April 14, 2005
PROVO, Utah - San Diego State overcame a couple of early errors and a two-run deficit to defeat Brigham Young, 10-4, Thursday night at Larry H. Miller Field in Provo, Utah. The win allowed SDSU to even its Mountain West Conference record at 5-5 as it improved to 10-22 overall. The Cougars, who entered the contest with an 11-0 mark at home this season, dropped to 24-9-1 and 10-3 in league play.
Aztec starter Alex Hinshaw (3-6) won for the second straight time as he tossed his second complete game of the season. Along the way he allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits while striking out a season-best 12 batters. His strikeout total bettered his previous high of 10, which he accomplished in his previous outing (vs. New Mexico) last Friday.
SDSU got the better of Brigham Young starting pitcher Dave Horlacher (3-2), who came into the contest with a league-best 1.76 earned run average in conference play. Horlacher gave up six earned runs in his six innings of work, striking out six along the way.
Freshman Joseph Scaperotta (Mission Bay HS) sparked the SDSU offense as he belted his first two home runs of the season, the first two-homer game of the year for an Aztec. In addition, shortstop James Guerrero went 4-for-5 and scored four times.
It was Guerrero who got the scoring started in the first inning as he singled with two outs, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Brock Ungricht's RBI single. The lead was short-lived, however, as the Cougars scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first, then added two more (one earned) in the second to take a 3-1 lead.
The Aztecs got a run back in the third on two-out singles by Guerrero and Ungricht that preceded a run-scoring base hit by Lance Zawadzki, but again BYU answered back with a run in the bottom of the same inning to make it a 4-2 game.
From that point on, Hinshaw was almost untouchable as he retired 12 batters in a row (including the final two in the third) before Cougar designated hitter Apana Nakayama singled in the seventh. After Nakayama's hit, Hinshaw got the final eight outs in a row to close out the contest.
SDSU, meanwhile, got its offense rolling in the fifth as it tied the game at 4-4 on Scaperotta's two-run shot over the right field fence that scored Quintin Berry ahead of him. Berry had opened the frame with a single to extend his hitting streak to 20 games.
The Aztecs took the lead for good in the next inning as Tim O'Brien doubled and came home on Jake McLintock's RBI single. In the seventh, Scaperotta clubbed his second home of the game, a solo shot to right center, to open the inning. Guerrero followed with a single and scored thanks to a balk and a pair of ground outs to make it a 7-4 contest.
The visitors added three in the ninth compliments of a Guerrero single, a run-scoring double by Ungricht, another single by Zawadzki and a two-out two-RBI base hit by McLintock. Ungricht ended his night with three hits and pair of RBI while McLintock had two hits and three runs batted in.
San Diego State and Brigham Young continue their three-game league series on Friday (Apr. 15) at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) in Provo. Fans can watch that game live on the Internet at www.byutv.org.
San Diego State 10, Brigham Young 4SDS 101 021 203 - 10 17 3BYU 121 000 000 - 4 6 0Hinshaw and SwaydanHorlacher, Platt (7) and NelsonW - Hinshaw (3-6)L - Horlacher (3-2)Sv - NoneHR - SDS: Scaperotta-2 (2)Time - 2:54Att. - 2015