April 27, 2010
SAN DIEGO - Trailing by two runs and down to its final out, Long Beach State scored twice in the ninth and added three more in the 10th as it defeated San Diego State, 11-8, Tuesday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The final result spoiled a comeback by the Aztecs, who trailed 4-1 in the fifth and rallied to take a three-run lead at the end of seven.
In what has become typical of mid-week games late in the season, both teams utilized multiple pitchers during the contest with the 49ers employing seven and the Aztecs using eight.
After falling behind early, SDSU (21-21) clawed its way back into the contest with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Jomel Torres and sacrifice fly by Jordan Van Hoosier to get within 4-3.
After the visitors scored one in their half of the sixth, San Diego State tied the contest at 5-5 with two runs of its own in the same frame on a run-scoring single by Matt Parker and sac fly by Ryan O'Sullivan.
The Aztecs completed their comeback when they put three runs on the board in the seventh to take an 8-5 lead. Brandon Meredith's single drove in the go-ahead run before Blair Moore's two-run double to right plated a pair.
LBSU (19-18) rallied for a run in the top of the eighth off junior Steven Moranda before Ryan Wynveen came on to get the final out. In the ninth, Wynveen retired the first two batters before giving up a single to right.
At that point John Pecoraro was called in from the bullpen, but he walked the first batter he faced before Joey Terdoslavcih shot a triple into the right field corner that scored both runners and tied the game at 8-8.
Long Beach State brought on its closer, Jason Markovitz in the bottom of the ninth and despite giving up a pair of walks kept SDSU off the board to send the game to extra innings.
In the top of the10th inning, 49er designated hitter Jordan Casas led off with a shot over the right field fence to give his side the lead. After retiring the next two batters, Pecoraro was touched up for a pair of walks and two doubles as LBSU added a pair of insurance runs.
Markovitz (2-1) then set down the Aztec in order in the bottom of the frame to seal the victory and pick up his second win of the season. Pecoraro was charged with the loss as his record fell to 3-4 on the year.
For SDSU, Jomel Torres and Brandon Meredith had two hits apiece to account for half of their team's total on the night. Mitch Blackburn recorded a single in the sixth inning as he extended his hitting streak to 21 games.
San Diego State now resumes Mountain West Conference play as its hosts an important three-game series against second-place New Mexico this weekend. The first game of that set will take place on Friday, April 30, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.