Feb. 25, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State got a fine pitching performance from sophomore Ethan Miller, but was unable to generate enough offense in a 6-3 loss to the University of San Diego Friday afternoon. The loss dropped the Aztecs to 1-4 on the season while the Toreros improved to 2-3.
SDSU got on the board in the opening frame when Pat Colwell walked and scored on a double to left center by Brandon Meredith. It was the first of two doubles on the day for Meredith, who hit his second to right center field in the third inning. He was the lone Aztec to record more than one hit.
On the mound, Miller cruised through the first two innings as he retired the first six batters in the USD lineup. However, he was victimized by three Aztec errors in the top of the third as the Toreros took a 2-1 lead, an advantage they maintained over the remainder of the contest.
The visitors doubled their run total on of solo home runs by third baseman Kris Bryant in the fourth and sixth innings. They took a 5-1 lead with a run in the seventh on a two-out double by Kevin Muno and RBI single by Dillon Checkal.
As for the Aztecs, they were held to just two hits from the second through sixth innings by USD starter Dylan Covey. A first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers last June, Covey retired 10 in a row heading into the bottom of the seventh.
At that point, the Aztecs put on a rally of their own. Two-out walks to Kyle Hayes and Jared Hunt set the stage for a two-run triple to right center off the bat of Cody Smith to make it a 5-3 contest. But that would be the end of SDSU's scoring exploits for the day as they would finish the contest with only five hits.
The Toreros added an insurance run in the top of the ninth and Chris Jenson came on to retire the side in order in each of the final two innings to record his first save of the season.
USD's Covey (1-0) was credited with the win after going seven innings and allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts. It was tough loss on Miller (0-1), who had a career-high seven strikeouts over his seven innings of work.
The three-game series between the Aztecs and Toreros is scheduled to continue on Saturday (Feb. 26) with a contest at Cunningham Stadium on the USD campus at noon.