May 7, 2004
LAS VEGAS - What was expected to be a duel between two of the top pitchers in the Mountain West Conference turned into an offensive slugfest as San Diego State defeated league-leading UNLV, 13-9, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas Friday evening.
The two teams pounded out 20 runs on 23 hits over the first four frames as both Aztec starter Scott Shoemaker and UNLV's David Seccombe departed the contest before the third inning was completed. The Rebel defense also contributed to the Aztec win with four errors that accounted for five unearned runs.
Rielly Embrey was the hitting star for SDSU with a grand slam home run, a pair of doubles and seven runs batted in. His RBI total was one shy of the Aztec record of eight, last accomplished by Jason Phillips, currently with the New York Mets, during the 1995 season.
The win put SDSU over the .500 mark at 26-25 as it improved to 13-7 in league play to move within a game-and-a-half of the Rebels, who fell to 28-18 (15-6 MWC).
The Aztecs opened the game with three runs in the first on a two-run homer by James Guerrero and an RBI single by Lance Zawadzki.
UNLV answered right back with two runs in its half of the inning. It could have been worse for SDSU as Shoemaker was faced with the bases loaded and no out with just a 3-2 lead. However, the senior right-hander got a pop out to first and two strikeouts to escape further damage.
San Diego State re-established its three-run lead in the second thanks to a two-run double by Rielly Embrey. But once again the home team cut the lead to a single marker with two in the bottom of the inning.
The Aztecs chased Seccombe (7-2) in the third frame when they scored six times, capping off the rally with Embrey's slam that came off reliever Koji Pupo.
Shoemaker's night ended in the bottom of the third as he allowed one more run on three hits before giving way to senior lefty Drew Jenson.
The SDSU offense was finally cooled off by Pupo in the fourth, but the Rebel bats were still hot as they scored four times off Jenson in the bottom of the fourth to cut the Aztec lead to 11-9.
However, after that four-run outburst, Jenson (1-2) shut down the Rebels from the fifth through eighth innings. Over that span, he retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced with UNLV's only base runner reaching on an error. In the process, he earned his first win of the year and set the table for Ryan Schroyer to close out the contest with a perfect ninth inning.
Eight of SDSU's nine starters hit safely in the contest as the Aztecs got two hits apiece from Landon Burt, James Guerrero, Brock Ungricht and Chad Corona. In addition, Jake McLintock recorded a double to extend his hitting steak to 13 games, tying Ungricht for the longest on the team this season.
Te Aztecs and Rebels continue their three-game series on Saturday (May 8) when they square off at 2:00 p.m. Fans can listen to that contest live or follow it on the text Gametracker at the San Diego State athletic web site (www.goaztecs.com).
San Diego State 13, UNLV 9SDSU 326 000 020 - 13 14 1UNLV 221 300 000 - 9 14 4Shoemaker, Jenson (3), Schroyer (9) and SwaydanSeccombe, Pupo (3), Clatterbuck (6), Scheinbaum (8) and RossW - Jenson (1-2)L - Seccombe (7-2)Sv - NoneHR - SDSU: Guerrero (3), Embrey (5) UNLV: Kowalski (2), Johnson (5), Ross (2)Att. - 957Time - 3:21