The Aztecs (10-8) took on the Washington Cougars (6-10) early Friday afternoon to open their weekend series. The Aztecs looked to straighten things out after losing their previous series to Saint Mary’s.
Both teams’ offenses would start the game off hot with the Cougars jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first, scoring the first run on an RBI double from Sophomore infielder Dustin Robinson.
Washington pushed across the second run in the top half of the inning on an RBI groundout off the bat of freshman Designated Hitter Mason Pirello.
The Aztecs’ offense responded in a big way in the bottom half of the first, as freshman first baseman Max Farrell crushed a game tying 2 run home run.
The Scarlet and Black piled on, taking a 3-2 lead on an RBI single from Junior infielder Adam Magpoc. The offense added two more runs on a 2 run double from junior second baseman Dawson Santana.
“Coach Holt has been talking to us a lot about finding our identity and playing our game,” Aztecs second baseman Dawson Santana said.
After the first inning, both starters settled down, trading scoreless second and third innings, before heading into the fourth inning, where both sides traded runs.
The Cougars struck first, cutting the lead down to 5-3 on an RBI single from Senior shortstop Gavin Roy. However, the Aztecs responded back with a run of their own on a sacrifice fly from Farrell, pushing the lead to 6-3
Washington’s offense continued to be relentless, cutting the lead down to 6-4 in the top of the fifth on a one-out RBI triple from senior right fielder Max Hartman. The Aztecs limited the damage to only one after retiring the next two hitters.
The offense piled on two more runs in the bottom half of the inning on a 2-run single from junior right fielder Zane Kelly, pushing the lead to 8-4.
The Scarlet and Black rode this momentum into the seventh inning as Senior relief pitcher Aidan Russell logged a scoreless top half of the seventh. Sending the game to the bottom half of the inning, where the offense blew the game open.
“I think momentum is a dangerous thing, so if we keep building and get some momentum throughout the game, we’ll get rolling,” Farrell said.
The Aztecs erupted for five runs in the bottom half of the seventh inning, with sophomore catcher Anthony Marnell IV kicking off the big inning with a two-run single back up the middle.
Farrell added on the third run of the inning on his second sacrifice fly of the ballgame, pushing the lead to 11-4 and giving Farrell his fourth RBI of the game.
“Farrell is one of a kind, I mean, he came in here kind of under the radar but we got to see it right away, he’s an absolute stud,” Santana said.
Senior center fielder Tyce Peterson tacked on the fourth and fifth run of the inning on a two-run single to right field, extending the lead to 13-4 and putting the game within mercy rule range.
The game ended in a mercy rule an inning later, after the Scarlet and Black recorded a scoreless top of the 8th.
Marnell lined an RBI single to right field in the bottom half of the inning, scoring the Aztecs’ 14th run of the ballgame and securing the 14-4 mercy rule victory.
“We just got back to work, when you lose two in a row, you have got to get back to your principles and work,” Vance said.
On Saturday, the Aztecs looked to continue their offensive explosion from the first game of the series, hoping to take the series from the Washington State Cougars before their Sunday showdown.
The first two innings were filled with strikeouts from starting pitcher Drew Talavs, who struck out five of the six batters he faced. Unfortunately, his control would falter shortly after, with Wazzu sluggers Trevor Smith, Gavin Roy and Max Hartman all driving in runs to make it 3-0.
The Aztecs held them scoreless in the fourth, but the Cougars erupted for three more runs in the fifth on an RBI groundout from Hartman and a two-run double from Matthew Priest off of lefty Connor Abadie to further the deficit at 6-0.
“They had two big innings. We gave them some free bases, some walks, and they capitalized on it,” said coach Vance. “The result’s the result but it’s all about the process and how we do it and I thought we just got a little tentative.”
The Aztecs tried to crawl back with some runs of their own on an RBI single from Zane Kelly and an RBI double from Jabin Trosky. Still, after a controversial call from the umpire missing a blatant balk, the Aztecs’ rally diminished along with Vance’s patience. After a fiery display of emotions, Vance was ejected from the ballgame.
Perhaps this could have been an opportunity for his players to get fired up and start another rally to crawl back into this game, but that just wasn’t the case. Despite a plethora of hits coming the Aztecs’ way, another lack of production with runners in scoring position resulted in a 7-2 loss, tying the series at a game apiece.
“We just have to stick to the approach and be consistent, not trying to do too much in certain situations,” said shortstop Jabin Trosky. “Everyone just has to be themselves and keep going.”
Despite the lack of production with runners in scoring position, Trosky feels confident that he and his teammates will be able to bounce back, just like they have in the past.
“We have a lot of confidence and if we just play good defense and keep having good quality at bats and just trust one another, I think we’re going to be fine,” Trosky said.
The Scarlet and Black are now heading to Los Angeles to face off against USC in a one-off game against the Trojans on Tuesday.
