April 2, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State got another stellar pitching performance from senior Scott Shoemaker as it defeated UNLV, 8-2, Friday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Shoemaker's job was made easier by the Aztec offense, which provided him an eight-run cushion before he left the game in the eighth inning.
The victory was SDSU's seventh in its last eight contests as it pulled to within a game of the .500 mark overall at 17-18 and gained a share of the league lead by improving to 6-1 in the MWC. The loss was the first in conference play for the Rebels (6-1), who saw their season ledger fall to 19-9.
SDSU jumped put to a 2-0 lead early off UNLV starter Matt Luca (5-2), scoring once in the first on an RBI single by freshman Brock Ungricht, and adding another in the second on Landon Burt's sacrifice fly that brought home Josh Hill, who had walked to leadoff the inning.
Shoemaker (5-5), meanwhile, was in control from the beginning. Over the first five innings, only one Rebel runner reached as far as second base. The visitors advanced runners to third with two outs in both the sixth and seventh, but the Aztec right-hander snuffed out the threat on each occasion.
The Aztecs doubled their lead with a pair of runs in the sixth, getting an RBI single from catcher Jordan Swaydan and a fielder's choice from Kyle Floquet that drove in a run. That 4-0 SDSU lead was again doubled in the next inning, when Brock Ungricht's two-run homer plus a two-run single by Swaydan added four runs to the SDSU tally.
A leadoff home run by Rebel center fielder Brent Johnson ended the SDSU shutout bid and was the end of the night for Shoemaker, who had scattered seven hits and struck out five over his seven innings of work.
Senior reliever Joey Pace was brought on to pitch, but after allowing a run on a walk, hit batter and single, was taken off in favor of lefty Drew Jenson, who retired the final five batters of the game to preserve Shoemaker's fourth straight win.
Ungricht finished his night with three hits and three runs batted in, including his first collegiate home run. Jordan Swaydan contributed a pair of hits, walked twice and drove in three runs in the winning cause. Left fielder Josh Hill walked three times and wound up scoring he time he reached base.
The Rebels and Aztec continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday (April 3) with game two of the set slated for a 1:00 p.m. start at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
San Diego State 8, UNLV 2UNLV 000 000 010 - 2 8 0SDSU 110 002 40x - 8 9 1Luca, Pupo (6), Clatterbuck (7) and TellamShoemaker, Pace (8), Jenson (8) and SwaydanW - Shoemaker (5-5)L - Luca (5-2)Sv - NoneHR - UNLV: Johnson (4) SDSU: Ungricht (2)Att. - 658Time: 2:56