March 21, 2015
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Senior outfielder Steven Pallares tied a school record with eight runs batted in to lead San Diego State to a 13-1 win over Air Force in the second game of their weekend series Saturday afternoon at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The win was the third straight for the Aztecs, who improved to 18-5 overall and 6-2 in Mountain West play.
Pallares' RBI came on a two-run single in the fourth, a grand slam in the fifth and a two-run double in the eighth. His total of eight runs batted in tied the SDSU record set by Phil Woolsey vs. The Masters College in 1984 and Jason Phillips vs. Cal State Northridge in 1995. His grand slam was his third home run of the season and second career slam after hitting one vs. New Mexico during last year's Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.
On Saturday the Aztecs jumped on top with two runs in the second inning on an RBI fielder's choice by Ryan Muno and run-scoring single by Chase Calabuig. They added three more in the fourth on Pallares' two-run single, and he scored later in the frame on Ty France's base hit to left to make it 5-0.
SDSU took control of the contest by plating six runs in its half of the fifth. In addition to the grand slam, the Aztecs also got RBI on a single by Muno and triple by France to give the home side an 11-0 lead.
While the offense was connecting at the plate, junior right-hander Mark Seyler was keeping the Air Force hitters in check over the first eight innings. He would be lifted to begin the ninth in favor of reliever Brett Seeburger having allowed just one run on four hits with no walks and 10 strikeouts. The victory improved his record to 5-1 on the year.
Pallares ended the day with three hits and scored twice while freshman Alan Trejo also registered three hits and scored once. Muno and France tallied two hits and two RBI apiece with Muno crossing the plate three times in the game. Calabuig also contributed a pair of singles with an RBI and run scored.
San Diego State and Air Force (9-12, 5-6 MW) will conclude their weekend series on Sunday (March 22) with a contest scheduled to get underway at 1:00 p.m. (PT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.