On the back of two four-run frames, San Diego State Baseball stole game three of its series against University of New Mexico with a 10-9 win Sunday afternoon in Albuquerque, New Mexico, avoiding a sweep.
The Aztecs (12-25, 5-10) moved to 2-4 on the season against the Lobos (29-12, 16-5), and to 4-1 in 2016 when scoring 10 or more runs, their last such win coming in an 11-6 victory over the Lobos on March 26.
After falling behind 1-0 to the Lobos, the Aztecs responded with their biggest inning of the series.
SDSU saw its three most productive hitters come alive in the third inning, starting when sophomore third baseman Justin Wylie knocked in two runners with a double.
Sophomore shortstop Alan Trejo drove in Wylie on a groundout, and sophomore right fielder Tyler Adkison gave the Aztecs a 4-1 lead with a two-out RBI double.
Trejo would again add to his team-high 21 RBI with a solo home run in the fifth inning, giving the Aztecs a 5-1 advantage.
The Lobos would respond with a run in the fifth and sixth innings, making the score, 5-3, heading into the seventh.
Another four-run seventh, however, gave SDSU its biggest lead of the series at 9-3.
Sophomore left fielder Chase Calabuig continued his productive series with an RBI double, scoring Wylie, to open the scoring in the big inning.
After Calabuig scored on a fielding error by the UNM third baseman, freshman first baseman Jordan Verdon plated two on a two-out single to right field.
Verdon went 2-5 with a team-high three RBIs in this contest, as he drove in another runner in the ninth inning.
The Lobos closed the gap to 9-7 with a four-run eighth, highlighted by a three-run homer.
In the bottom of the ninth, it looked as if UNM was going to steal game three of the series after getting two runners on base with no outs.
The Lobos plated one of those runners on a one-out single, and one more on a two-out single to make it a one-run game.
But the Aztecs closed down the rally, using their fourth pitcher in the final two innings in sophomore Tyler Loptien, ending the contest with two Lobos left on base.
Those runners were two of 16 UNM runners that were left on base, as the the Lobos only hit 9-27 with runners on base, versus 14-28 on Saturday afternoon.
The Aztecs used six different pitchers in total on Sunday afternoon, led by redshirt-junior right-hander Cody Thompson, who rebounded from a weak showing last weekend with a five-inning performance, allowing two runs and striking out three.
Loptien was the only SDSU pitcher to not allow a hit or a run on the day, and has yet to give up a run in his 4 1/3 innings this season.
SDSU will look to continue this momentum when it faces Long Beach State on Tuesday night, completing the teams’ two-game season series.
