March 22, 2003
San Diego - San Diego State sent 10 men to the plate in both the first and third innings, scoring six runs each time en route to an 18-4 win over Air Force at Tony Gwynn Stadium Saturday afternoon. In addition to a season-high run count, the Aztecs also had 20 hits on the day, their highest single-game total of the year. The victory was SDSU's fourth in its last five contests as it improved to 11-16 on the year and 4-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The loss left the Falcons at 8-14 overall and 0-8 in league play.
Freshman left-hander Ben Coon, SDSU's starting pitcher, was treated to a 12-0 lead after three innings on the way to improving his season record to 3-1. In his six innings of work, he allowed three runs on six hits while striking out 12 and walking only one. Aztec pitchers fanned a total of 16 on the afternoon with Ben Leuthard picking up one in his inning of relief work and Mark Esparza recording three over the final two frames.
Air Force freshman Paul Vignola, who entered the contest as the Falcons' winningest pitcher at 4-1, was the victim of SDSU's two six-run outbursts. He departed the game after three innings, suffering his second loss of the season.
The Aztec offense was led by leadoff hitter Anthony Gwynn and number-nine hitter Jordan Swaydan. Gwynn finished the afternoon with three hits including a triple, two runs scored for four RBI. Swaydan was perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a double, a walk and two RBI. In addition, right fielder Jake McLintock collected three hits with a pair of doubles, two runs scored and two RBI while third baseman Chad Corona hit a 420-foot home run to dead center field.
As a team, the Aztecs connected for eight doubles to tie the school single-game record. SDSU has recorded eight doubles in a game on three other occasions, the last time coming against Air Force during the 1990 campaign.
For the Falcons, designated hitter Brent Tittle and shortstop Nelson Prouty had two hits apiece with Tittle notching two of the Falcons' RBIs. The other came off the bat of outfielder Mike Rose in the form of a home run to left.
Air Force and San Diego State conclude their three-game series on Sunday (March 23) at Tony Gwynn Stadium with game time set for 1:00 p.m. (PST). The game can be heard live on the Internet at www.goaztecs.com with Alan Horton's pregame show beginning at 12:50 p.m. (PST).
San Diego State 18, Air Force 4AFA 000 201 000 - 4 8 2SDS 606 130 02x - 18 20 2Vignola, Brown (4), Chapados (6) and Petro, Peterson (5)Coon, Leuthard (7), Esparza (8) and SwaydanW - Coon (3-1)L - Vignola (4-2)Sv - NoneHR - AFA: Rose (6th-none on) SDS: Corona (4th-none on)Att. - 455Time - 3:01