By Michael KlitzingAssistant Sports Editor
Anyone looking to sum up San Diego State baseball’s 8-6 loss toUSC Monday before 1,236 at Tony Gwynn Stadium can do so in one word.
Frustrating.
“You can take in a loss a lot better when you know the other teamis better than you,” SDSU second baseman Carlo Cota said. “But whenyou know that you should have won that game — when you know thatteam is not any better than you are — that’s just terrible.”
It’s more than just talk.
The Trojans entered the contest at 11-9 and without the unbeatableaura the team carried with it in years past. With star pitchers RikCurrier and Mark Prior gone and injuries riddling the returningstaff, the time seemed right for SDSU to pick up its first win overUSC since 1995. The Aztecs (18-9) certainly had their opportunitiesto do so. SDSU runners littered the basepaths as the Trojanssurrendered 15 hits and six walks.
But while the table was set nearly every inning, a feast did notensue. In all, the Red and Black stranded 14 runners on the evening.
“We got our hits, I’ll give us that,” Cota said. “But against ateam like USC, if you leave runners on base, it’s going to come backand bite you.”
Said center fielder Anthony Gwynn: “It’s like when we played Miamilast year. They got behind us, but they knew how to get it done –how to get the big hits.
“We haven’t learned that yet.”
Evidently, it is a lesson USC has learned.
With the game knotted at four in the top of the seventh, theTrojans’ Travis McAndrews came in to pinch-hit against SDSU rightyErik Fiedler. After ripping a foul ball with home-run distanceearlier in the at-bat, McAndrews straightened one out with the countfull.
The junior ripped Fiedler’s offering off the racquetball gymwalkway in right to put USC on top to stay.
The Aztecs countered with two in the bottom of the frame as ChadRedfern and Jon Stephens singled, and eventually scored on a JoshRummonds wild pitch and a Gwynn sacrifice fly, respectively.
SDSU threatened in the bottom of the ninth, putting a pair ofrunners on, but with two outs, Garrett Cook’s deep fly ball to centerfell harmlessly into the glove of Trojans’ center fielder BrianBarre.
“We out-hit them and we out-played them,” right fielder JakeMcLintock said. “A couple pitches just didn’t go our way and wedidn’t get it done.”
In a word: frustrating.
