May 2, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - In a game played in 42 degree weather with 22 mile per hour winds that also featured a 10-minute snow delay, San Diego State unleashed a 19-hit attack in defeating Air Force, 15-0, Friday afternoon at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs. Every starter in the SDSU lineup had at least one hit and five players turned in multiple-hit efforts on the day as the Aztecs ended a four-game losing streak.
In the process, SDSU improved to 26-21 overall and 12-7 in the Mountain West Conference as it remained in third place in the league standings. Air Force, which came into the contest having won four of its last five, dropped to 16-25 (2-13 MWC).
The contest began in windy, overcast conditions with a few snowflakes falling intermittently. That snow became heavy enough to cause the umpires to halt the game in the bottom of the first with one out. The snow quickly subsided and the game resumed after 10 minutes, but the 22 mph winds remained throughout the afternoon making it feel like a brisk 32 degrees with the wind chill factor.
In spite of the weather, San Diego State got another excellent pitching performance from sophomore Stephen Strasburg, who tossed a complete-game shut out to improve to 7-1 on the season. He allowed only three hits while striking out 11 and walking just one. He has now recorded 77 strikeouts in conference games this season, one shy of the MWC record of 78 set by former Aztec Marcos Mendoza in 2001.
The Aztecs took a six-run lead after three innings with the help of some Air Force miscues in the field. In the second, Brandon Glover doubled, went to third on a fly ball to center and came home when Erik Castro's two-out grounder was misplayed by Falcon second baseman Nathan Carter.
SDSU added five more in the top of third with a rally that started when Brandon Decker and Nick Romero reached on fielding errors in the infield. After Garett Green's single loaded the bases, Glover came through with a three-run double to left that made it a 4-0 game. Eight men eventually came to the plate as SDSU also got RBI from Bubba Ruddy and Brett Tanos in the frame for a 6-0. All six of those unearned runs came off Falcon starter, David Miller, who left after the third inning and saw his record fall to 2-5
The Aztecs sent eight batters to t he plate again in the sixth, adding four runs to their total. The big blows in that inning were a two-run double by Decker and an RBI triple by Green. The tacked on their final five runs in the eighth with 10 men coming to the plate.
Brandon Glover (3-for-5, two doubles, 4 RBI, 3 runs), Erik Castro (3-for-4, 2 RBI) and Troy Hanzawa (3-for-5, 2 runs) led the San Diego State offense while Garett Green and Brandon Decker drove in two runs apiece. With his double in the fifth inning, Decker extended his hitting streak to a team-best 15 games while Pat Colwell's single in the eighth upped his current streak to 13 straight contests.
San Diego State and Air Force continue their three-game weekend series with a contest on Saturday, May 3, scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. (MDT) start in Colorado Springs.