San Diego State Slips Past NC State Baseball, 8-6

Sunday, March 7

San Diego, Calif.

4:00 PM

NC State

10-2

San Diego State

9-14

NC State

San Diego State

San Diego State Slips Past NC State Baseball, 8-6

3/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 7, 2004

Final Stats

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Lance Zawadzki singled home the winning runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday as San Diego State defeated NC State 8-6 in the third game of a three-game series at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs, who improved to 9-14 with the win, took the series, two games to one. NC State dropped to 10-2 after absorbing its second consecutive loss.

Reliever Ryan Schroyer (2-2) picked up the win after blowing a save opportunity by allowing a pair of inherited runners to score in the top of the eighth. He worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing one hit. He did not record a walk or a strikout. Collin Brown (1-1) took the loss for NC State after yielding two runs on one hit in a third of an inning. He walked one and struck out one.

The game was a shootout early as starters Gib Hobson for NC State and Chris Hartshorn of San Diego State. Hobson only lasted three innings and Hartshorn was gone after 3 1/3. The Wolfpack got the scoring started with a two-out rally in the top of the first inning. Dustin Knight hit a double the opposite way off the right-field wall, and David Hicks hit a line shot off the foot of Hartshorn that put runners on the corners. After Hartshorn walked off the pain in his foot and threw a few warm-up tosses to make sure he was okay, Lee Mezistrano hit a line single to right to drive in Knight and give the Pack a 1-0 lead.

The Aztecs responded by putting a crooked number on the board in their half of the inning. Landon Burt led off and walked, and took second on Lance Zawadzki's groundout to third. James Guerrero's liner down the right-field line drew chalk and rolled into the corner for an RBI-double, and Reilly Embry followed with a blooper just over the head of shortstop Jonathan Diaz and into shallow left field to put runners on first and third. Brock Umgricht singled to right to drive in a run, with Embry taking third on the play, and Josh Hill made it 3-0 with a sacrifice fly to left.

Ryan Johnson led off the top of the second with an infield single and Jake Muyco was hit by a pitch. Diaz bunted the runners to second and third, and Matt Camp walked to load the bases. Jason St. Julien drove home Johnson with an infield grounder that Embry booted at first base, but Hartshorn got out of the inning by rolling a double-play grounder.

Landon Burt manufactured a run in the bottom of the second, beating out a bunt for a single, taking second on a balk, and scoring on a two-out single to center by Guerrero. The inning ended there when Guerrero was thrown out trying to go to second base on the play. Hicks got that run back in the top of the third with a leadoff homer to right, his fourth of the season.

San Diego State played long ball in the bottom of the third when Hill belted a two-run shot to right, his first of the season, giving the Aztecs a 6-3 lead after three innings. Camp led off the top of the fourth with a solo blast to right, the first of his career, to cut the deficit to 6-4.

Reliever Drew Jensen came into the game for the Aztecs with one down in the fourth and did not allow a run until Camp reached on a two-out single to left in the top of the eighth and scored on St. Julien's double to right-center. That cut the SDSU lead to 6-5 and brought Schroyer into the game to face Dustin Knight, who singled to right to drive in St. Julien with the tying run.

Collin Brown came on to start the bottom of the eighth and gave up a leadoff single to McLintock, struck out Garrett Chagnon, and then walked Ryan Wilson. Daniel Caldwell took over for Brown and gave up a single to left to Burt to load the bases, and a two-run single up the middle to Zawadzki to give the Aztecs an 8-6 lead.