April 18, 2010
SAN DIEGO - Jo Jo Sharrar's two-out singe in the top of the ninth drove home the winning run as Utah avoided a series sweep by defeating San Diego State, 5-4, Sunday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The ending spoiled a comeback effort by the Aztecs, who had overcome a 4-1 deficit with three runs in the seventh.
The win saw Utah improve to 18-15 on the year while SDSU fell to 16-18. Both teams ended the weekend tied for fourth in the Mountain West Conference with identical with 6-6 league records.
For the third time in three games, the Utes got on the board early with a run in the first inning off starter Ethan Miller. Miller would eventually toss 6.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits with four walks and four strikeouts.
Utah starter Bryn Card, meanwhile, retired the first nine batters he faced until the Aztecs knotted the score with a run in the fourth. Jomel Torres began the inning by getting hit by a pitch, took second on a single by Mitch Blackburn and scored on Ryan O'Sullivan's single to left.
The score remain tied until the top of the sixth when the visitors scored twice on an RBI single by Nik Gumeson and sacrifice fly by Mark Moorman. They added to their lead with a run in the seventh to make it a 4-1 contest.
After being limited to just a pair of singles through the first six frames, San Diego State finally got its offense going in the bottom of the seventh. Blackburn was hit by pitch to start the frame and he scored two batters later on a double to left by Chris Wilson. Wilson in turn scored on Blair Moore's RBI single to center.
That spelled the end of Card's afternoon as he was lifted in favor of right-hander Zach Adams, who issued walks to Matt Parker and Brandon Meredith to load the bases. Brandon Decker then hit a sacrifice fly to right that tied the game at 4-4.
Both teams had a chance to go on top in the eighth, but neither could get the key hit to score the go-ahead run. The Utes, however, did score what proved to be the winning run in the top of the ninth off SDSU closer John Pecoraro. With two out, C.J. Cron and Gumeson singled before Sharrar's base hit to center made it a 5-4 game.
In the bottom of the frame, Meredith led off with a single, but pinch runner Corey Black was picked off first for the second out, effectively ending the Aztec threat.
Utah's rally in the ninth made a winner of Adams, who evened his record at 1-1. SDSU's Pecoraro took the loss to fall to 3-3.
The Aztecs now take a quick break from league play as they host UC Irvine on Tuesday, April 20, at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.