Aztecs scrape past Lobos 3-1 Saturday
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Another stellar performance by reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week Tristin Lively wasn’t enough on Saturday afternoon at Santa Ana Star Field, as visiting San Diego State rallied for two runs in the ninth to beat the New Mexico baseball team 3-1.
The senior right-hander matched his season high with eight strikeouts in his eight frames of work, limiting the Aztecs to just one run on five hits with one walk.
Aztec starter Chris Canada was equally impressive however, striking out nine Lobos and limiting the UNM offense to one run on five hits in his 6 1/3 innings pitched. Ricky Tibbett, Robert Brodell, and Kelena Sauer combined to hold UNM scoreless over the final 2 2/3 innings, as the visitors clinched the series victory after Friday’s 5-3 triumph.
Poncho Ruiz led off the ninth inning with a double, before an error allowed the go-ahead run to score and break a 1-1 tie. Caden Martinez delivered the final blow with two outs, punching an RBI-single into right field to increase SDSU’s advantage to 3-1.
The Lobos brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth for the second day in-a-row, when Chase Weissenborn hit a one-out single to right. Konner Kinkade followed with a hard line drive up the middle, but it was right at Aztec shortstop Xavier Gonzalez who turned it into a calm, game-ending double play. The Lobos slipped to 15-10 on the season and moved to 5-5 in conference play with the defeat. San Diego State improved to 9-13, and is now 6-3 in league games.
Weissenborn and Devon Dixon turned an inning-ending double play to get Lively out of a first-and-third jam in the first inning, before the righty struck out his second hitter in a clean second inning.
Weissenborn got ahold of a ball with two outs and a runner on first in the second inning, but TJ Fondtain tracked it down and made a twisting catch in left field to save what would have been a run-scoring hit.
Jeffrey David made one of his top defensive plays of the season in the top of the third, sprinting into the gap in left-center before diving to take away extra bases from Caden Miller.
After a walk to David and the second hit of the day by Lenny Junior Ashby, Braydon Runion put the Lobos ahead with an RBI-double to left field in the bottom of the third. Canada did well to limit the damage, striking out the next two men he faced to strand two runners in scoring position.
Fondtain evened the score in the top of the fourth, lining a one-out solo home run over the fence in left center for his fourth long ball of the season. It proved to be the final run until the ninth inning, as both teams went scoreless over the next four frames.
The Lobos came inches away from taking the lead in the bottom of the sixth, when a pitch from Canada sailed over Ruiz’s head all the way to the backstop. The Aztec catcher hustled to the ball however, and his feed to his battery mate covering home was just in time to catch Kyle Smith trying to advance on a bang-bang play.
Ruiz, Fondtain, and Martinez each had a pair of hits for SDSU, which totaled eight hits while stranding six runners and striking out nine times in the game. Ashby was the lone Lobo with multiple hits, as UNM managed just six hits while striking out 11 times and leaving eight runners on base.
Brian McBroom took the loss for UNM, surrendering the two runs – one earned – in the ninth inning.
LOBO NOTES: UNM is now 84-128 all-time against SDSU and is 43-48 in home games against the Aztecs…Dylan Ditzenberger’s reached base streak of 37 games and hitting streak of 19 games came to an end, after the Lobo leadoff man went 0-for-3 on Saturday.
AHEAD: The series concludes on Sunday with first pitch set for noon.