SAN DIEGO – San Diego State moved into a tie for first place in the Mountain West with a gritty 4-3 triumph over New Mexico on Friday in the second game of a weekend series at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
With the victory, the Aztecs (23-27, 17-11 MW) find themselves perched atop the conference standings with San José State (26-24, 17-11 MW), while Air Force (26-28, 17-12 MW) sits a half-game back with one game remaining in the regular season.
The Spartans were 7-1 winners over Nevada at home on Friday, while the Falcons suffered a 19-5 thrashing at UNLV.
As a result, SDSU remains in contention for its first Mountain West regular-season title since 2004. The Aztecs need to defeat the Lobos on Saturday and have the San José State lose to Nevada.
Against the Lobos on Friday, Poncho Ruiz doubled home Charlie Rhee with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth, as starter TJ Fondain (7-3) earned the victory on the mound for the Scarlet and Black.
Ruiz finished with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate with a pair of RBIs, while Fondtain and Xavier Gonzalez knocked in SDSU's other two runs for the night.
Fondtain struck out nine batters in six innings of work, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk. The Aztec left-hander combined with four relievers to keep New Mexico (26-24, 13-16 MW) off the scoreboard for the final five innings, as Kelena Sauer retired the side in order in the ninth to record his conference-leading 12th save of the season.
On the flip side, Lobo starter Tristin Lively (6-4) went the distance, yielding all four runs on seven hits and two walks to go with four strikeouts in eight innings.
SDSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Shaun Montoya scored on Ruiz's sacrifice fly to center field. Previously, Montoya led off with an infield single and advanced on a wild pitch before taking third on Irvin Weems' deep flyout to right.
UNM responded with the tying run on three hits in the top of the second, as Reed Spenrath crossed the plate following a leadoff double and consecutive singles by Justin Olson and Konner Kinkade. However, Fondtain prevented further damage by striking out Devon Dixon and Chase Weissenborn to end the inning.
The score remained unchanged until the fourth when the Lobos vaulted in front 3-1 on Olson's two-run homer to right, which plated Kyle Smith, who led off with a walk and advanced to second on a balk.
Undaunted, the Aztecs forged a 3-3 deadlock in the bottom of the frame, as Ruiz and Fondtain led off with consecutive doubles, while Gonzalez added a run-scoring single following a groundout.
Later in the fifth, Rhee drew a leadoff walk, while Montoya followed with a sacrifice bunt before Weems struck out, setting the stage for Ruiz's clutch hit. The Aztec catcher lofted a high fly ball that fell between three fielders near the right-field line, as Rhee raced home for the go-ahead tally.
Olson and Sean Stephens led the Lobos with two hits apiece in the loss.
San Diego State closes out its regular-season slate with the series finale against New Mexico on Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m. PT. Prior to the contest, the Aztecs will celebrate the accomplishments of Robert Brodell, Brian Leonhardt, Caden Miller, Julian Jackson, Ricky Tibbett and student manager Max Foxcroft in a special ceremony highlighting Senior Day festivities.
The SDSU-UNM clash will once again air live on the Mountain West Network.
Aztecs Edge Lobos to Climb into First-Place Tie
