SAN DIEGO – San Diego State rallied from an early deficit on Friday to defeat UNLV, 4-2, in the opening game of a Mountain West series at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
With the victory, the Aztecs (17-21, 11-6 MW) climbed to within percentage points of San José State for the top spot in the conference standings after the Spartans (20-18, 13-7 MW) dropped a 6-4 decision at Air Force earlier in the day. SDSU owns a .647 winning percentage in league play, just behind SJSU's .650 clip.
Despite a rough beginning, starter TJ Fondtain (5-2) persevered for his second straight victory, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in six innings to go with seven strikeouts.
Fondtain also aided his own cause by belting his team-leading eighth homer of the season, a solo shot to right-center in the fourth inning that put the Scarlet and Black in front for good.
The Rebels (16-24, 7-12 MW) scored first when Kade Higgins led off the second with a walk, advanced to third on Braden Murphy's one-out single through the right side before racing home on a wild pitch. Following a walk to Paul Myro, Fondtain, struck out Jason Sharman and Gianni Horvat to prevent further damage.
UNLV stretched its lead to 2-0 in the third on Alex Pimentel's leadoff homer to left, while Rylan Charles followed with a single to right. However, Fondtain rose to the occasion once again, inducing flyouts to Jacob Sharp and Higgins before fanning Austin Kryzczuk.
SDSU needed just one swing of the bat to tie the game, as Poncho Ruiz blasted his sixth homer of the season with one out in the third, driving home Shaun Montoya, who led off with a walk.
The Aztecs also put the lead-off hitter aboard in the fourth when Irvin Weems was struck a pitch from Rebel starter Noah Carabajal. However, Drew Giannini struck out moments later, while Weems was caught stealing on the throw to second, which seemingly derailed the Scarlet and Black's momentum.
Undaunted, Fondtain stepped to the plate and crushed the first pitch from Carabajal over the fence in right-center to give the host school a 3-2 advantage.
The Aztecs gave themselves some insurance when Cole Carrigg's sinking fly ball was trapped by Pimentel in right, allowing Caden Miller to cross the plate. Previously, Miller walked and Ruiz singled, with both runners advancing on pitcher Nick Rupp's throwing error on pickoff attempt at second after the UNLV reliever just entered the contest.
With a 4-2 lead in hand, SDSU turned to its bullpen, as Ricky Tibbett, Eldridge Armstrong III and Kelena Sauer each pitched a scoreless and hitless inning.
Tibbett avoided danger in the seventh with a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around a picked-off runner at first, where Myro was erased from the basepaths after getting hit by a pitch to lead off the frame.
Armstrong issued a walk to Pimentel to start the eighth, but Charles promptly grounded into a double play, while Sharp flied out to right.
Sauer then took the hill in the ninth, striking out Higgins and Kryszsczuk before securing his ninth save of the season upon Murphy's flyout to left. With the victory preserved, the Aztec reliever has compiled 15 saves for his career, which ranks sixth on the school's all-time charts.
San Diego State continues its series with UNLV on Saturday, starting at 6 p.m. PT. The first 250 fans in attendance will receive a free SDSU hat.
Aztecs Defeat UNLV in Series Opener, 4-2
