April 4, 2017
LAKE ELSINORE, Calif. - Alan Trejo's double down the left field line drove home two runs and completed an Aztec comeback as San Diego State defeated UCLA, 5-4, Tuesday night in Lake Elsinore, Calif. The contest was played at The Diamond, the home facility of the Lake Elsinore Storm, the Class-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
SDSU took an early leads in the game with a pair of runs in the bottom fop the second. With two out, Julian Escobedo and Trejo both singled before Andrew Brown's triple to dead center field gave the Aztecs a 2-0 lead.
Junior right-hander Ray Lambert, making just his third start of the season, pitched well through the first three frames before running into trouble in the top of the fourth.
A leadoff home run by Sean Bouchard in the fourth cut the deficit in half for UCLA, which went on to load the bases with a single and a pair of walks. That ended the night for Lambert as he was replaced by senior lefty Marcus Reyes, who was greeted by a two-run double off the bat of Jack Stronach. A ground out to second scored another run, and by the time the dust settled, the Bruins held a 4-2 lead.
San Diego State struck back immediately, however, with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning. Escobedo drew a one-out walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, to third on a ground and scored on Brown's single through the right side.
The 4-3 score held up for two innings before the Aztecs re-took the lead for good in their half of the sixth. The frame started with a walk to Chase Calabuig and a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Orr. Andrew Martinez was then hit by pitch with speedster Denz'l Chapman running for him at first base. Trejo than stepped up and lashed a 2-0 pitch past the Bruin third baseman into the left field corner, scoring both runners and giving SDSU the 5-4 lead.
Freshman Logan Boyer (1-0), who had retired the three men he faced after coming on to pitch in the top of the sixth, would be the beneficiary of Trejo's hit as he would be credited with the victory, his first as an Aztec.
Hurlers Adrian Mardueno, Trejo and CJ Saylor tossed the seventh, eighth and ninth innings respectively with each having to face only three batters. Saylor would be credited with the save, his second in two days and eighth of the year.
Trejo (two RBI, run scored) and Brown (three RBI) both ended the evening with two hits apiece to lead the SDSU attack as the twosome accounted for all five of SDSU's RBI in the contest.
The Aztecs will now return home to resume Mountain West play this weekend when they host Nevada for a three-game league series. That set gets underway on Friday, April 7, with a game scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.