Feb. 17, 2006
SAN DIEGO - The 2006 home opener for the San Diego State baseball team went sour right from the start. A dropped a fly ball with two outs in the first inning allowed two runners for Cal Poly to score, en route to the Mustangs' 11-2 victory Friday night.
SDSU (2-6) could not match Cal Poly's offense, with only two hits going into the seventh inning. The bats started to heat up a little bit for the Aztecs in the seventh when freshman Nick Romero smashed a homerun over the left field wall to give SDSU its first run of the game. The following inning, catcher Jordan Swaydan would slap a solo homerun to give the Aztecs their second tally on the board.
Starting pitcher Bruce Billings lowered his record to 0-2, as he allowed five earned runs on six hits in three innings on the hill. SDSU's bullpen didn't fare too poorly with Jared Suwyn and Mark Triolo pitching an inning of shutout ball each (an inning and two-thirds for Suwyn) and they both struck out three.
Gary Daley got the start for the Mustangs, earning the win and improving his record to 2-1. Daley threw seven complete, allowing one earned run and while striking out nine.
Senior Sam Pepper had both of the Aztecs hits before the seventh inning, both of which were singles. The other Aztec to get two hits on the night was Swaydan who went 2-for-4 with a double to go with his homerun and an RBI.
Following the two runs from Quintin Berry's error, Cal Poly (8-2) would add five more runs in the next two innings, due to home runs from Gilbert Gil and Matt Canepa. Jacob Luque also hit a solo home run in the fifth.
The Aztecs return to Tony Gwynn Stadium for the second game of the three-game series Saturday at 3 p.m. The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m.