May 3, 2004
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State put six runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning en route to a 10-5 victory over USC Monday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs got a bases-loaded two-run single by Curt Mendoza while Landon Burt had a bases-loaded double to score two runs in that opening frame.
The win ended a 13-game losing streak at the hands of the Trojans, who had not lost to San Diego State since the 1995 season. With the victory SDSU improved to 25-25 on the year while the Trojans saw their record dip to 21-25.
Aztec freshman Bruce Billings got the starting nod on the mound, and responded with seven solid innings to pick up the win and improve to 3-1. He allowed five runs, but did not walk a batter while striking out seven.
Senior right-hander Ryan Schroyer tossed the final two innings, giving up a pair of singles and striking out three while recording his 11th save.
USC starter Bobby Paschal (2-8) was unable to get out of the first inning as he was tagged for six earned runs on three hits and four walks.
Despite the early deficit, USC fought back to close to within two runs when it tallied three times in the eighth on consecutive RBI singles by Blake Sharpe, Jeff Clement and Joey Metropoulos to make it a 7-5 contest.
However, the Aztecs responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning as they got an RBI triple from Jake McLintock and a run-scoring single by Jordan Swaydan, who finished the afternoon with three hits, two RBI and a run scored.
SDSU shortstop James Guerrero had three hits and an RBI while Landon Burt and Brock Ungricht chipped in with two hits each.
Up next for the Aztecs is a three-game Mountain West Conference series against league-leading UNLV beginning Friday (May 7) at 6:30 p.m. in Las Vegas. Fans can listen to that game live and follow it on the text Gametracker at the San Diego State athletic web site (www.goaztecs.com).
San Diego State 10, USC 5USC 002 000 030 - 5 10 2SDS 601 000 03x - 10 14 2Paschal, Miller (1), Koss (6), Scharlach (8) and ClementBillings, Coon (8), Schroyer (8) and SwaydanW - Billings (3-1)L - Paschal (2-8)Sv - Schroyer (11)HR - NoneAtt. - 509Time - 3:06