SAN DIEGO – San Diego State fell victim to the long ball on Sunday as visiting UConn pulled away for a 10-3 triumph in the finale of a four-game series at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The Huskies hit four homers, including two by David Smith, to capture the series 3-1 and raise their record to 12-5 on the season, while the Aztecs drop to 5-11 overall.
Smith went yard on the second pitch of the game and later broke the score open with a grand slam in the eighth to finish with five RBIs on the day.
UConn received an RBI single from Ben Huber in the third, while Dominic Freeberger and Jake Studley added a pair of solo shots in the fifth to give the visitors a 4-0 cushion.
SDSU sliced the lead in half in the bottom of the fifth on Shaun Montoya's two-run single through the right side, plating Caden Miller and Irvin Weems, who previously kept the inning alive with consecutive two-out base hits.
However, any hopes for an Aztec comeback were soon extinguished in the eighth after the Huskies erupted for five runs on just two hits. Bryan Padilla singled; Maddix Dalena drew a walk, while Matt Garbowski was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Moments later, Padilla crossed the plate when Ryan Daniels walked, while Smith followed with the aforementioned slam to effectively put the contest out of reach at 9-2.
The teams traded runs in the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth to close out the scoring, both on bases-loaded walks.
UConn starter Jack Sullivan (3-1) struck out eight batters in 6 2/3 innings of work, offsetting two runs on seven hits to earn the victory, while Omar Serrano (0-2) absorbed the loss after allowing two runs on three hits and a trio of walks against four strikeouts in four innings.
The Aztecs employed four relievers on the day, highlighted by Robert Brodell's scoreless two-inning stint during which he countered one hit and one walk with a pair of strikeouts.
Weems and Montoya led the Scarlet and Black with two hits each, while Smith, Freeberger, Studley and Korey Martin finished with two apiece for the Huskies.
San Diego State has a scheduled midweek road game at crosstown adversary San Diego on Tuesday, March 21, before it returns to The Mesa to open a three-game Mountain West series against Air Force, March 24-26, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Aztecs Drop Series Finale to UConn, 10-3
