March 12, 2016
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Honors were divided on Saturday as Northwestern captured the contest suspended by Friday's rains, 13-7, while San Diego State won the series finale, 15-10, at Tony Gwynn Stadium. By winning two of the three games in the weekend set, the Aztecs improved to 4-11 on the season. The Wildcats, meanwhile, are 5-11 after the weekend results.
Offense was predominant on the day with several Aztecs having productive afternoons. Shortstop Alan Trejo went 6-for-10 over the two contests with two RBI and four runs scored to lead the SDSU offense.
Other major contributors included Tyler Adkison (4-for-7, 3 RBI, 4 runs, HR), David Hensley (4-for-8, two RBI, two runs) and Dean Nevarez (4-for-10, 4 RBI, 2 runs, 2 doubles, triple). In addition, catcher Hunter Stratton, who only played in the second game, went 2-for-3, was hit by pitch twice and scored three times.
In the completion for Friday's game that took up with the bottom of the sixth inning, SDSU scored a run to make it 6-5 in favor of Northwestern and it looked like the contest was set for a close finish with three innings remaining. But the Wildcats got to SDSU reliever March Reyes for seven runs in the top of the eighth on eight hits including a pair of doubles and a triple along with a walk to take control of the game at 13-5.
The Aztecs got a pair of consolation runs in their half of the eighth on hits by Tyler Adkison and David Hensley plus a balk and wild pitch later in the inning, but that was the extent of the scoring.
Northwestern starter Reed Mason, who went the opening five innings, picked up the win to improve to 2-0 while teammate Tommy Bordignon notched his second save after pitching the final four innings. SDSU's Cody Thompson, who was tagged for three runs in the sixth inning when the Wildcats took the lead for good, suffered the loss to fall to 0-4.
Nevarez recorded a single, double and triple in the contest while Adkison and Jordan Verdon added two hits apiece. Adkison also had two RBI that came on his first home run of the year, a two-run blast over the left field fence that had helped stake the Aztecs to a 4-0 lead after three innings.
In the regularly schedule game, the theme of offense continued as the teams combined for 25 runs on 33 hits. After winning the suspended contest, Northwestern wasted little time getting on the board as it opened with four runs in the top of the first against Aztec starter Brett Seeburger.
San Diego State took little time to respond as it struck for two of its own in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by Trejo and a balk that allowed Chase Calabuig to score from third.
After the visitors made it a 5-2 game by adding a run in the top of the fourth, it was the Aztecs' turn for a big inning as they rallied for six runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead for good. Those runs came on four hits, a pair of walks and a hit batter with the big blow in the inning being Nevarez's bases-loaded double to right that drive in all three runners.
Trailing 8-5, the Wildcats tried to get back into the game with a run in the fifth, but SDSU struck for four more in the bottom of the sixth with the final three coming on Justin Wylie's first home run of the season with two men on base.
Just when it appeared the Aztecs were well in control, the Wildcats rallied for four runs in the seventh to make it a 12-10 contest. Three of those runs were charged to Aztec reliever Adrian Orozco, two of which scored after he had departed the contest. He would eventually be credited with the win to move his record to 1-0.
The Aztecs added two runs in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Verdon and RBI single by David Hensley, then plated one more in the next frame when Hunter Stratton singled and was driven home by Chase Calabuig's run-scoring single to center.
Freshman right-hander Chris Collins held Northwestern scoreless over the final two innings to preserve the 15-10 win for SDSU.
San Diego State will be on the road for its next four contests starting with a short trip north to take on Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, March 15, at 6:00 p.m. at the Titans' Goodwin Field.