March 8, 2008
SAN DIEGO - San Diego gifted visiting Santa Clara five runs, came back to take a short-lived lead, then eventually fell to the Broncos, 10-6, Friday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The contest was part of the 2008 Aztec Invitational being contested both at SDSU and the University of San Diego.
The win was the fourth straight for Santa Clara (9-1), which had defeated 11th-ranked San Diego on Thursday in its tourney opener. SDSU, meanwhile, lost for the fourth time in it last five outings, dropping to 6-5 in the process.
With Stephen Strasburg on the mound, things looked promising for the Aztecs as the sophomore right-hander sailed through the first two innings. However, things came unraveled in the top of the fifth as the Broncos took advantage of three San Diego State errors combined with three hits and a walk to score five unearned runs.
SDSU slowly worked its way back into the contest against Santa Clara starter Nate Garcia, who had allowed a base runner in each of the first the frames but was never in danger of allowing a run. In the bottom of the fourth, Garcia was the victim of a defensive miscue when Kevin Silvett's two-out fly ball was misplayed by left fielder Patrick Glenn, allowing Garett Green (who had singled) and Brandon Glover (reached on a walk) to score. The two unearned runs allowed the Aztecs to close the score to 5-2.
In the next frame, SDSU added four more runs on five hits and walk to take a 6-5 lead, getting RBI singles from Green, Cory Vaughn, Erik Castro and Kevin Silvett during the rally. It also spelled the end of the night for Garcia, who was relieved after 4.2 innings during which he struck out seven.
With Strasburg still on the mound, the Aztecs appeared to be in control again, but the Broncos had other ideas. In its half of the sixth, Santa Clara answered right back with a pair of runs off Strasburg and he would eventually be saddled with the loss to even his record at 1-1 on the season. The visitors added three more runs in the eighth off Aztec freshman Brett Miller to make it a 10-6 game.
San Diego State found the going tough against Bronco reliever Daniel DeMarco, who had come on to replace Garcia to get the final out in the bottom of the fifth. He retired eight of the first nine batters he faced, six via the strikeout. He departed after giving up a pair of one-out walks to Brandon Decker and Brett Tanos in the eighth, but Santa Clara called on Jeff Lombard to quell the threat, which he did with a strikeout and a fly out to right.
DeMarco was the beneficiary of his team's late rally as he was credited with the win to improve to 1-0. Lombard, who retired all five batters he faced, recorded his first save of the season. Santa Clara's three hurlers struck out a total of 15 Aztecs on the night while the SDSU duo of Strasburg and Miller had 10 between them.
Brett Tanos (single, double, run scored) and Erik Castro (pair of singles, RBI) each had two of SDSU's nine hits on the night. Senior outfielder Brandon Glover drew a pair of walks and scored two runs.
Up next for San Diego State is a meeting with Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. (PST) at Tony Gwynn Stadium. That contest will be preceded by the game between Oklahoma State and Santa Clara scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. start.