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Aztecs win fourth straight game
Source: goaztecs.com
Photo courtesy goaztecs.com
April 5, 2023 (San Diego) - San Diego State rallied from an early deficit on Tuesday to win its fourth straight game with a decisive 14-5 triumph over UC Riverside in a non-conference clash at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
With the victory, the Aztecs raise their record to 11-13 overall, while the Highlanders fall to 6-18 on the year after dropping their 11th decision in 12 outings.
SDSU received multiple hits from five players, including Caden Miller, who went 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs, while TJ Fondtain finished with two hits and drove in four runs for the second game in a row, highlighted by his fifth homer of the season.
In addition, Shaun Montoya contributed two hits and led all players with three runs scored, while Poncho Ruiz and Brady Lavoie ripped two hits each.
The Aztecs also capitalized on 10 walks and four wild pitches to avenge a 3-1 loss to UCR on the road last month and improve to 42-28-2 in the all-time series.
The teams combined to utilize 16 pitchers, including seven by SDSU. Despite allowing an unearned run in the top of the fifth, the Aztecs’ third hurler of the night, Issac Araiza (1-0), earned his first collegiate victory, while the quartet of Sam Purgason, Julian Jackson, Brian Leonhardt and Connor Abadie kept the Highlanders off the scoreboard for the final four innings, yielding just two hits in that span.
Trailing 5-4, SDSU erupted for five runs on four hits in the bottom of the fifth off Jake Gebb (0-4) to take the lead for good. Ruiz sparked the rally with an RBI single to plate Montoya, who led off with a base hit to right and advanced on a wild pitch.
Moments later, Tino Bethancourt reached on a fielder’s choice after Ruiz slid safely into second when the Highlanders were late on the throw from third base for an attempted force out. In between a pair of strikeouts, Lavoie blooped a single to right field that landed safely near the foul line, which loaded the bases.
Ruiz subsequently raced home when Cade Martinez drew a walk, while Miller followed with a bases-clearing double into the corner down the left-field line, giving the host school a 9-5 advantage it would not relinquish.
After Montoya scored on a wild pitch in the sixth, the Aztecs blew the game open with four runs on three hits in the seventh. Fondtain knocked in Martinez and Miller with a two-run single to center and eventually crossed the plate following a wild pitch and Bethancourt’s sharp grounder through the right side. Xavier Gonzalez soon followed with a sacrifice fly to center that brought home Ruiz and accounted for the final score.
Jacob Shanks, Anthony Mata, Anthony McFarland and Dominic Martinez had two hits apiece for UCR, which raced to a 3-0 lead on four hits in its first trip to the plate off SDSU starter Ricky Tibbett. Mata and Martinez delivered consecutive RBI singles, while Alfredo Capacete ultimately knocked in Mata with a groundout out to third.
Martinez then gave the visitors a short-lived 4-0 lead in the third with a solo homer right.
However, SDSU crept back into contention with three runs on four hits in the bottom of the frame. Fondtain blasted his team-leading fifth home run of the season on a 1-0 pitch from Capacete, driving in Miller, who led off with a double. Montoya promptly followed with a ground-rule double in the right-field corner, crossing the plate moments later when Ruiz greeted reliever Cruz Barrios with a hot smash to short that caromed off the glove of Mata into left field.
The Aztecs then got the equalizer in the fourth when Maddox Haley went yard for the first time in his collegiate career with a solo homer to left on the second pitch off the inning from Tyler Frazier.
UCR inched in front briefly once again in the fifth when Mata scored on McFarland’s groundout to second. Previously, Mata reached on a sharp grounder to third, advancing to second on a failed pickoff attempt by Araiza and later stole third after Martinez struck out.
However, SDSU responded with 10 unanswered runs and kept the Highlanders scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
San Diego State jumps back into action later this week when it travels up the freeway to battle USC in three-game non-conference series April 6-8 at Dedeaux Field in Los Angeles.
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