In the opening game of a four-game series, the San Diego State Aztecs (4-9) were defeated by the Northeastern Huskies (4-5) by a score of 10-4.
“[Challenges we faced were] starting pitching,” head coach Shaun Cole said.
The Aztec starter was right-hander Omar Serrano (0-1, 12.46 ERA) in his fourth start of the season. In his second start, the opposing Serrano was Husky lefty Jordan Gottesman (0-1, 3.18 ERA).
Northeastern second baseman Carmelo Musacchia led off the game with a bang as he belted a triple off Serrano to right field after right fielder Zane Kelly misplayed the ball. He scored on a groundout to shortstop Evan Escobar to give the Huskies an early 1-0 lead. The inning quickly ended after a strikeout of the game and a fly out to center fielder Jake Jackson ended the inning.
The bottom of the first was a quiet inning for the Aztec bats as they were retired in order, with Gottesman striking out the last two batters.
Serrano had a strong top of the second with two strikeouts and allowed only one runner on a hit by the pitch.
Following two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, left fielder Drew Rutter belted a triple down the left field line for SDSU’s first game hit. First baseman Nevan Noonan followed that up with an RBI double to right field to tie the game at 1-1. Escobar struck out looking for the third and final out of the inning.
Like the previous inning, the Aztec righty had two quick strikeouts with a single up the left side sandwiched in between. Serrano struck out another batter for the second out of the inning; however, the Huskies scored two straight runs on back-to-back singles to take a 3-1 lead.
Husky catcher Will Fosberg blew the game wide open with a two-run home run to further extend the lead to 5-1. Serrano struck out the final batter to end the inning and struck out the side, but not before Northeastern scored four runs.
SDSU’s bottom of the third was quiet as Gottesman struck out two Aztecs, and second baseman Finley Bates was the only batter to reach base on a walk.
Serrano’s struggles from the previous inning continued into the next with two straight batters getting hit by the pitch, and both runners advanced on a double steal to put runners on second and third with no outs.
Designated hitter Alex Lane hit a two-run single to left to further increase their lead to six runs. The Aztec righty limited the damage to two runs after a fielder’s choice ground out to Escobar.
The Scarlet and Black got a rally going after designated hitter CJ Moran drew a lead-off walk and third baseman Daniel Arambula hit a single to left.
Rutter reached on a fielder’s choice, which got Arambula out at second and Moran to advance to third. With runners on the corners and one out, Noonan belted an RBI double to cut the lead to 7-2.
Sammy Kahler pinch hit for Escobar and drew a walk to load the bases with one out for catcher Gage Adams. That was Gottesman’s final batter as he was relieved by righty Charlie Walker. The Aztecs did not get any runs as back-to-back flyouts from Adams and Bates ended the inning.
To start the fifth, the Aztecs made a defensive substitution with Josh Quezada substituting in for Kahler. Serrano’s early-season troubles continued as he gave up a lead-off home run on a deep blast by left fielder Harrison Feinberg to left to make it an 8-2 game. That was the only batter that the righty faced as he was taken out of the game and replaced by left-hander Luka Pintar.
“You can’t have your Friday night guy give you four [innings] and give up eight [runs],” Cole said. “Not being able to end the inning with two outs killed him tonight.”
Pintar got two quick outs on a lineout to Arambula and flew out to Kelly but gave up a hit by the pitch to put a runner on with one out. The lefty struck out the last batter for a much-needed quick three outs.
Walker silenced the SDSU bats in the bottom of the fifth with a quick strikeout and then back-to-back groundouts to retire the side in order.
In his second inning of work, Pintar walked the lead-off batter and stormed back with a fielder’s choice and strikeout for two quick outs. However, the pitching staff’s struggles with two outs continued as an RBI double down the left field line expanded the lead to 9-2.
A walk put runners on first and second for Fosberg, who hit a clutch home run earlier in the game. Fosberg hit an RBI single up the left field side to make it a 10-2 game. With Northeastern threatening, Pintar got a key strikeout to end the inning.
Righty Andrew Basel replaced Walker on the mound for Northeastern and quickly retired the Aztecs in order, with SDSU still searching for sustained offense.
The Aztecs made a pitching change in the top of the seventh with left-hander Alito McBean on the mound. The lefty gave up a lead-off single but stormed back with three straight strikeouts to end the inning, the first time Northeastern was held scoreless since the second inning.
After Quezada grounded out to start the bottom of the seventh, back-to-back walks put runners on first and second with one out in a key opportunity to cut into the deficit. Kelly flew out, and Jackson struck out to end the scoring threat and the inning.
Just like the seventh, McBean continued his strong performance in the top of the eighth, holding the Huskies to only a walk. It was the first time in all game that SDSU’s pitching staff had kept Northeastern scoreless in consecutive innings.
Singles from Moran and Rutter in the bottom of the eighth led to Northeastern making a pitching change with righty Nick Coniglio slotting in for Basel. Noonan walked to load the bases with one out for Quezada, who grounded into a double play to end the inning, and another rally was squandered for the Aztecs.
In the top of the ninth, McBean gave up a lead-off single to start the inning, and after a fly out to Arambula, a walk put runners on first and second. That was McBean’s final batter as he was replaced by left-hander Chris Canada. The lefty got two quick outs to end the inning and marked three straight innings of shutout pitching.
Northeastern went with lefty James Morice to get the final three outs. The bottom of the ninth had several pinch hitters for the Aztecs: Xavier Farnum for Adams, Hank Tripaldi to replace Bates, Cody Liscio to slot in for Kelly, Dillion Marrisett to come in for Jackson, and Kyle Pettigrew to replace Moran.
The very first pitch he threw hit Farnum, and while Tripaldi flew out, Liscio belted an RBI double down the left field line to cut the lead to 10-3. Marrisett grounded out, but Liscio advanced to third on the play.
The momentum continued as Pettigrew drew a walk, and Arambula reached on a fielding error, which brought home Liscio to make it a six-run game. Rutter walked to load the bases for Noonan with two out, but Noonan struck out to end the game.
“To finish strong on the back end with some guys coming off the bench, it says a lot about them staying in the game, competing,” Cole said. “But once again, it’s very difficult on a Friday night when you’re chasing eight runs after the fifth inning for an offense to really get anything going.”
The 10-4 defeat drops the Aztecs to 4-10, while the Huskies move to 5-5. Serrano got credit for the loss to drop to 0-2 as he continues to face early-season struggles, while Walker got the win to improve to 1-0.
“Just from a confident standpoint, I think the first thing for him is just hanging a zero in the first inning,” Cole said. “He’s been here for four years, and three have been very successful, so we got to work it out.”
