With a night of potential disaster on the line, a walk off hit crushed to center field from outfielder Jake Jackson saved Tony Gwynn Stadium’s spirits, clearing the dugout and the stress of the fans with one swing of the bat.
Outside of Jackson’s late game feat, outfielder Zane Kelly’s night at the plate was just short of perfection, as the sophomore went 4-for-5 with an RBI.
San Diego State (3-2) defeated Seattle (0-4) 5-4 in a Thursday night rollercoaster, beginning the Tony Gwynn Legacy weekend.
To kick off the 2025 season at Tony Gwynn Stadium, head coach Shaun Cole rolled out true freshman pitcher Alito McBean to the mound. McBean, a 2024 graduate from Mira Costa High School, posted a 6-3 record and a 2.00 ERA with 81 strikeouts in 52 innings his senior year.
Seattle struck first blood on the rookie, with infielder Vicente Feliciano driving in infielder Reese Harmon off a wonky ground ball that hit second base and sputtered into the outfield giving the Redhawks a 1-0 lead.
McBean continued the pitching staff’s walking troubles from the last game, leaving the first inning with two walked batters despite just one run crossing home plate.
SDSU challenged Seattle in the bottom of the first, with designated hitter CJ Moran roping a single into center field with a runner on second. Redhawks center fielder Sam Kane relayed it to catcher Jake Wagoner, who tagged out infielder Nevan Noonan at home plate to end the inning and keep the score 1-0.
Sometimes the little things go a long way, that was the case for the Scarlet and Black in the bottom of the second as infielder Daniel Arambula reached first off a hit that was inches from finding the pitchers glove off the bat. A double sent to deep right field from outfielder Zane Kelly moved Arambula to third before he was brought home to tie the game thanks to a sacrifice fly from outfielder Jonathan Smith.
Walks continued to be a thorn in SDSUs side. Three consecutive walks for McBean to load the bases ended his night, as Cole brought in true freshman pitcher Connor Shaw. Shaw answered the call, tallying two strikeouts as he strutted back into the dugout feeding off a standing ovation.
McBean ended his first start on the Mesa tossing 61 pitches in 2.1 IP with six walks, 3 hits, one strikeout and one earned run.
Arambula reaching first base to lead off an inning seemed to be the formula early for the Aztecs to apply pressure as he led off the bottom of the fourth with a single. Kelly quickly got Arambula in a sprint across the diamond once again, sending a sharp single to put runners at first and second. Despite having the bases loaded with zero outs, SDSU was unable to cash in a run, ending the inning knotted at one apiece.
“Arambula has been helping me out a lot, he’s getting on base and I’m behind him. It’s a great duo and it’s working,” said Kelly.
SDSU capitalized on Seattle’s mistakes in the bottom of the fifth. Outfielder Jake Jackson found his way onto third base following a pickoff attempt that flew over the first baseman’s head. The Redhawks then recorded another error on a routine ground ball, bringing in Jackson and pushing SDSU ahead 2-1.
Shaw’s night ended with a runner on second in the top of the sixth, throwing 50 pitches in 3.1 innings, recording three strikeouts and two walks with zero earned runs. Shaw’s replacement was Issac Araiza, a flame throwing junior in his third year with the Aztecs. Araiza followed Shaw’s heroics from back in the third, striking out the first batter he saw to end the inning as he energized the crowd.
Cole spoke on what he saw from the freshman duo of Shaw and McBean
“My hope is that, them getting thrown into these big moments, their nerves will start to go away,” he said. “I like their competitiveness, they don’t look scared out there. The command issues are there but they don’t shy from the moment.”
For the third time, Arambula began an inning getting on base before Kelly moved him across the bags. This time, Kelly delivered in the form of a stand up triple to the center field wall, bringing home Arambula and tallying the lead up to 3–1.
Pitcher Chris Canavan entered the game to begin the eighth, ending Araiza’s night. Araiza finished his dominant outing with three strikeouts and one hit in 1.1 innings of shut out baseball.
Canavan faced immediate trouble, loading the bases off a single and two walks. Faced with a situation demanding perfection, Canavan was just that, striking out the following two batters and ending the inning with another zero on the board.
With the Redhawks on the ropes, Cole sent out Canavan to perform the closing duties following his electric inning prior. Canavan raised the fans’ blood pressure again, giving up a single and two walks to load the bases with no outs. For the first time since the opening inning, Seattle crossed home plate as Canavan hit a batter, walking in a run and closing the game to a difference of one.
Center fielder Jake Jackson saved disaster for SDSU, as he gunned the go ahead run at home plate and sent the game to the bottom of the ninth tied at 3. The Aztecs bats went cold, going three up three down and sending the game to extra innings.
Seattle did more damage to Canavan in the top of the tenth, as a solo-home-run from Kane propelled the Redhawks to a 4-3 lead.
“To see Canavan, for the most part, competitive in the strike zone is a huge improvement from last year,” said Cole. “Five punchouts, two walks, two hits by pitches isn’t great but those were inside fastballs, we’re not going to leave it middle.”
With fans preparing to hit the exits, Noonan provided life in the form of a two out single to tie the game. Jackson then sent the Redhawks home, delivering a walk off rope over the center fielder’s head to win 5-4 in dramatic fashion.
“I made sure not to do too much with my approach,” said Jackson. “Obviously, things weren’t going my way early on in the game, I just wanted to put the ball in play and luckily the baseball gods were on my side this time.”
The Aztecs are back at it Friday night against Utah at 6 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
