Jackson's Blast Powers Aztecs Past Long Beach State, 13-10

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State’s Jake Jackson belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning on Wednesday, propelling the Aztecs past Long Beach State in a 13-10 slugfest at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Facing a late 10-9 deficit, Jackson’s blast capped a four-run rally for SDSU (8-5), which snapped a two-game slide and handed the Dirtbags (4-8) their second straight defeat.

Stymied in their last two contests at Washington over the weekend, Aztecs bats came to life against the Beach, pounding out 15 hits for the night, including three apiece by Jackson and Jabin Trosky.

Jackson also finished with four RBIs after plating Tyce Peterson with a fourth-inning single, tying Zach Justice for team-high honors. Earlier, Justice put the Scarlet and Black on the board with a grand slam in the first inning.

SDSU employed five pitchers for the game, with third reliever Connor Abadie (1-0) earning his first career victory despite giving up one run on five hits in two innings to go with a pair of strikeouts. Evan Miranda took the mound in the ninth and struck out the side after issuing a leadoff walk, notching his second collegiate save and first since 2024.

Wednesday’s showdown commenced at a frenetic pace, as Dylan Lina smacked a three-run homer to put the visitors on the board in the first following consecutive one-out singles by Jake Evans and Trotter Enright.

However, the Aztecs responded in thunderous fashion, scoring eight runs on six hits, two walks and an error after sending 12 batters to the plate in their initial at-bat.

With one out, SDSU quickly loaded the bases on back-to-back singles by Trosky and Max Farrell, while Peterson drew a walk. Justice soon stepped to the plate and crushed a 1-1 offering from Beach starter Jaxon Baker over the fence in left center for his first career homer.

Shortly thereafter, Dawson Santana and Jackson crossed the plate on Anthony Marnell IV’s single through the left side, increasing the Aztec advantage to 6-3. The Dirtbags were poised to get out of the inning after a flyout. However, Marnell scored from second after advancing on a wild pitch and Adam Magpoc’s chopper to second, which was mishandled by Jake Evans.

Moments later, Magpoc stole second and raced home on Trosky’s second hit of the inning, a single through the right side of the infield, giving the Scarlet and Black an 8-3 cushion.

The SDSU lead quickly evaporated in the second, however, as Lina’s grand slam capped a five-run inning for LBSU, knotting the score at 8-8. Earlier, Camden Gasser reached on a fielding error at third sandwiched between Damon Valdez’s sharp single to short and Trevor Goldenetz’s base hit through the left side.

Shortly thereafter, Trotter Enright drew a bases-loaded walk to force in Valdez before Lina’s big blast on the first pitch from Aztec starter Bryce McKnight cleared the fence in left.

The contest evolved into a stalemate over the next 4 ½ innings, with the two sides trading runs in the fourth and fifth.

Jackson’s RBI single in the fourth gave the Aztecs a brief 9-8 lead before the Beach countered with Reid Montgomery’s solo homer in the fifth.

The Dirtbags inched in front, 10-9, on Gian DeCastro’s RBI groundout in the seventh, plating Montgomery, who greeted Abadie with a leadoff single before advancing on a stolen base and Smith Chandler’s base hit to left.

The Aztecs were handcuffed by reliever Caleb Anderson, who gave up just one hit in his two-inning appearance. However, SDSU battered new pitcher Kaimi Kahalekai (0-2) for four runs on three hits in the fateful eighth.

Farrell led off with a single and motored around to third when Peterson’s grounder caromed off the leg of Kahalekai. Justice promptly drew a walk, as Farrell darted home on a wild ball four before Jackson won a six-pitch battle with Kahalekai, crushing a 3-2 offering over the fence in right-center to put the Scarlet and Black in front to stay, 13-10.

Miranda entered in the top of the ninth and gave up a leadoff walk to Chandler. However, the Aztec junior regrouped with vengeance, striking out pinch hitters Matt Toomey and Murchael Turner before freezing Glasser, the Dirtbags’ last hope, with a called third strike to end the game.

Lina (7 RBIs) and Montgomery tied for game-high honors with three hits apiece for the Beach, while Evans finished with two in the loss.

Both teams stranded eight runners for the evening.

San Diego State will return to the diamond this weekend to battle Saint Mary’s in a three-game series, March 6-8, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.