May 15, 2016
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - San Diego State scored four times in the second inning to break a 2-2 deadlock as it defeated Air Force, 11-5, Sunday afternoon in the finale of the weekend series between the teams at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Three SDSU seniors played a part in the win with pitchers Zack Oakley and Dalton Douty tossing two innings apiece and outfielder Spencer Thornton recoding a pair of hits including a home run and three RBI.
With the victory, the Aztecs improved to 17-34 overall and 9-18 in the Mountain West. With three league games reaming, SDSU is in sixth place, two games behind the Falcons in the race for the fifth spot and avoidance of the play-in game at the conference tournament in Albuquerque.
Air Force, which has set a school record for most Division I wins in a season in 2016, ended the weekend with an overall mark of 27-23 and an 11-16 slate in league play.
Sunday's contest between the Aztecs and Falcons was about offense as the home side opened with two runs in the bottom of the first only to see Air Force respond with two of its own in the top of the next frame.
SDSU's four-run second inning came on five hits and was aided by a pair of Falcon errors. Justin Wylie's single drove home CJ Saylor, who had begun the rally with a single and advanced to third on a hit by Denz'l Chapman. Two batters later an error at shortstop on a ground ball by Alan Trejo brought home the second run of the inning and Tyler Adkison's ensuing two-run double gave the Aztecs a 6-2 lead, one it would not relinquish the rest of the afternoon.
Over the next five innings, the teams traded single runs on three occasions as the Aztecs maintained their four-run advantage at 9-5 after seven frames.
SDSU's final two runs came in the bottom of the eighth when Adkison walked and Spencer Thornton hit a 3-0 pitch over the right field fence to provide the final 11-5 score line. It was the senior outfielder's team-leading sixth home run of the season.
Aztec junior right-hander Cody Thompson (3-7), who tossed the first five frames allowing four runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts, was credited with the win.
Air Force starter Nick Biancalana pitched only into the second inning after giving up SDSU's first six runs on eight hits as he took the loss to even his record at 3-3 on the season.
Five Aztecs recorded multiple-hit efforts in the contest led by three-hit performance by Trejo, who also had an RBI and scored twice. Adkison and Spencer drove in three runs apiece with two hits each and also scored one time apiece.
Up next for San Diego state is a short trip north to face UC Riverside on Tuesday, May 17, at 6:00 p.m. at the Riverside Sports Complex. The Aztecs will conclude their 2016 regular season with a three-game series at San Jose State next weekend.