Aztecs Come Up Empty in Series Opener vs. Fresno State

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opened its key Mountain West series against Fresno State on a sour note Friday, dropping a 7-0 decision at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The Aztecs (10-24, 6-7 MW) found themselves locked in a pitcher’s duel for much of the game; however, the Bulldogs (16-17, 9-4 MW) grabbed an early lead they would not relinquish to help maintain their hold on first place in the conference standings.

SDSU mustered just two hits off Fresno State starter Jack Anker (5-3), who posted 16 strikeouts against one walk in eight innings, combining on the shutout with relievers Jared Galang and Tyler Patrick.

Marko Sipila (3-3) tied a career high with nine strikeouts of his own in 6 2/3 innings of work but was tagged with the loss after allowing all seven runs on eight hits and a pair of walks.

The Bulldogs gave Anker all the support he needed after scoring four runs on two hits and a pair of walks in the first inning.

Following walks to Owen Faust and Eddie Saldivar, Sipila seemed poised to avoid disaster after striking out Murf Gray and inducing a flyout to Justin Stransky.

However, Griffen Sotomayor doubled to left field to plate Faust and Saldivar, while Bobby Blandford followed with a home run to left center to put the visitors in front to stay.

The score remained unchanged until the sixth when Blandford singled and later crossed the plate on Cayden Munster’s RBI groundout.

Fresno State then closed out the scoring in the seventh on Gray’s solo home run, while Sotomayor raced home on Blandford’s double to right center.

Blandford led all players with three hits and three RBIs in the victory.

On the flip side, SDSU was limited to Finley Bates’ leadoff double in the fourth and Jake Jackson’s one-out single in the fifth and Drew Rutter walked with one out in the second.

The Aztecs got two runners aboard in the ninth when Evan Sipe and Xavier Farnum were both hit by a pitch. However, Patrick induced a double play and left Sipe stranded at third courtesy of a game-ending flyout.

Along with Sipila’s total, SDSU also received four strikeouts from Peyton Rodgers in his scoreless two-inning stint.

UP NEXT
San Diego State resumes its series with Fresno State on Saturday, April 12 at 4 p.m. PT. The Aztecs-Bulldogs clash will air live on the Mountain West Network.