April 11, 2017
After spotting UC Irvine a run in the top of the first, San Diego State roared back with six runs over the first three innings en route to a 9-3 victory over the Anteaters Tuesday evening at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
With the win, the Aztecs improved to 24-10 overall as they won for the eighth time in their last nine contests. UCI, meanwhile, saw its record fall to 12-17 as it lost for the sixth outing in a row and the 12th time in their last 13 games.
After the Anteaters scored once in the opening frame off SDSU stating pitcher Ray Lambert, SDSU wasted little time in tying the contest in the bottom of the inning on back-to-back singles by Alan Trejo and Andrew Brown followed by an RBI grounder to second by Danny Sheehan.
The hosts took the lead for good in the next frame, scoring twice on a walk and pair of hits. Andrew Martinez drew the one-out walk and scored two batters later on David Hensley's triple to right center field. Trejo then singled in Hensley to give SDSU a 3-1 lead.
SDSU tacked on three runs in the third on a two-run homer by Tyler Adkison and a solo blast by Martinez that extended the Aztec lead to 6-1. Adkison's home run was his team-leading ninth of the season while Martinez's shot was his fourth.
Lambert, meanwhile got through the second inning, but ran into trouble in the third when the Anteaters loaded the bases with two out on a single and two walks. At that point, senior lefty Marcus Reyes was summoned from the bullpen and he ended the threat with a ground out to first.
Reyes would toss 4.1 innings in the game and be credited with the win to even his record at 2-2. Along the way he allowed no runs on three hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He worked his way out of a jam in the top of the seventh when the visitors put runners at first and second with no outs as he retired the next three batters on a strikeout, fly out and ground out.
San Diego State added three runs to its total in the bottom of the seventh courtesy of a three-run home by Chase Calabuig. Walks to Brown and Adkison brought Calabuig to the plate with two out, and he crushed a ball to right field that hit high up on the wall behind the right field fence.
Hensley (RBI, run scored) accounted for three of the Aztecs' 11 hits on the night with two singles and a triple. Trejo (RBI, run scored) and Martinez (RBI, two runs scored) had two hits piece while Calabuig had a team-high three RBI with the home run.
San Diego State will now return to Mountain West play when it visits Las Vegas for a three-game series vs. UNLV that gets underway on Thursday, April 13, at 6:05 p.m. at the Rebels' Earl E. Wilson Stadium.