April 1, 2006
SAN DIEGO - After taking a commanding lead, the San Diego State baseball team hung on to defeat TCU, 9-7, Saturday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. It was the first meeting between the two teams since the Horned Frogs moved to the Mountain West Conference.
Right after breaking its losing streak the night before, SDSU (8-24, 2-1) carried the momentum into tonight's contest, slugging out three runs in the opening frame. Third baseman Tim O'Brien got the scoring started when he lifted a sacrifice fly to send home center fielder Quintin Berry. Left fielder Paul Smyth followed that up with a triple that scored second baseman Nick Romero. Smyth would then be singled home by first baseman Brock Ungricht.
In the third inning, Ungricht kept the momentum in the Aztec's favor, when he slapped a triple to score O'Brien.
Ungricht was swinging the hot bat for the Aztecs, finishing 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Catcher Jordan Swaydan was the other Aztec to have a multi-hit game. The senior went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored. Berry also had two RBIs in the game.
TCU (14-15, 2-1) started to claw its way back into the game, scoring twice in the third inning. Starting pitcher Bruce Billings walked in a run and left fielder Chad Huffman put the second TCU tally on the board with an RBI fielder's choice.
A two-out, five-run rally in the fifth inning increased the lead for the Aztecs. Swaydan started the rally with a two-run single up the middle to score Ungricht and designated hitter Curt Mendoza. Right fielder Joseph Scaperotta then poked an infield single, allowing shortstop Lance Zawadzki to cross home plate. Berry knocked Horned Frog starting pitcher Brad Furnish out of the game when he roped a two-run double down the left field line. Swaydan and Scaperotta both scored on the double to give SDSU a commanding seven-run lead.
TCU kept fighting, picking up a pair of runs before a three-run rally in the eighth inning. The Horned Frogs scored three runs on one hit, as the Aztec bullpen walked in three runs. Relief pitcher Adam Simon held on to pick up his third save of the season.
Billings earned the win, improving his record to 1-2. He threw seven complete, giving up four runs on six hits. Billings also struck out seven batters, including striking out the side in the fourth inning. His counterpart, Furnish suffered the loss. Furnish (1-5) threw four and two-thirds, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits. He also struck out seven batters.
SDSU returns to Tony Gwynn Stadium for the final game of the Preseason Mountain West Conference Tournament tomorrow against UNLV at 4 p.m.