March 1, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State was limited to one hit over the first eight innings as it suffered a 5-2 defeat at the hands of No. 5 UCLA Tuesday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs got some fine pitching from four different hurlers, but were unable to generate much offense against a staff that entered the contest with a 1.57 team earned run average.
The Bruins got on the board in the first inning off SDSU right-hander Bryan Crabb in a rare Tuesday night6 start for the sophomore from Coronado. Crabb (0-2) would ultimately be tagged with the loss after tossing four innings and allowing a pair of runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
The Aztecs tied the game in the bottom of the second against UCLA starter Scott Griggs. The highly-touted sophomore right-hander issued walks to Jomel Torres and Tim Zier before Corey Black laced a double to left center to knot the score at 1-1. That hit would be SDSU's last until the final frame.
The top of the third, the Bruins loaded the base with no outs on a single, error and walk. But Crabb worked his way out of the jam with a pair of strikeouts and a grounder back to the mound to keep the score tied.
Griggs, meanwhile, was anything but dominant as he would walk a total of six batters before leaving the contest in the bottom of the third. That brought on reliever Zack Weiss, who would allow no hits over 3.1 innings with three walks and four strikeouts. Weiss (1-0) would eventually be credited with the win after the Bruin regained the lead in the fourth on a walk, stolen base, ground out and fielder's choice.
UCLA then added two crucial runs in the top of the fifth when Steve Rodriguez's fly ball was misjudged and flew over the head of the Aztec left fielder allowing the visitors to take a 4-2 lead. They would add one more in the next frame on a single by Beau Amaral, who then stole second and third before coming home on a two-out bunt single by Tyler Rahmatulla.
San Diego State mounted a late rally in the ninth against Bruin closer Nick Vander Tuig. Pat Colwell and Tim Zier led off the frame with back-to-back singles with Colwell scoring on a ground out by Corey Black. But Vander Tuig retired the next two batters to end the contest in UCLA's favor.
Up next for SDSU is a string of four games in four days against teams ranked in the Top 25 by Baseball America this week. That run begins on Thursday, March 3, with a contest against third-ranked Oklahoma at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.