SAN DIEGO – San Diego State fell victim to some timely hitting and effective pitching on Saturday in an 8-2 loss to Fresno State in the second game of a Mountain West weekend series at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The Bulldogs (11-12, 5-3 MW) scored five of their eight runs with two outs, while starting pitcher Jake Dixon kept the Aztecs (5-17, 0-8 MW) off balance with eight strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings of work.
Caden Miller, Poncho Ruiz and Irvin Weems led the Scarlet and Black with two hits apiece, but it wasn't enough, as SDSU dipped to 1-9 in its last 10 outings.
Miller belted his second home run of the season, a solo shot with two outs in the bottom of the third, to put the Aztecs on the board after Fresno State built a 4-0 advantage.
The teams traded single markers in the fourth, with the Bulldogs picking up an unearned run after Josh Lauck scored on Zach Morgan's double down the left-field line. Previously, Lauck reached on a throwing error and took second on an errant pickoff attempt.
In the bottom of the inning, Ruiz led off with his first triple of the year and promptly raced home on Cole Carrigg's grounder to short that cut the deficit to 5-2.
However, SDSU was kept of the scoreboard for the rest of the game, thanks in part to Dixon (1-2), who scattered six hits and gave up no walks en route to his first victory of the season, while designated hitter Tommy Hopfe took the mound and pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, allowing just one hit—a two-out single by Weems in the ninth.
Conversely, Kelena Sauer (1-4) was tagged with the loss for the Aztecs after giving up five runs (one unearned) on five hits and three walks in four innings against only one strikeout.
Chris Canada tossed three innings of middle relief, yielding a two-run double to Morgan with two outs in the sixth that increased the Bulldogs' advantage to 7-2.
Meanwhile, Avery Jones struck out four batters in the final two frames but surrendered a run-scoring double to Ivan Luna in the eighth, which brought home Morgan, who drew a two-out walk.
Morgan (3 RBIs) and Andrew Kachel totaled two hits apiece for Fresno State, while Ben Newton scored twice, including the game's first run in the top of the first after touching the plate on Hopfe's fielder's choice.
The Aztecs will look to salvage the final game of the series on Sunday when the two teams square off at 1 p.m. PT.
Aztecs Fall to Fresno State, 8-2
