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Aztec pitcher Omar Serrano retires 19 of 20 batters in relief stint
Despite the loss, the Aztecs (18-22 12-7 MW) still maintain their perch atop the conference standings heading into the final three weeks of the regular season after San José State (20-20, 13-9 MW) was defeated in a 24-12 slugfest at third-place Air Force (21-24, 14-10 MW) earlier in the day.
Back on The Mesa, three SDSU pitchers combined to limit the Rebels (17-25, 8-13 MW) to just three hits for the contest. However, two of those proved to be most damaging, as Kade Higgins smacked a pair of two-run homers to account for UNLV’s winning margin.
The Aztecs’ Jadon Bercovich, who made his first career start in his initial appearance of the season, quickly retired the first two batters in the top of the first before issuing a walk to Jacob Sharp. Higgins then stepped to the plate and belted a 2-0 delivery over the fence in right field to put the visitors on top.
SDSU responded with its lone tally of the afternoon in the bottom of the frame, as TJ Fondtain laced an RBI single up the middle to bring home Cole Carrigg, who drew a one-out walk and advanced to second on a failed pickoff attempt.
Moments later, the Rebels’ Braden Murphy was hit by a pitch to lead off the second before Paul Myro struck out. The Aztecs’ Omar Serrano was summoned from the bullpen at this juncture and induced a double-player grounder to second by Jason Sharman, extinguishing the threat.
Serrano retired 19 of 20 batters he faced, including 13 straight to begin his stint before yielding a leadoff single to Sharp in the seventh. The SDSU sophomore tossed 6 2/3 innings without a walk while fanning six hitters.
The score remained unchanged until the top of the ninth when Higgins went deep off Eldridge Armstrong III with two outs, plating Rylan Charles, who was previously struck by a pitch.
The Aztecs got a runner aboard in the third and fourth innings off UNLV starter Zack Simon but were unable to capitalize.
Shaun Montoya roped a leadoff single in the third but was erased on Carrigg’s fielder’s choice grounder shortly thereafter. Simon then struck out Poncho Ruiz, while Carrigg was subsequently thrown out on a stolen base attempt at second.
In the fourth, Fondtain led off with a walk, but Simon induced a double-play grounder to Caden Miller to avoid trouble.
Later in the sixth, Montoya hit a towering shot to right-center, but Charles made a sprawling catch at the warning track with his back to home plate to rob the SDSU batter.
Simon (2-1) earned the victory after giving up the unearned run on two hits and three walks to go with a trio of strikeouts in six innings of work, while Jack Sellinger pitched the final three frames, fanning six batters to collect his fourth save of the year. Conversely, Bercovich (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
The Aztecs got the leadoff batter aboard in the eighth and ninth off Sellinger but could not convert. Weems beat out an infield hit and took second on Charlie Rhee’s sacrifice bunt but was left stranded after Sellinger struck out Cade Martinez and got Montoya to fly out.
Carrigg also singled to the hole at shortstop to lead off the ninth and promptly stole second after Sellinger fanned Ruiz. The SDSU junior subsequently took third on defensive indifference before Sellinger struck out Fondtain and induced a groundout by Miller to end the game.
San Diego State steps out of conference on Tuesday when it heads north to the San Fernando Valley to battle CSUN starting at 3 p.m. The Aztecs-Matadors clash will air live on ESPN+.
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