March 11, 2007
SAN DIEGO - Four San Diego State errors led to four unearned runs as the University of San Diego came from behind to defeat the Aztecs, 6-4, Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Tony Gwynn 2007 Classic. It was the 22nd-ranked Toreros' sixth straight win against the Aztecs over the past three seasons as they improved to 15-9. SDSU, meanwhile, dropped to 12-10 after letting an early lead slip away due to some defensive miscues.
San Diego State took the lead in the opening inning as Nick Romero's three-run homer to left scored Brandon Decker and Brandon Glover (both of whom had reached on walks) ahead of him. The 3-0 did not last long as the Toreros began to chip away with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth off SDSU starter Lance Sewell.
Josh Romanski led off the top of the third with a solo home run to cut the lead to 3-1. In the next frame, Adam Buschini's single to right got by Aztec right fielder Josh Chasse for a two-base error and Buschini scored on Logan Gelbrich's sacrifice fly. USD tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth on a triple by Kevin Muno and a wild pitch.
In the next inning, Buschini reached on a two-out error by first baseman Brian Lucas. Gelbrich then struck out, but reached first base on the wild pitch third strike. The Toreros took advantage of their opportunity as Daniel Magness doubled down the left field line to bring home both runners and give the visitors their first lead of thee afternoon at 5-3.
Sewell, who suffered his first loss of the season as his record fell to 2-1, ended his afternoon after six innings of work, giving up five runs, only two of which were earned. He walked one and struck out six.
Trailing by two, SDSU got a run back in the bottom of the sixth when walks to Romero and Cameron Johnson were followed by an RBI single to right by Chasse.
However, the Toreros added an insurance run in the eighth, another of the unearned variety, when a two-out grounder was mishandled by Troy Hanzawa allowing Gelbrich to score from third.
USD reliever AJ Griffin, who came on to start the fifth inning, gave up just the one run on one hit over the final five frames while striking out seven. In the process, he picked up the win to improve to 3-1.
For SDSU, Romero was the offensive leader with the home run and a double as he accounted for half of his the team's total of four hits on the day.
Aztec outfielders Cameron Johnson and Josh Chasse were named to the Tnoy Gwynn 2007 Classic all-tournament tream along with starting pitcher Bruce Billings.
Up next for the Aztecs is a short strip north when they visit UC Riverside for a contest on Tuesday, March 13, at the Riverside Sports Complex at 6:00 p.m. (PDT).