March 22, 2010
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State scored seven times in the fifth inning en route to a 13-6 win over visiting Santa Clara Monday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. That offensive outburst overcame a three-run deficit and the Aztecs held off a Bronco rally before adding five more later in the contest to put the game away.
The victory was the third straight for the Aztecs over Santa Clara as they climbed to within a game of the .500 mark at 9-10. The Broncos, meanwhile, saw their record fall to 7-10 on the season.
The visitors got on the board first off SDSU starter Steven Moranda with three runs in the top of the third as they batted around and collected three hits, a walk and two hit batters. The damage was done before reliever Drew Leary came on to get the final two outs.
San Diego State had an immediate response as third baseman Chris Wilson led off the bottom of the frame with a solo home run, his first of the season. Santa Clara, however, responded with a run in the fourth to re-establish its three-run cushion at 4-1.
The Aztecs then staged a repeat of their Saturday rally against the Broncos by sending 11 men to the plate in the fifth inning and pushing seven runs across, one more than they had scored in the same frame two days earlier. Those runs came on six hits that included a two-run double by Cory Vaughn and two-RBI singles by Jordan Van Hoosier and Matt Parker. Santa Clara starter Jon Hughes (2-1) was charged with all of those runs as he would eventually suffer his first loss of the year.
Leary, meanwhile, tossed four innings and surrendered three runs (two earned) with a walk and three strikeouts. That effort earned him his first win as he evened his record at 1-1.
Trailing 8-4, the Broncos fought back with a pair of runs in the seventh, but the Aztec would have the final say as they scored five in the bottom of the eighth to put the game away. The big blow in the inning was a bases-loaded double by Vaughn that drove in three runs after Jomel Torres had started the scoring with an RBI single. Van Hoosier added an RBI single later in the inning to bring home the final run of the game.
Sophomore right-hander John Pecoraro who had come on to start the eighth, retired six of the seven batters he faced, allowing just a two-out single in the ninth. His effort earned him his third save of the season.
Three Aztecs finished with three hits apiece led by Vaughn, who had a double, five RBI and a pair of runs scored. Van Hoosier had three singles along with three RBI while fellow freshman Matt Nadolski recorded a double, two singles and scored twice.
San Diego State and Santa Clara will conclude their four-game series on Tuesday, March 23, with a contest scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. (PT) start at Tony Gwynn Stadium.