April 11, 2010
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - For the second time in three days San Diego State needed to work overtime for a win as it defeated Air Force, 8-7, in 10 innings Sunday afternoon at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs. It marked the fifth straight victory for the Aztecs (all on the road), their longest win streak of the season, as they improved to 15-17 overall and 4-5 in the Mountain West Conference.
As it did in the previous two games in the series, SDSU opened the scoring in the first inning to take a quick 3-0 lead. Leadoff hitter Mitch Blackburn (catcher's interference), Brandon Meredith (single) and Ryan O'Sullivan (walk) all reached safely to put three men aboard. Freshman Blair Moore then cleared the bases with a double to left field.
The Aztecs added a run in the third when Chris Wilson led off with a triple to right center and scored on a wild pitch off Falcon starter Sean Carley, who would go 5.1 innings and allow SDSU's first five runs. He would not be involved in the decision, however, as Air Force utilized eight pitchers on the day.
After the Falcons (7-24, 1-7 MWC) cut the deficit to 4-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, San Diego State extended its lead with a single marker in the sixth as Blackburn singled, stole second and third, and came home on and base hit by Meredith.
Freshman right-hander Ethan Miller was SDSU's starting pitcher and he went seven strong innings. A turning point in the contest came in the bottom of the sixth with the Aztecs protecting their 5-2 advantage. Three consecutive singles loaded the bases with no outs, but Miller struck out the next three batters to escape the threat.
That effort would prove vital as Matt Alexander's three-run homer in the next frame would tie the contest at 5-5. That ended Miller's afternoon as he finished his seven innings with five runs allowed on nine hits. He also walked two and struck out a season-high six hitters.
The deadlock did not last long, however, as Aztec DH Jordan Van Hoosier connected for his first homer of the year, a solo shot in the top of the eighth that gave SDSU a 6-5 lead.
Junior reliever Ryan Wynveen came on in the bottom of the inning and did not allow Air Force to score in the eighth, but after giving up a one-out double in the Falcons' half of the ninth he was lifted in favor of John Pecoraro. The Aztec closer got the second out of the inning before Alexander pushed a single through the right side to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
Air Force's Michael Ceci, the Academy's sixth hurler of the contest, came on to start the 10th, but allowed a single to Meredith and walk to Moore that ended his short stint. Alex Baker was brought on and he immediately walked Wilson to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Matt Parker and an RBI single by Cory Vaughn brought home Meredith and Moore to make it an 8-6 game.
There was one more twist to come as Pecoraro was touched up for a two-out solo homer by Nathan Carter in the bottom of the 10th. But after an error put the potential tying run on base, Pecoraro (3-1) got the final out on a grounder to third to secure the 8-7 victory and pick up his third win of the year. Air Force's Ceci took the loss to drop to 0-1.
Both Brandon Meredith (run, RBI) and Mitch Blackburn (two runs) had three hits to lead the Aztec offense. Over the three-game series against the Falcons, Meredith went 11-for-17 (.647) with three doubles, a home run, eight runs scored and seven RBI.
San Diego State will conclude its current string of eight road contests when it travels to face Cal State Northridge on Tuesday, April 13, at 3:00 p.m. (PT) at Matador Field in Northridge.