After getting run-ruled in their previous meeting, SDSU (6-18, 2-4) looked to avoid the broom in their three game series against Washington State (9-14, 4-2). Unfortunately, on a druery rainy day, they could not hold on, losing 12-5 in a grueling conference loss.
SDSU’s starter of choice was left-hander Garvey Rumary. Rumary did not fare well against the Cougar’s powerful offense, throwing just 2.2 innings, and giving up three runs. Control was an issue all day long, made apparent by the 12 walks surrendered by Aztec pitching, but Rumary was the main culprit, walking a whopping seven batters. It was a short day for Washington State’s starter as well. Freshman Gavin Derr threw just three innings, giving up two runs.
SDSU threatened right out of the gate, putting two runners on thanks to a Finley Bates leadoff walk and an error at third base. Despite the early baserunners SDSU followed the theme of their season and failed to cash in. Washington State forced a similar first inning, only they scored thanks to a Ryan Skjonsby sacrifice fly.
The top of the inning saw SDSU participate in the song and dance yet again, putting sophomore Sammy Kahler on third, only to end the inning scoreless. However, in the third inning, the Aztec bats decided to wake up. It began with a one-out double by left fielder Johnathan Smith, before a Daniel Arambula single put runners on the corners. The first Aztec run then scored thanks to a Nevan Noonan groundout which the Cougars attempted to challenge. The call on the field stood, resulting in a 1-1 tie. Zane Kelly provided a breath of fresh air after the RBI groundout, crushing a triple off the center field wall. The triple would give the Aztecs a 2-1 lead before they extended it courtesy of a cougar wild pitch that brought Zane Kelly home making it 3-1 SDSU heading into the bottom of the third.
The back-and-forth nature of the ball game continued entering the bottom third. Washington State outfielder Logan Johnstone had been an issue all series long for Aztec pitching, it was no different Sunday afternoon. After back-to-back walks, Johnstone would hit a gapper to right field, making the score 3-2. The lead dissipated after that. Catcher Will Cresswell picked up his first of six RBIs on the day as he singled up the middle to tie the game at three. After the single, Chris Canavan made an appearance out of the bullpen. His first pitch sailed past catcher Evan Sipe, advancing the runners. Only to be outdone by an error by freshman Evan Escobar which resulted in a run-scoring as SDSU watched their lead slip away.
The fourth saw the Cougars change pitchers and the Aztecs threatened with no result once again. Evan Escobar would notch his first collegiate hit in the inning with two outs, resulting in Freshman right-hander Gabe Schneider getting into some trouble after his pickoff attempt got away, advancing Escobar all the way to third. Upon further review, Escobar made a terrible mistake, missing the bag rounding second. The umpires would take notice and would call him out, ending the inning.
Despite the mental mistakes, SDSU continued to battle with the Cougars. Finley Bates began the top of the fifth with some fireworks, popping a double into left, forcing the Cougars to tap into the bullpen once again. Lefty Jake Tedesco was their hurler of choice. SDSU would continue to apply pressure, tying the game at four with an Arambola single up the middle. After Arambola’s clutch hit, Nevan Noonan got a little lucky with a double courtesy of some truly bad fielding in left field for the Cougars. The double proved to be crucial after Zane Kelly hit a ball deep enough to bring Finley Bates home, making it 5-4 Aztecs.
Hope was in the air following the lead change. That hope was reinforced once flamethrowing junior Xavier Cardenas III came out of the bullpen for the Aztecs. Cardenas gave the fans a little bit of a show, loading the bases and then pitching masterfully to get himself out of it, keeping the score at 4-4.
After two more innings with the score locked at 4, the wheels fell off for SDSU. It began with an infield single by Gavin Roy, then turned into another single by Luke Theile. The main attraction then came with a 421-foot, dead center bomb off the bat of catcher Will Cresswell, 7-5 Washington State. Salt began to be rubbed in the wound shortly after, courtesy of another round-tripper off the bat of Max Hartman, making the score 8-5 Cougars.
SDSU failed to respond in the following inning, going down without a peep. Washington State on the other hand was seemingly just getting started. The Cougars kept their foot on the gas, loading the bases in the bottom of the eighth just for good measure. Will Cresswell continued his dominance picking up a two RBI single with the bases loaded to extend the Cougar lead to five. It only got worse when Cardenas walked Ollie Obenour with the bases loaded. Finally, Cardenas was pulled after a shaky outing with freshman Thomas Young taking his place. The Cougars pounced one more time, scoring a twelfth run off a wild pitch by Young.
The Aztecs lugged themselves into the ninth inning, putting two runners on thanks to singles before hitting into a game-ending double play. This was yet another brutal loss for an Aztec team that needs to get on the right track soon. They will look to do just that at home on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
