April 8, 2009
LONG BEACH, Calif. - San Diego State went to Blair Field in Long Beach Tuesday evening in search of something it hadn't gotten there since 1995 - a victory over Long Beach State. Not only did the Aztecs get that win, they did so in dramatic fashion with a 4-3 win over the 49ers in a game that had more twists and turns than an episode of the TV drama "24."
SDSU (23-11) used some timely hitting, a couple of long balls, some good defensive plays and some clutch pitching to secure a win over the 49ers (14-14) on a night when the ultimate result was in doubt right up to the final play of the game`.
The Aztecs opened the contest with an infield single by leadoff batter Pat Colwell. Two hitters later, freshman Brandon Meredith hit a ball to dead center field that bounced off the top of the 400 foot sign and out of the park to stake SDSU to a quick 2-0 lead.
Long Beach State came back in the bottom of the inning with a run of its own on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Steve Tinoco. There may have been more runs scored if not for Erik Castro's diving play to snag a line drive off the bat of Brennan Metzger for the final out.
SDSU starting pitcher Goldy Simmons found himself pitching out of trouble in each of the first three frames, but managed to strand two 49er runners in each inning to preserve his team's slim 2-1 lead. When he walked the first batter in the bottom of the fourth, it spelled an end to his night as James McLaughlin came on in relief. Although that base on balls would eventually lead to a run on an RBI single by Derek Legg, SDSU averted further damage when they cut down Legg at the plate on an attempted double steal.
The game remained tied at 2-2 until the top of the sixth when Cory Vaughn hit a no-doubter home run over the left field fence that traveled over 400 feet. It was the sophomore's sixth round-tripper of the season, tying him with Castro for the team lead.
Long Beach State threatened to knot the score in both the sixth and seventh innings. In the sixth with a man on second and one out, Leary got a fly out to center plus a fine play by Meredith to knock down a hard-hit grounder and flip it to the pitcher covering.
In the seventh, a leadoff double by Jordan Casas and a sacrifice bunt by Devin Lohman put a runner on third with one out. At that point, Chase Thomas was called out of the bullpen and he got cleanup hitter TJ Middlestaedt to foul out to catcher Chris Wilson. Thomas then gave way to Andrew Leary, who recorded the third out of the inning on a hard grounder to first which Meredith took to the bag himself.
But the drama was far from over. The 49ers finally did manage to tie the contest with a run in the bottom of the eighth that came on back-to-back singles and a sacrifice fly. An error on the sacrifice fly put runners at first and second with no outs, but Leary managed to retire the ensuing three hitters with no further damage.
In the ninth, Colwell led off with a walk issued by LBSU reliever Dustin Rasco. After a strikeout, the 49ers brought on closer Charlie Ruiz. Colwell, however, was able to advance to second when a pickoff attempt by 49er catcher Kellen Hoime went down the right field line. That was followed by a Ruiz wild pitch to move Colwell to third. Meredith then stepped up and lined a 3-2 pitch into center field to give the Aztecs the 4-3 advantage.
The final chapter, one that might be called The Great Escape, came in the bottom of the ninth as reliever Addison Reed was called in to close out the contest. After walking Lohman to open the frame, Middlestaedt hit a ball to the hole at short that became an infield single, and when Ryan O'Sullivan's throw to first went past Meredith, Long Beach suddenly had runners at second and third with no outs.
Reed then induced a come-backer from Tinoco for the first out and struck out Metzger for the second. Hoime then hit a foul pop to the right of first base on which Meredith made an over-the-shoulder catch, hanging on to the ball as he fell to the ground for the final out. The result gave Reed his nation-leading 11th save of the season.
Leary, who was the pitcher of record when the Aztecs scored in the ninth, picked up the win to improve to 2-1. LBSU's Rasco took the loss to fall to 0-2.
SDSU's Brandon Meredith was the offensive star of the night, going 2-for-3 with the two-run homer and the game-winning hit in the final inning. Cory Vaughn (HR) and Pat Colwell (two runs scored) also had two hits apiece. Hits by Brandon Decker and Colwell in the contest saw them extend their current hitting streaks to 12 and 10 games respectively.
San Diego now returns to Mountain West Conference action as it visits UNLV for a three-games series that gets underway on Thursday, April 9, at 7:00 p.m. (PT) Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas.