April 23, 2017
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In a game that saw four lead changes, San Diego State had the final word as it scored twice in the sixth inning and went on to defeat UC Santa Barbara, 5-4, Sunday afternoon at Caesar Uyesaka Stadium in Santa Barbara.
With the victory, the Aztecs won the series by taking two of the three weekend contests as they improved to 29-12 on the year. The Gauchos, meanwhile, saw their record fall to 17-20.
UCSB took the early lead in the game with a run in the bottom of the first inning on walk, hit batter and fielder's choice to go up 1-0.
Two innings later, it was SDSU that went on top with a pair of runs in the top of the third. The two-out rally started with a base hit by Alan Trejo and subsequent singles by Chase Calabuig, Danny Sheehan and Jordan Verdon that gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage.
The Gauchos wasted little time, however, in reclaiming the lead as they put three on the board in the bottom of the same frame. All of those runs would be charged to SDSU starter Cody Thompson. The Aztec senior right-hander would depart after 2.1 innings having surrendered a total of four runs on three hits with three walks and a pair of strikeouts.
Sophomore Harrison Pyatt would toss the next two innings before he departed in the bottom of the fifth in favor of freshman Adrian Mardueno.
Trailing 4-2, San Diego State made it a one-run contest when it scored once in its half of the fifth. That marker came on a singles by Trejo and Sheehan plus an RBI single by Verdon to make it a 4-3 game.
The Aztecs would then take the lead for good by bringing in two runs in the top of the sixth. Andrew Martinez singled up the middle with one out and raced home from first-base on Julian Escobedo's triple to right center field. Chase Calabuig then delivered a two-out single that scored Escobedo with what would be the winning run.
Mardueno (1-0), who had retired two of three two batters he faced in the bottom of the fifth, was credited with the pitching victory, the first of the season for the Aztec freshman.
Senior Marcus Reyes would toss two scoreless innings (sixth and seventh) and Alan Trejo threw a perfect eighth inning before giving way to senior CJ Saylor, who would close out the contest to record his 11th save of the season.
Calabuig (RBI, run scored) led the SDSU attack with three hits while teammates Trejo (two runs scored), Sheehan (RBI) and Verdon (2 RBI) had two singles apiece.
The Aztecs will now return to San Diego for a four-game home stand that gets underway on Tuesday, April 25, with a contest against UC Riverside at 6:00 p.m. PT at Tony Gwynn Stadium.