April 28, 2006
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State right-hander Justin Masterson threw a complete-game shutout and his teammates gave him some late run support as the Aztecs defeated TCU, 6-0, Friday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The win improved SDSU to 16-29 overall and 9-5 in the Mountain West Conference as it gained ground on the league-leading Horned Frogs (25-18, 11-3 MWC).
Masterson, a junior from Beavercreek, Ohio, kept the TCU hitters of balance all evening and took a one-hitter into the ninth inning before giving up three late singles. After a one-out single in the first inning and a leadoff walk in the second, he retired 22 in a row until Bryan Kervin singled with one out in the final frame. Masterson finished the night with 11 strikeouts, his fourth double-digit performance of the season and second in his last three starts.
The game broke a string of 126 games in which TCU had scored at least one run. The last time the Horned Frogs were shut out was on April 27, 2004, in a 4-0 loss at home to Baylor.
TCU starter Jake Arrieta kept his club in the game early, working out of a couple of jams as he stranded seven Aztec base runners over the first four innings. However, it was his error and wild pitch that helped the Aztecs put their first run on the board in the fifth.
After Quintin Berry led off with a walk, Lance Zawadzki's sacrifice bunt attempt rolled straight back to the TCU hurler, but he allowed it to go under his glove for the miscue. After Paul Smyth popped out, Brock Ungricht hit into a fielder's choice that sent Berry to third, and a wild pitch brought him home.
SDSU doubled its lead in the sixth on a single by Tim O'Brien, double by Nick Romero and RBI single by Jordan Swaydan to make it a 2-0 game. That signaled the end for Arrieta (9-4), who left the game at the end of the inning. Over his six innings of work, he scattered eight hits while allowing two runs (one earned) with three strikeouts.
Although Masterson had all the runs he would need, San Diego State tacked on four more in the eighth off TCU reliever Brent Allar. With one out, Curt Mendoza just missed a home run when his deep fly to right hit near the top of the wall. However, there was no "almost" for the next hitter, Nick Romero, whose blast ricocheted off the green monster in right for a two-run homer. The rally continued with a walk to Swaydan, double by Berry and a two-run single up the middle by Zawadzki.
The only suspense remaining was to see if Masterson and the Aztecs could preserve the shutout. Three TCU singles loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth, but the Aztec starter got catcher Andrew Walker to ground out to short to end the game and even his season record at 5-5.
Romero ended the night with three hits, pair of RBI and run scored while teammate Jordan Swaydan had two hits, a walk, RBI and run scored. Zawadzki contributed a pair of runs batted in as well.
The Aztecs and Horned Frogs continue their three-game weekend series on Saturday (April 29) at 1:00 p.m. at SDSU.
San Diego State 6, TCU 0TCU 000 000 000 - 0 4 1SDS 000 011 04x - 6 12 0Arrieta, Arif (7), Allar (8) and WalkerMasterson and SwaydanW - Masterson (5-5)L - Arrieta (9-4)Sv - NoneHR - SDS: Romero-5 (8th-one on)Att. - 615Time - 2:32