May 16, 2009
OGDEN, Utah - San Diego State scored three times in the top of the 12th inning then held on to complete an improbable comeback as it defeated Utah, 10-9, Saturday afternoon at Lindquist Field in Ogden. The Aztecs came back after going down by four runs in controversial fashion late in the game with freshman Ryan O'Sullivan the hero at the plate and on the mound.
The victory closed out the regular season on a high note for SDSU as it improved to 37-19 overall and finished with a 15-9 mark in Mountain West Conference play. The loss was a heartbreaker for the Utes (21-27, 8-16 MWC), who were one strike away from a win in the ninth inning.
After falling behind 4-1 at the end of six frames, San Diego State got back into the contest with a pair of runs in the seventh on a two-out two-run single by freshman catcher Chris Wilson. In the bottom of the inning, however, a controversial call allowed Utah to score three runs and extend its lead to 7-3.
With the bases loaded and one out, a grounder by Ute first baseman Austin Jones landed in foul territory beyond the third base bag. But the home plate umpire ruled that the ball crossed over the bag, making it a fair ball and clearing the bases. After a lengthy delay, the ruling stood and the Aztecs found themselves facing a four-run deficit with two innings to play.
SDSU got one of those runs back in the eighth on O'Sullivan's solo home run, his fifth of the season. On the mound, Aztec closer Addison Reed came on in relief in the bottom of the frame and rescued his team by keeping Utah at bay after it had put two men on base.
Reed ended up tossing three innings, his longest outing of 2009 as he struck out four and allowed just one base runner on an intentional walk.
Trailing by three runs in its final at bat, San Diego State opened the ninth with Cory Vaughn reaching on an error by Ute third baseman Nick Kuroczko. A one-out single by Wilson set the stage for O'Sullivan's dramatic second homer in two innings. With two outs, the first-year shortstop hit a 3-2 pitch from Utah reliever Stephen Streich deep over the left field wall to tie the game at 7-7.
Neither team scored over the next two innings although the home side threatened in the bottom of the 11th. After a leadoff double by second baseman Corey Shimada off Aztec reliever Chase Thomas, the SDSU senior lefty got the next two outs before giving way to freshman Matt Skipper. After an intentional walk, Skipper got a called third strike to Jones on a 3-2 pitch to end the inning.
In the 12th, the Aztecs struck for three runs on three hits and a pair of hit batters. With one out, pinch hitter Guy Willeford single up the middle. With Josh Chasse on as a pinch runner, Brandon Meredith was hit by pitch to put runners at first and second. Erik Castro then singled to right to drive home Chasse. Cory Vaughn was then hit by pitch to load the base before Mitch Blackburn laced a double to left center to bring home two runs and make it a 10-7 contest.
The drama was far from over though as Utah would score twice in its half of the inning and eventually load the base with two outs. At that point, O'Sullivan was called to the mound from his shortstop position to try to get the final out. He did so by inducing C.J. Cron to ground into a fielder's choice to nail down the victory and pick up his first collegiate save.
The win went to Matt Skipper, his first as an Aztec as he evened his record at 1-1. Utah's Bennett Askew, who had tossed a perfect ninth in the Ute's win on Friday, took the loss to fall to 1-4 after giving up the three SDSU runs in the 12th.
As much as it was a team win, the day belonged to SDSU's O'Sullivan who had three hits including the two home runs, three runs scored and four runs batted in while also recording the save. Pat Colwell (double, RBI) also had three hits while Castro (run, RBI), Blackburn (double, run, 2 RBI) and Wilson (run, two RBI) chipped in with a pair of hits each.
San Diego State now heads to Fort Worth, Texas, for the annual Mountain West Conference Tournament hosted by TCU. As the number-four seed, the Aztecs will open play against UNLV on Tuesday, May 19, at 7:00 p.m. (CT) at Lupton Stadium.