March 3, 2007
STOCKTON, Calif. - Saturday's baseball game between San Diego State and San Francisco was all about taking advantage of opportunities. The Dons were able to cash in on their chances while the Aztecs were not, as USF defeated SDSU, 3-1, at the Pacific State Bank Tiger Classic in Stockton, Calif.
San Diego State (10-8) got another exceptional performance from its starting pitcher as Bruce Billings allowed just one unearned run and one hit over seven innings of work. But for the fifth time in his five starts in 2007 he was not involved in the decision.
Billings saw his team load the bases with no outs on two occasions and score just one run. That run came in the top of the fifth when singles by Brian Lucas and Garett Green were followed by Frank LoNigro being hit by pitch. Chris Anderson's sacrifice fly to right scored Lucas, but Cameron Johnson then grounded into a double play to end the threat.
SDSU's 1-0 lead last until the bottom of the fifth. With two out and Tavo Hall at first base, Luke Sommer's fly ball to left was dropped by Johnson, allowing Hall to score and tie the contest.
In the top of the eighth, the Aztecs put their first three runners on when Johnson was hit by pitch and Pat Colwell and Troy Hanzawa singled off Dons reliever Brian Anderson. USF brought on Cole Stipovich, and he struck out Brandon Glover and Nick Romero before Daniel Morales came on to retiree Lucas on a ground out to shortstop.
San Francisco (8-6) duplicated SDSU by loading the bases with no out in the bottom of the inning on a walk and two singles off reliever Aztecs Aaron Brady. However, after a force out at the plate, the Dons were able to take advantage of the situation as catcher Jonathan Norfolk singled to center to bring home two runs and make it a 3-1 contest.
After USF re-loaded the bases on a single by Brian Chavez, Mike Koons was called out of the Aztec bullpen and he retired the next two hitters to end the inning.
Morales was the beneficiary of his team's two-run rally as he picked up the win to improve to 1-0. SDSU's Brady was the losing pitcher as his record dropped to 1-2.
Brian Lucas and Troy Hanzawa had two hits apiece for t he Aztecs, who out-hit the Dons by an eight-to-five margin. The lone extra-base hit in the game was Frank LoNigro's one-out double in the ninth, but he was stranded at the second when the contest ended.
San Diego State will conclude tournament play on Sunday (Mar. 4) as it faces 29th-ranked Baylor at 10:00 a.m. (PST).