Feb. 25, 2005
LONG BEACH - Long Beach State scored a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to claim a 2-1 victory over San Diego State Friday evening at Blair Field in Long Beach. The Aztecs wasted a standout pitching performance by sophomore right-hander Bruce Billings as they dropped their fourth straight game to fall to 2-9 on the season. The 49ers, meanwhile, ended a five-game losing streak of their own as they evened their ledger at 6-6.
The contest was a pitching duel all evening between Billings and LBSU junior lefty Cesar Ramos. However, neither was around at the end of the contest to be involved in the final decision.
San Diego State had a pair of great scoring opportunities in the middle innings, but could only tally a single run. In the fourth, leadoff singles by James Guerrero and Lance Zawadzki put runners on first and third with no outs. But Ramos got a strikeout and a double play to snuff out the threat.
In the next inning, the Aztecs got on the board on a one-out triple by Clayton Carson and an RBI double by Curt Mendoza. An ensuing single by Jordan Swaydan, the first of his three hits on the night, put runners on first and third with one out. However, a strikeout and a fielder's choice ended the inning with no further damage.
For his part, Billings was masterful as he struck out a career-high 10 batters over eight innings. He allowed five hits and a pair of walks, but no 49er base runner advanced past second base through the first eight frames.
In the fateful bottom of the ninth, Billings walked leadoff batter Brandon Godfrey, and he was lifted in favor of reliever Shaun Burkle. Godfrey advanced to second when Aztec catcher Jordan Swaydan made a diving catch of an attempted sacrifice bunt for the first out of the inning.
Jamie Huizar then singled and Jordan Struble followed with a walk to load the bases with one out. Catcher Tito Cruz then hit a one-hopper back to the mound, but Burkle threw the ball over Swaydan's head at home, allowing the tying and winning runs to score.
Long Beach State reliever Brian Anderson was the beneficiary of his team's ninth-inning rally, picking up the win to improve to 1-0 on the year. Burkle took the loss to fall to 0-1.
The Aztecs and 49ers continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 2:00 p.m. at Blair Field.
Long Beach State 2, San Diego State 1SDSU 000 010 000 - 1 9 1LBSU 000 000 002 - 2 6 1Billings, Burkle (9) and SwaydanRamos, Anderson (9) and Jones, Cruz (9)W - Anderson (1-0)L - Burkle (0-1)Sv - NoneHR - NoneTime - 2:57Att. - 1,323