March 1, 2009
SAN DIEGO - Adam Muenster's RBI single in the top of the tenth drove home Jordan Cruz with what proved to be the winning run as Kansas State defeated San Diego State, 5-4, Sunday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium. It was a cruel fate for the Aztec who had trailed since the third inning before knotting the score at 4-4 in dramatic fashion on a two-out RBI single by Brandon Decker in the bottom of the ninth.
The loss dropped SDSU to 4-4 on the season as they continue a pattern of alternating victories and defeats through the first eight contests of the year. The Wildcats, meanwhile, improved to 5-2.
Aztec starting pitcher Tyler Lavigne, who tossed a three-hit shutout at USD in his collegiate debut a week ago, struggled to find control of his sinker throughout his 5.2 innings of work. Cruz was the first to take advantage of that fact as be blasted a solo home run to right center in the third to stake the visitors to a 1-0 lead.
A walk and a single in the top of the sixth ended Lavigne's afternoon before left fielder Nick Martini's single off reliever Chase Thomas cashed in those runners and gave the visitors a 3-0 advantage.
On the other side, Kansas State starter Kayvon Bahramzadeh retired the first 11 hitters he faced and allowed only a pair of singles through the first five frames. The Aztecs finally got to him, however, in their half of the sixth as they loaded the bases on a walk, single and error. That spelled the end of Bahramzadeh's day with Evan Marshall came on in relief. Marshall got the job done as he gave up a fielder's choice to give SDSU a run and make it a 3-1 contest before ending the threat with a double play.
The visitor's came right back in their next at bat to re-establish their three-run margin, scoring a run on a leadoff triple by Daniel Dellasega and groundout by Cruz.
San Diego State drew to within a single run in the bottom of the same inning as Ryan O'Sullivan singled with one out, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a single by Cory Vaughn. After Jomel Torres was hit by pitch, catcher Matt Parker doubled down the left field line to make the score 4-3. That set the stage for Decker's heroics in the ninth.
With freshman right-hander Matt Skipper holding the Wildcats at bay in the eighth and ninth, SDSU got an inning-opening single by Vaughn to start its half of the final regulation frame. He was sacrificed to second by Easton Gust before Decker delivered a single to left with two outs to tie the contest.
Muenster's game-winning hit in the 10th made a fortuitous winner of reliever Thomas Rooke (1-0), who had given up the tying run one frame earlier. Matt Applegate came on to close out the contest and recorded his first save of the season. Skipper suffered the loss to fall to 0-1.
In addition to Decker, three other Aztecs notched two hits apiece including Pat Colwell, Ryan O'Sullivan and Cory Vaughn.
The Aztecs now face a rematch of last Tuesday's contests against seventh-ranked Cal State Fullerton as the Titans are set to visit Tony Gwynn Stadium on Tuesday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m.