Feb. 28, 2017
LONG BEACH, Calif. - San Diego State combined timely hitting with a solid performance by the pitching staff to defeat Long Beach State, 6-2, Tuesday evening at Blair Field in Long Beach.
With the victory, the Aztecs improved to 5-4 on the season. LBSU, meanwhile, dropped to 4-4 as it saw a three-game win streak come to an end.
The Aztecs jumped on Long Beach starter John Castro (0-1) for a pair of runs in the first inning. After Danny Sheehan recorded on a two-out single, Jordan Verdon hit his Mountain West-leading third triple of the year to give SDSU a 1-0 lead. Verdon then scored when Andrew Martinez reached base on an error by the right fielder to stake the Aztecs to a 2-0 lead.
SDSU added a run in the top of the fifth on a solo home run by Andrew Brown, his second round tripper of the season.
LBSU countered with a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 3-1, but that's as close as they would get with a comeback effort as the Aztecs made it 4-1 in the next frame on a triple by Julian Escobedo and throwing error.
RBI singles by Martinez and David Hensley in the seventh extended the Aztecs' lead to 6-1 before the home side scored a consolation run in its half of the eighth for the final 6-2 score line.
Sheehan (two runs scored) and Verdon (triple, RBI, two runs scored) ended the night with three hits apiece.
On the mound, San Diego State got four shutout innings from starter Jacob Erickson, who allowed just one hit with a walk and three strikeouts over his four innings of work.
The win was credited to senior left-hander Marcus Reyes (1-1), who tossed 1.1 innings over the fifth and sixth frames. Closer CJ Saylor went the final 1.1 innings to record his second save of the year.
Up next for the Aztecs is a three-game series against Cal Poly this weekend. That set gets underway with a contest on Friday, March 3, at 6:00 p.m. PT at Tony Gwynn Stadium.