SDSU BASEBALL TAKES DOWN UCSB 9-1 ON OPENING NIGHT

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SDSU pitching staff strikes out 14 while allowing just four hits

Source:  goaztecs.com

Photo courtesy goaztecs.com

February 16, 2018 (San Diego) - The San Diego State baseball team kicked off its 2018 campaign in commanding fashion, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 9-1, on Friday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Logan Boyer, a preseason all-MW selection, impressed in his first start of the season, going 3.2 innings with a career-high eight strikeouts. After Boyer started his evening inducing a 6-3 groundout, Boyer went on to strikeout the next four Gaucho hitters he faced.

Boyer was quick to run into efficient run support, as the Aztecs broke the game open early with a five-run second inning. After Chad Bible opened the inning with a line-drive single to right center, Bible later came around to score the Aztecs’ first run of the season on a wild pitch.

Jacob Maekawa laced a 2-RBI single to left field later in the inning, and to cap the second-inning outburst, Jordan Verdon posted a 2-RBI double to left to score Chase Calabuig and Maekawa.

 

After UCSB posted its lone run of the game in the third, Jacob Erickson came on in relief for Boyer and dominated over his 2.1 innings of work, striking out three Gauchos while allowing just one hit in a scoreless outing.

 

The Aztecs added some insurance in the fifth inning, as the inning started off with Verdon missing a home run by just inches off the right-field wall and settling for an inning-opening triple. In the next at-bat, Verdon came around to score on Bible’s second single of the day. Freshmen Matt Rudick and Casey Schmitt gave the Aztecs its third and fourth consecutive hits, respectively, with Rudick single through the right side of the infield before Schmitt drove in Bible on a single to centerfield.

 

The Aztecs capped the scoring with a run in the eighth. Freshmen Daniel Ritcheson and Casey O’Sullivan both impressed in their respective collegiate debuts, with Ritcheson (2 IP, 1 H, 1 K, 0 BB) posting a scoreless seventh and eighth inning and O’Sullivan (1 IP, 0 H, 2 K, 1 BB) posting a hitless ninth inning to close out SDSU’s season-opening victory.

 

Team Notes

  • San Diego State baseball has now won three of its last four opening season games.
  • After 11 runs scored in last year’s opener, it is the first time since 2007-08 that SDSU has score eight or more runs in back-to-back season openers.
  • The Aztecs have now won 50 consecutive games when leading after eight innings, 12 consecutive games when scoring five or more runs.
  • SDSU pitchers totaled 14 strikeouts, the team's largest single-game total since striking out 14 at Fresno State on April 24, 2015.
  • San Diego State has won five games in its last seven meetings with UC Santa Barbara.
  • Eight of nine players in the San Diego State lineup recorded at least one hit.
  • The Aztecs are 11-5 in season-opening series games since the start of the 2013 season.
  • Freshmen pitchers (Daniel Ritcheson, Casey OíSullivan) combined for 3 scoreless innings, 3 K, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB in the final three innings of the game.
  • Freshmen hitters (Matt Rudick, Casey Schmitt) combined to go 2-for-6, three runs scored, 1 RBI, 2 BB.

 

Player Notes

Logan Boyer: 3.2 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 1 ER, 2 H

  • Set new career-highs with eight strikeouts and 3.2 innings pitched.
  • Struck out four of the first five batters he faced.
  • Owns a career .105 (4-for-38) opponent batting average at home.

 

Jacob Erickson: 2.1 IP, 3 K, 0 BB, 0 ER, 1 H

  • Over the past two seasons, owns an ERA against Big West teams of 0.81 with 21 strikeouts in 22 innings.
  • Has kept opponents scoreless in 23 of his last 32 outings. 

 

Chase Calabuig: 2-for-4, R, 2B, K

  • Has reached base in 20 consecutive home games.
  • Extends hitting streak to a team-best eight games and his team-best on-base streak to 15, having recorded a hit in each of the final seven games last season.

 

Chad Bible: 2-for-4, RBI, 2 K

  • Singled on the first pitch he saw after missing the majority of last season undergoing treatment for stage 2 Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
  • Drove in Jordan Verdon on his second hit of the day after Verdon led off bottom of the fifth with a triple. 
  • Owns a career .346 (9-for-26) batting average at SDSU.

 

Jordan Verdon: 2-for-5, 3B, R, 2 RBI

  • Hit the seventh triple of his career in the 5th inning, the most career three-baggers among any active Aztec. 
  • Has reached base in 54 of his last 63 games played.
  • Recorded his third career game with multiple extra-base hits.

 

UP NEXT

San Diego State continues its three-game set with UC Santa Barbara tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. RHP Harrison Pyatt is set to take the mound for the Aztecs, while LHP Jack Dashwood will take the mound for the Gauchos.

Postgame notes

Play-by-play

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