Feb. 9, 2008
SAN DIEGO - The Red team used a pair of four-run innings to defeat the Black team, 8-2, in the annual Alumni baseball Game at Tony Gwynn Stadium Saturday afternoon. A change in format due to new start date rules for college baseball saw 25 former players divided up into two teams for what turned out to be a six-inning contest.
John Lynn, 14 years removed from his last appearance as a member of the Aztecs, was the pitching star of the day as he went five innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits to pick up the win. For the Black squad, Ruben Aguilera pitched well for four innings, but his team defense let him down, committing five errors to make six of the runs he gave up unearned.
The Red took a 1-0 lead in the third as former pitcher Mike Koons singled home Royce Ring, who had reached on an error. Koons finished the day with a pair of singles in his two trips to the plate.
Aguilera, who struck out the side in the second, ran into trouble in the bottom of the third. After Tim O'Brien and Garrett Changnon reached base on a single and error respectively, Andy Litteral drove them both in to give the Black team a lead it would not relinquish. RBI singles by Javier Ramos and Will Dryden later in the frame made it a 4-1 contest. Ramos and Dryden each added singles in the next inning to complete a perfect 2-for-2 day at the plate with the former picking up another RBI as well.
Trailing by three runs, the Red team closed the gap with one in the top of the fourth on a double off the right centerfield wall from Daryl Harang and an RBI single off the bat of former pitcher Bruce Billings. But that's as close as they would get as the Black added four unearned runs off Rah-Miel Mitchell in the bottom of the inning to make the final score 8-2.
The following is a listing of the players who participated in this year's contest:
Reuben Aguilera Will Dryden Curt MendozaJosh Allen Daryl Harang Marcos MendozaQuintin Berry Kevin Howard Rah-Miel MitchellBruce Billings Ben Julianel Tim O'BrienDan Bruckart Mike Koons Sam PepperLandon Burt Andy Litteral Javier RamosGarrett Changnon John Lynn Royce RingChad Corona Brian Manfred Ben Rosenthal Ryan WilsonA number of alums were in attendance for the days festivities, but did not play in the game. Among that number were current Cincinnati Reds pitcher Aaron Harang along with former major leaguers Travis Lee (Arizona, New York, Tampa Bay) and Alex Pelaez (San Diego).
Following the game, the baseball program hosted a dinner for alumni, fans, friends and family in the Aztec Athletic Hall of Fame. Attendees at that event included three players who were members of the San Siego State Aztec baseball team during the 1940s: Jerry Davison (1940-42, 47), Bob Kennedy (1941-42, 47-78) and Sef Torres (1948).
San Diego State opens its 2008 regular season on Friday, Feb. 22, with a home contest against the University of San Diego at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
2008 Alumni GameRed 8, Black 2Black 001 100 - 2 8 5Red 000 44x - 8 6 4Aguilera, Mitchell (4), Bruckart (5) and Rosenthal, Allen (4)Lynn, Dryden (6) and Manfred, Howard (5)W - LynnL - AguileraSv - NoneHR - NoneTime - 1:48