San Diego State baseball defeated the UC San Diego Tritons 18-8 on Wednesday at UCSD.
Dylan Hawkes earned the win for SDSU (10-22) in the game after coming in as a relief pitcher in the fifth inning. He pitched 1.2 innings and gave zero hits, zero walks and struck out three batters.
The Aztecs scored in the top of the first after Jake Jackson scored Shaun Montoya on a sacrifice fly, giving SDSU a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the second, the Tritons scored three runs after a two-run double by Cooper Thacker and an RBI groundout by Ryson Ujimori.
The Tritons led 3-1 after the second, but the Aztecs quickly responded in the top of the third by driving home three runs. Brady Lavoie hit a solo home run to start the inning, followed by a two-run double by catcher Evan Sipe as the Aztecs re-took the lead 4-3.
SDSU continued to tack on runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. Tino Bethancourt hit a grand slam in the fourth to extend the Aztecs lead to 8-3, then the Aztecs added five more runs in the top of the fifth.
Bethancourt singled with the bases loaded to drive in a run for his fifth RBI of the night. It was followed by an RBI single by Jackson and then an RBI single by Jacob McCombs. Two UCSD errors allowed two more Aztec players to score, extending SDSU’s lead to 13-3.
The Tritons began a comeback by scoring one run in the bottom of the fifth. In the bottom of the sixth, UCSD added four more runs to cut the lead to 13-8 before Hawkes came in to end the inning without allowing any further damage.
Both teams failed to score in the seventh inning until SDSU added on three more runs in the top of the eighth on a three-run home run by Lavioe, his second home run of the game. It extended the Aztecs’ lead to 16-8. SDSU added two more runs in the top of the ninth after an RBI double by Sipe and a sacrifice fly by left fielder Zane Kelly.
Michael Caruso, who relieved Hawkes in the top of the eighth, returned for the ninth and closed out the game for the Aztecs.
SDSU had 22 hits, including three home runs. Bethancourt also drove in five RBIs for the Aztecs, the most in the game by a single player. Sipe and Lavoie each contributed four RBIs.
SDSU’s next game is against UNLV on Friday, April 12 at Tony Gwynn Stadium at 6 p.m.
