April 9, 2006
SAN DIEGO - New Mexico broke open a tie game by scoring 12 runs over the final four innings off four different San Diego State relievers Sunday afternoon, taking the rubber game of the series with the Aztecs by a score of 15-7.
The loss dropped SDSU's record to 10-26 overall and 4-3 in the Mountain West Conference as they fell into third place behind TCU and Utah. UNM improved to 20-11 on the season and 3-3 in league play.
After the Aztecs opened the scoring with a run in the first on Brock Ungricht's RBI single, the Lobos responded with three in the second off SDSU starter Will Miller, who lasted just 1.1 innings before being relieved by sophomore Mike Koons.
The home side fought back to knot the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the second on an RBI double by Jordan Swaydan followed by a run-scoring single off the bat of Quintin Berry.
The game remained tied until the top of the sixth when New Mexico pushed across a pair of runs off Koons, who was tagged with the loss to fall to 3-5. UNM added three in the seventh and a pair on the eighth to take a 10-3 lead.
The Aztecs generated little offense after their two-run second inning, recording just a pair of hits over the next five frames off Lobo starter Jesse Perez and reliever Chace Lankford. SDSU was able to climb back into the contest in its half of the eighth as freshman Nick Romero connected for a grand slam to make it a 10-7 game.
However, any hopes of a comeback were extinguished when the visitors tacked on five runs (two earned) in the top of the ninth for the final 15-7 score line. Perez (1-0) was credited with the win, his first of the year, while teammate Damon Miller, who had come on in the eighth after Romero's homer, notched his third save.
For San Diego State, Swaydan and Berry collected two hits apiece with a double, single and run batted in while outfielder Curt Mendoza added a pair of singles and scored twice.
The Aztecs will continue their current 15-game home stand on Tuesday (April 11) when they host Long Beach State at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
New Mexico 15, San Diego State 7UNM 030 002 325 - 15 16 0SDS 120 000 040 - 7 10 2Perez, Lankford (6), Itokazu (8), D. Miller (8) and ArnettW. Miller, Koons (2), Simon (7), Triolo (8), Douglas (9), Suwyn (9) and SwaydanW - Perez (1-0)L - Koons (3-5)Sv - D. Miller (3)HR - UNM: Bingham-1 (7th-two on) SDS: Romero-4 (8tgh-three on)Att. - 768Time - 3:37