RBI double by Jon Stephens made the score 7-4. One out later, Taber Lee hit a double to deep left center to drive in two more runs. At this point, Fisher came on in relief of Koegel (3-1) and retired the side with no further damage. He then got the Aztecs in order in the ninth to record his first save of the season.
Shortell (4-2) took the loss for the Aztecs and ended his personal three-game winning streak. Four SDSU hurlers combined to strike out 11 Falcon batters.
Air Force and San Diego State play the rubber game of their three-game set on Sunday (March 17) at 1:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium. That contest can be heard live on the Internet at www.goaztecs.com.
Air Force 7, San Diego State 6AFA 000 042 010 - 7 9 2SDS 000 120 030 - 6 5 2Shortell, Fiedler (6), Hartshorn (7), Human (9) and Manfred, Allen (7)Koegel, Fisher (8) and PetroW- Koegel (3-1)L - Shortell (4-2)Sv - Fisher (1)Att. - 604Time - 2:38