May 10, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State completed a spirited comeback effort with a run in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Cal State Northridge, 6-5, Tuesday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The winning run came when Dillon Bryant was hit by pitch with the base loaded and was made possible by a pair of errors and a clutch hit that all came with two out.
Freshman Justin Hepner made his first start on the mound for SDSU after only four previous short relief appearances and the right-hander from Carlsbad struggled from the outset. He was greeted by three straight singles to open to contest as the Matadors grabbed a quick 1-0 lead. After getting the next two batters, Hepner gave up a two-run single and the Aztecs found themselves behind by three.
The top of the second started much the same way and after the first two CSUN batters reached on base hits it was the end of the evening for Hepner. Fellow freshman TJ Kendzora came on to begin what was arguably his best outing of the season.
CSUN scored a run in the inning on a sac bunt and ground out, but Kendzora would keep the Aztecs in the contest over the next seven frames. He would toss a total of 7.2 innings and allow a lone run on three hits. Along the way he recorded a season-high seven strikeouts.
With Kendzora doing his part, San Diego State began a comeback from the four-run deficit and got back to within one in the bottom of the third. Cody Smith led off with a triple to the base of the wall in dead center field and scored on Pat Colwell's grounder to shortstop. It was the first of three hits on the night for Smith, who extended his current hitting streak to 11 games. After a single by Brandon Meredith, Jomel Torres lofted a pitch over the right field fence for a two-run homer, his second of the season.
Northridge added a run in the fifth to make it a 5-3 contest, but San Diego State got back to even with a pair in the bottom of the seventh. A single by Evan Potter and walk to Colwell set the stage for an RBI single by Meredith. A walk to Torres loaded the base and reliever Ryan Juarez then delivered a wild pitch to bring home Colwell and tie the game at 5-5.
In the top of the ninth, a two-out single by TS Reed brought a close to Kendzora's stint on the mound. Senior lefty Ryan Wynveen came out of the bullpen and retired Ridge Carpenter on a called third strike to end the inning.
In the bottom of the ninth, back-to-back two-out errors by Matador shortstop Matthew Telesco put Chris Wilson and Tim Zier at first and second. Potter followed with his second single of the game, but with the outfielders playing shallow Wilson was held at third. CSUN closer Josh Goossen-Brown, who had started the inning, then hit Dillon Bryant with a 1-0 pitch to force home Wilson with the winning run.
That run made a winner of Wynveen, who improved to 2-0 on the season. Goossen-Brown was the hard-luck loser as his record fell to 4-2.
San Diego State now resumes Mountain West Conference play as it hosts Brigham Young for a three-game series that gets underway with a contest on Thursday, May 12, at 6:00 p.m. (PT).