SDSU BASEBALL COMPLETES SWEEP OF UCSB WITH 7-5 WIN

Garrett Hill earns win in SDSU debut

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

February 18, 2018 (San Diego) - The San Diego State baseball team completed a three-game sweep of UC Santa Barbara in its first series of the 2018 campaign by defeating the Gauchos, 7-5, at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Garrett Hill impressed in his SDSU debut, earning the win with a five-inning performance. Hill started his outing in commanding fashion, needing to face just the minimum through his first 11 batters.

Hill was quick to receive run support, with Chase Calabuig hitting his second home run in as many days in the top of the first for a 1-0 SDSU lead.

SDSU grew that lead to 4-0 over the course of the second and third innings, with Casey Schmitt hitting an RBI single to score Chad Bible and Matt Rudick hitting a 2-RBI single through the right side of the infield to score Calabuig and Dean Nevarez.

The Gauchos were quick to cut into that lead, however, with a pair of runs in the fourth and an additional run in the sixth. The Aztecs had a response of their own response in the bottom half of the sixth, with David Hensley recording a hard-hit double into the left-centerfield gap to score Julian Escobedo. The Aztecs later added an insurance run in the seventh, with Nevarez crossing the plate on a Casey Schmitt groundout.

With SDSU holding a 7-3 lead, the Gauchos would not go down without a fight, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the eighth. Justin Goossen-Brown came in to halt any opportunity of a late-inning comeback, stranding an inherited runner in the eighth inning.

Goossen-Brown came back out to pitch the ninth and after retiring each of the first two batters, UCSB showed signs of life with leadoff man Tommy Jew reaching on an infield single. Goossen-Brown recorded the four-out save, however, clinching SDSU’s Sunday afternoon win by inducing a game-ending lineout to Hensley at shortstop.

Team Notes

• San Diego State opened its season with a three-game sweep for the third time in the last six years.
• The Aztecs have scored seven or more runs in each of its first three games for the first time since the first three games of the 2008 season.
• The Aztecs have now won 52 consecutive games when leading after eight innings,  24 consecutive games when leading after seven innings, and 14 consecutive games when scoring five or more runs.
• The Aztecs are now 86-30-1 all-time against the Gauchos and completed a three-game sweep of UCSB for the first time since 1977.
• San Diego State has won seven games in its last nine meetings with UC Santa Barbara.
• The Aztecs are 13-5 in season-opening series games since the start of the 2013 season. 
• The Aztecs outhit UCSB .324-.168 over the course of the three-game series.
• The SDSU pitching staff recorded a 1.67 ERA over the series, while the offense tagged UCSB for an ERA of 7.88.
• SDSU pitchers who made their Aztec debut this weekend combined for 10.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 12 K, 0.00 ERA, and a .138 opponent batting average.
• For the series, San Diego State posted a .542 on base percentage when leading off an inning.
• SDSU used same starting lineup and field alignment for all three games in the series.
• Tony Gwynn Stadium reached an attendance of at least 1,000 for three straight home games for the first time since SDSU’s season-opening series against Oregon in 2016.
• SDSU has recorded four weekend-series sweeps since the last time it has suffered a weekend sweep. 

Player Notes

Chase Calabuig: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

• Recorded his second home run in as many days in the top of the first for the 11th home run of his career (projected distance: 423 feet).
• Recorded back-to-back games with a home run for the first time in his career.
• Has reached base in 22 consecutive home games.
• Extends hitting streak to a team-best 10 games and his team-best on-base streak to 17, having recorded a hit in each of the final seven games last season.
• The team is now 16-5 in Calabuig's last 20 starts in right field.
• Slashing .538/.533/1.154 to lead the team in all three statistics while leading the team with 4 RBI.

Garrett Hill: 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 6 K

• Earned win in his SDSU debut.
• Carrying over his last seven appearances from Santa Rosa JC, Hill has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his last eight collegiate outings. 
• Faced the minimum through his first 11 batters faced.
• Struck out the side in order - all swinging - in the top of the fifth. 

Matt Rudick: 2-for-3, 2 RBI

• Recorded his first career RBIs on a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the third.
• Hit .400 for the series - tied for the second-best batting average on the team. 

Chad Bible:  1-for-3, R

• Has recorded a hit in nine of his 10 career games played.
• Hit .400 for the series - tied for the second-best batting average on the team - while driving in a team-high four runs for the series.

Justin Goossen-Brown: 1.1 IP, 1 H, Save

• Logged first career save in SDSU debut. 
• Stranded an inherited runner in the bottom of the eighth to maintain a 7-5 lead. 

Julian Escobedo: 0-for-2, 2 R, 3 BB

• Set a new career-high with three walks. 

UP NEXT

San Diego State hosts San Diego for a midweek contest at Tony Gwynn Stadium at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will be aired live on the Mountain West Network. 

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Postgame notes