March 5, 2006
SAN DIEGO - A four-run rally in the sixth inning helped No. 12 Pepperdine prevent San Diego State from completing the sweep of their weekend baseball series as the Waves defeated SDSU, 11-7, Sunday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs had two three-run leads throughout the contest, but couldn't hold on for the victory.
SDSU (6-11) took it to Pepperdine (9-9) in the opening frame, scoring the first run of the game. Left fielder Paul Smyth hit a sacrifice fly to score freshman Nick Romero, who had walked earlier in the inning. That was the first of four RBI's on the day for Smyth, as he finished the game 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI's.
Smyth's home run came in the third inning when he belted his four bagger right after teammate Brock Ungricht led off the inning with his first homer of the season. Ungricht and Smyth were two of four Aztecs to have multi-hit games, while Romero and senior catcher Jordan Swaydan were the other two. Romero went 2-for-4 on the day with two runs scored and an RBI.
The Waves got on the board in the fifth inning when first baseman Justin Tellam led off the frame with a solo home run. Catcher Chad Tracy added an RBI single later in the inning to cut SDSU's lead to one.
Smyth got the two runs right back for the Aztecs when he slapped a two-run single in the bottom half of the fifth. His knock brought home Romero and center fielder Quintin Berry. Berry led off the inning with a single and Romero's double set the table for Smyth.
Pepperdine took the lead for good with it's four-run sixth inning. A two-run double from left fielder Brandon Daguio cut the Aztec lead to 5-4. An RBI single from second baseman David Uribes scored the third run. An error on Smyth from the throw to the cutoff man after the single brought home the fourth run, which gave the Waves their first lead of the game, making the score 6-5.
SDSU got two of the runs back in bottom of the sixth behind a sacrifice fly off the bat of Berry to score third baseman Lance Zawadzki, and an RBI single from Romero brought home senior Sam Pepper.
A two-run single from Tellam in the next inning was part of a three-run rally for Pepperdine. The other run in the inning was scored after an error on Mike Willeford, who had replaced Zawadzki at third. The Waves ended any likely chances of Aztec comeback when center fielder Luke Salas blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall in the ninth inning.
Senior Ben Coon took the loss, lowering his record to 0-1. Will Miller got the start for SDSU, pitching five complete, allowing two runs on six hits and with four strikeouts. He left the game with a 5-2 lead, but was not involved in the decision.
The Aztecs square off against cross-town rivals USD next weekend. The first game is Friday afternoon at 2 pm at USD. Game two of the series will be played at Tony Gwynn Stadium, Saturday night at 6 p.m.