Late Rally Sinks Aztecs at Cal State Fullerton

FULLERTON, Calif. – Cal State Fullerton scored two runs in the ninth inning on Tuesday to hand visiting San Diego State a disheartening 3-2 defeat in a midweek clash at Goodwin Field.

With the setback, the Aztecs dropped their third straight, slipping to 9-8 overall, while the Titans raise their record to 7-9 on the season.

The loss spoiled a superb outing from SDSU starting pitcher Bryce McKnight, who scattered four hits without a walk, posting a collegiate-best seven strikeouts in a career-long six innings.

Trailing 2-1, Fullerton loaded the bases in the top of the ninth off the Aztecs’ third reliever of the night, Jake Frohn (0-1), who gave up consecutive singles to Max Ortega and Andrew Kirchner, with the latter reaching on a bunt attempt.

Esteban Olazaba then drew a walk to load the bases before Hunter Meyer hit a soft grounder down the third-base line. SDSU third baseman Tyce Peterson charged and tried to field and flip the ball in one motion with his glove to catcher Zach Justice in an attempt to nail pinch-runner Brady Dobson on a force at the plate. However, the ball sailed high to the back wall, allowing Kirchner to score the winning run from second after Dobson touched home safely.

The Titans utilized eight pitchers, including Andrew Wright (1-0), who tossed a scoreless ninth with one strikeout to earn the victory.

The Aztecs, who were limited to three hits on the night, including two by Justice, broke a scoreless stalemate with a pair of runs in the sixth.

Jabin Trosky drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third after Max Farrell was hit by a pitch and Peterson reached on a fielder’s choice. Justice extended his hitting streak to nine straight games with a single through the left side, plating Trosky.

Fullerton’s Chris Hernandez replaced Ryan Seo on the mound and promptly hit Jake Jackson with a pitch to load the bases. Shortly thereafter, Peterson crossed the plate when Dawson Santana reached on a fielding error wide of first base. However, Hernandez prevented further damage with strikeouts of Anthony Marnell IV and Zane Kelly.

The score remained unchanged until the eighth when Olazaba drew a leadoff walk from Issac Araiza, who previously replaced McKnight and retired the side in the seventh.

Connor Abadie was summoned from the bullpen and quickly struck out Meyer. However, Eli Lopez followed with a single to right center, while Paul Contreras reached after his slow roller was mishandled in front of the mound. Moments later, Olazaba scored on a wild pitch to cut the SDSU lead in half at 2-1.

With the bases still loaded after an ensuing walk to Ty Thomas, Abadie avoided further trouble by inducing consecutive flyouts to Nick Miller and Cam Burdick, setting the stage for the fateful ninth inning.

Earlier, McKnight fought himself off the proverbial ropes after yielding a pair of fourth-inning singles and a wild pitch, fanning Kirchner with runners on second and third. He also received a tailor-made double play on a grounder by Lopez to end the fifth after giving up a one-out single.

San Diego State opens Mountain West play this weekend when it plays host to Washington State at Tony Gwynn Stadium in a three-game series, March 13-15.