April 1, 2007
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - San Diego State rebounded from losses to New Mexico the previous two nights by defeating the Lobos, 11-6, in the finale of their three-game series at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque Sunday afternoon. The win halted a three-game losing streak for SDSU, which improved to 18-14 overall and 3-2 in the Mountain West Conference. A four-run SDSU eighth inning broke open a one-run game and saw the Lobos drop to 14-18 (3-3 MWC).
The Aztecs got out of the gate quickly, scoring a run in the opening frame as Frank LoNigro's two-out double drove home Troy Hanzawa, who had reached on an error to open the game.
That one-run lead increased to a 5-0 advantage in the next inning as SDSU put four runs on the board with two outs. Aaron Brady's single up the middle brought home the first two runs with the third and fourth scoring on a balk and an RBI single by Nick Romero.
New Mexico came back in the bottom of the inning, scoring two on a bases-loaded double by center fielder Matt Foote. The Lobos then took the lead at 6-5 in the next frame, scoring four times on four hits and a pair of SDSU errors.
SDSU responded in the top of the fourth on Nick Romero's two run home run to left center that followed Aaron Brady's single to right. That gave the Aztecs a 7-6 lead, and the score remained the same until the eighth.
Neither SDSU starting pitcher Lance Sewell or New Mexico's Ryan Escarcega made it through the third inning after they had given up five and six runs respectively. The pitchers that followed them, SDSU's Mike Koons and UNM's Jacob Norton, fared considerably better.
Koons went 4.2 innings, his longest outing of the season, allowing an unearned run on four hits to pick up the win and improve to 3-1. Norton, who allowed Romero's homer in the fourth, sailed through the next three innings before running into trouble in the eighth.
In that eighth inning, SDSU scored its four runs on four hits as Mike Willeford, Romero and LoNigro recorded RBI's. Norton was saddled with the loss for UNM as his record dropped to 1-6. Stephen Strasburg tossed the final two innings for the Aztecs, retiring the six batters he faced, too secure the victory.
Romero ended the afternoon with three hits and four runs batted in while teammates Frank LoNigro and Aaron Brady drove in two runs apiece. Eight of SDSU's nine starters had at least one hit with Brady and Troy Hanzawa scoring three times each.
San Diego State and New Mexico will now turn around and head to San Diego where they will meet in another three-game MWC series starting Thursday, Apr. 5, at 6:00 pm, (PDT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.