May 10, 2009
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State found the offensive production it had been missing and got another fine pitching performance from its starter as it defeated Air Force, 12-2, Sunday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium. In completing the three-game sweep of the Falcons, the Aztecs won their fourth straight to improve to 34-18 overall and 13-8 in the Mountain West Conference.
Air Force, meanwhile, saw its record drop of 14-44 (3-15 MWC) in the Mothers Day contest that was also Senior Day for a quartet of San Diego State pitchers. That foursome included Jon Berger, James McLaughlin, George Snyder and Chase Thomas.
SDSU jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead with a run in the bottom of the first as a two-out double by Brandon Meredith was cashed in when Erik Castro followed with an RBI single.
With the Aztecs clinging to the one-run advantage, the fourth inning proved to be a pivotal point in the contest. San Diego State starting pitcher Tyler Lavigne, who cruised through the first three frames recording five of the nine outs via the strikeout, ran into control problems to start the fourth.
After walking the first two batters, an attempted sacrifice bunt turned into an infield single as Air Force loaded the base with no outs. Lavigne then proceeded to strike out the next three hitters to escape the threat with no damage.
In the bottom of the inning, the Aztecs added four runs to their lead on a solo home run by Castro and RBI singles by Mitch Blackburn and Matt Parker to make it a 5-1 game. That rally ended the day for Air Force starter Michael Ceci (1-4), who allowed four runs on seven hits over three innings.
The Falcons got a run back in the fifth on a single by Tytus Moss, run-scoring double by Addison Gentry and a dropped fly ball in left field. That would be the extent of the Academy's run production on the afternoon as they could muster just one hit, a ninth-inning single, over the final four frames.
The Aztecs then put four more runs in the board in their half of the fifth before tacking on three more in the seventh to round out the scoring. SDSU's final two runs came on Ryan O'Sullivan's two run homer, his third of the season.
San Diego State right-hander Tyler Lavigne went the first 6.2 innings on the mound to pick up the win and move his record to 6-1. He finished with a season-high 11 strikeouts and gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits. Senior Chase Thomas closed out the seventh and began the eighth, getting both hitters he faced before giving way to Andrew Leary, who finished the final 1.2 innings.
Eight of SDSU's nine starters had at least one hit led by three from Castro, who also had a pair of RBI and scored twice. O'Sullivan (three) and Blackburn (two) also turned in multiple RBI efforts with two hits apiece.
The Aztecs will next play their final non-conference contest of the regular season when they host San Francisco on Monday, May 11, at 2:00 p.m. in the final home game of 2009.