Aztecs Fall in Series Opener vs. Northeastern

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opened its weekend series on a sour note Friday, dropping a 10-4 decision to Northeastern at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

In the inaugural meeting between the two programs, the Huskies maintained a 12-7 advantage in hits and scored eight of their runs with two outs to help even their record at 5-5 on the year, while the Aztecs slip to 4-10 overall.

Trailing 1-0, SDSU tied the score in the bottom of the second when Drew Rutter roped a two-out triple into the left-field corner before trotting home on Nevan Noonan’s bloop double that landed in fair territory along the right-field line.

However, Northeastern outscored the Aztecs 9-1 over the next four innings to seize control.

The Huskies put up four tallies in the third with two outs on consecutive RBI singles by Jack Goodman and Harrison Feinberg before Will Fosberg went deep with a two-run homer to right.

In the ensuing frame, Northeastern capitalized on two hit batters and a double steal to increase its advantage. With runners at second and third, Cam Maldonado grounded to short for the second out against a drawn in infield. However, the Aztecs were unable to get out of the jam, as Alex Lane followed with a two-run single to left, plating Carmelo Musacchia and Ryan Gerety.

SDSU responded with a marker its half of the fourth when CJ Moran led off with a walk and ultimately scored on Noonan’s second double of the night, a deep shot to left.

However, Feinberg cracked a solo homer to lead off the fifth, while Goodman knocked in Maldonado with an RBI double in the sixth, followed shortly thereafter by Fosberg’s run-scoring single, which completed the scoring for the visitors.

The Aztecs added two runs in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game when pinch hitter Cody Liscio doubled home Xavier Farnum and later scored on a fielding error.

The Huskies utilized five pitchers on the night, with Charlie Walker (1-0) picking up the victory after tossing 1 2/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout in relief of starter Jordan Gottesman, who struck out six batters in 3 1/3 innings, yielding two runs on four hits and three walks.

On the flip side, Omar Serrano (0-2) also posted six strikeouts in his start for the Scarlet and Black but was charged with the loss after allowing eight runs on eight hits and one walk in four-plus innings.

Goodman led all players with three hits for Northeastern, while Fosberg drove in a game-high three runs in the victory.

The Aztecs were paced by Rutter and Noonan, who finished with two hits apiece.

UP NEXT
San Diego State continues its weekend series against Northeastern with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 8, starting at noon PT.