May 5, 2012
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - San Diego State spotted visiting UNLV a run in the first inning and then scored nine times from the second through fifth en route to a 9-2 win over the Rebels Saturday night. The victory assured the Aztec of the No. 3 seed at the Mountain West Tournament to be played later this month in Las Vegas.
SDSU starter Michael Cederoth gave up the run in the top of the first on a double by Joey Swanner and RBI single by Brandon Bayardi. The Aztec freshman right-hander then settled down and held the Rebels scoreless over the next four innings while his teammates gave him nine runs to work with.
San Diego State came back almost immediately, scoring a pair of runs in its half of the second to take a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the evening. Walks to John Spirk and Dillon Bryant plus a single by Jake Romanski loaded the bases with one out. Rebel Starter Zak Qualls then walked Steven Pallares to bring home Spirk with Bryant scoring on Greg Allen's ensuing sacrifice fly to right.
The Aztecs would get to Qualls (4-4) for four more runs in the next frame, using a walk and five two-out hits to take a 6-1 lead. RBI singles by Spirk and Romanski plus a two-run base hit by Allen ended the night for the UNLV lefty, who would take the loss after allowing the six runs on six hits with six walks and five strikeouts.
SDSU added its final four markers in the fifth using three hits, a hit batter and a Rebel error against UNLV reliever Andy Beresford. After Pallares singled and Allen was hit by pitch to begin the inning, they were moved up a base by Evan Potter's sacrifice bunt. Tim Zier then delivered single that was misplayed by the left fielder to score both runners. Zier, whose single extended his hitting streak to 18 games, later scored on another RBI single by Spirk.
UNLV scored a second run against Cederoth in the top of the sixth top make it 9-2, but that would be the extent of the scoring in the contest. Cederoth would finish six innings of work surrendering the two runs on five hits while walking five and striking out five to even his record at 3-3. Relievers Mitch Bluman and Travis Pitcher held the Rebels hitless over the final three frames.
Greg Allen and Ryan Muno both recorded a single and double in the game with Allen driving in three runs. Three others had a pair of singles each including John Spirk (two runs, two RBI), Jake Romanski (RBI, run) and Steven Pallares (RBI, run).
UNLV and San Diego State will conclude their three-game series on Sunday (May 6) with a contest scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start at Tony Gwynn Stadium.