May 3, 2008
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Nick Romero singled home Troy Hanzawa in the top of the 10th as San Diego State defeated Air Force, 5-4, Saturday afternoon in Colorado Springs. Romero's game-winning hit would not have been possible without the heroics of Aztec right fielder Pat Colwell, who hit a two-out solo homer in the top of the ninth to send the game to extra frames. The win allowed SDSU to keep pace with the league leaders as it improved to 27-21 overall and 12-7 in the Mountain West Conference.
The loss was a heartbreaker for the Falcons, who saw their record drop to 16-27 (2-14 MWC). It also wasted an excellent pitching performance by Air Force starter Alex Truesdale, who kept the SDSU hitters off balance all afternoon with an assortment of fastballs and changeups that led to seven strikeouts and just one walk. The sophomore right-hander gave up four runs, three of which were unearned, as his teammates committed four errors behind him.
San Diego State's James McLaughlin, making just his second start of the year, also pitched well, going 7.1 innings and allowing four runs (two earned) while striking out six and conceding only one base on balls. However, neither starter was around at the end as each team's closer was the pitcher of record when the contest concluded.
The game was close throughout as the teams were never separated by more than one run. The Aztecs opened the scoring in the third as Pat Colwell singled home Erik Castro, who had reached second on a throwing error after hitting into a fielder's choice. The Falcons tied the game in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single by K.J. Randhawa.
Air Force took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Addison Gentry led off by reaching safely on an error by first baseman Brett Tanos and eventually scoring on a sacrifice fly by Josh Meents.
San Diego State had good scoring opportunities when it put a runner on third with just one out in both the fourth and fifth innings, but came up empty on both occasions. The third time was a charm, however, as the Aztecs scored twice in the sixth to grab a 3-2 advantage. A Falcon error to open the frame followed by two hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly restored SDSU's lead as it got RBI from Romero and Bubba Ruddy.
That lead was short-lived as Air Force tied the score in the bottom of the same inning and then grabbed a 4-3 lead with a run in the bottom of the eighth on consecutive singles by Matt Alexander, Josh Meents and Chay Derbigny.
After retiring the first two batters in the top of the ninth, Truesdale made one of his few mistakes on the afternoon as Colwell took his 1-1 pitch and deposited it over the left field fence to tie the game. Addison Reed tossed a perfect bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
In the top of the 10th, Troy Hanzawa led of with a double off Falcon reliever Mike Ruvolo and came home on Romero's single to right. Reed then closed out the game to pick up his third win and improve to 3-1. Ruvolo was tagged with the loss to drop to 5-4.
Hanzawa ended the day with three hits including a pair of doubles and also scored two runs. Colwell and Romero each contributed two hits and drove in two runs apiece.
The Aztecs and Falcons will conclude their weekend series on Sunday, May 4, with a contest slated to begin at noon (MDT) at Falcon Field.