On a quiet Tuesday night in the middle of the spring semester on the Mesa, outfielder Jake Jackson set off some late night fireworks, clobbering a three-run home-run in the bottom of the first inning to give SDSU an early 3-0 lead. The home-run was the first of the season for Jackson, and came just five days after his walk-off hit against the University of Seattle.
San Diego State (4-5) handedly defeated the University of San Diego (0-8) 10-3 Tuesday, inching one game closer to .500 on the season.
Pitcher Garvey Rummary opened the game up on the mound for SDSU. Rummary, entering this game with a 8.10 ERA, faced a strong Toreros lineup. As a unit, USD is in the top half of the WCC in stolen bases (3rd, 14) and batting average (4th, .261) while sitting in the fifth spot for on-base percentage (.343) and slugging percentage (.372).
Infielder Finley Bates, the 2024 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, got the bottom of the first started with a leadoff single. Bates found his way to second base, as infielder Nevan Noonan occupied first base thanks to a hit by pitch.
Outfielder Jake Jackson made the damage three, hammering a three-run home-run over the left field wall, giving SDSU a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first with no outs. Despite the quick start, the damage remained 3-0 at the conclusion of the inning.
The momentum rolled into the top of the second, as right fielder Jonathan Smith gunned a Toreros runner at home plate, connecting with catcher Gage Adams to close out another scoreless USD inning.
A walk from Adams and a base hit from outfielder Drew Rutter put runners on first and second for Bates. Bates lined a single into right field, USD then committed an error that brought home Adams, extending the lead to 4-0. Noonan opened his night taking a beating at the plate, getting hit by a second pitch to load the bases.
Errors infected the Toreros infield, as the relay from first base to home plate was muffed then overthrown, bringing home two more runs. The damage continued to come in pairs, with designated hitter CJ Moran connecting on a two RBI single to center field, extending the lead to 8-0 and capping off a five run inning.
Designated hitter Reese Smith took the zero off USDs side of the scoreboard, bringing home outfielder Rex Watson from second with a RBI base hit.
Heading into the fourth inning, Rummary was replaced by pitcher Evan Miranda. Rummary concluded his night with 3.0 IP, three hits, two walks and one earned run. Miranda made it interesting, finding himself with the bases loaded and two outs. Miranda escaped the jam unscathed, getting the third out on a fly out.
Smith stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded and one out. Smith delivered a quality at bat, sending a sacrifice fly to right field and scoring Noonan, increasing the lead to 9-1.
Rutter gave USD a break in the top of the fifth, letting a base hit roll past him to the warning track, bringing in a Toreros runner. Catcher Nico Libed added on with an RBI double to right field, cutting the lead to 9-3.
The USD run ended Miranda’s night, as freshman pitcher Peyton Rodgers took the mound for SDSU. Miranda ended his night with 1.1 IP, two hits, one walk, and one earned run.
“He [Rodgers] is the first guy I recruited here when I got the job as the pitching coach,” said Shaun Cole postgame. “We have high hopes for him, he’s gotten off to a good start as a freshman. We’ve thrown him into a lot of tough spots, and he’s learning on the fly.”
Rodgers stretched his appearance to a brilliant 3.1 IP, allowing just one hit and zero runs, striking out two batters along the way.
“I felt amazing out there,” said Rodgers. “I had a short pen but I had all I needed, my three pitches were working. I’ve had some good and bad outings but I’ve always remained level, I’m going to keep doing that moving forward”
Pitcher Chris Canavan followed up Rodgers gem, tasked with handing the Aztecs their fourth win of the season
The Scarlet and Black added insurance in the bottom of the eighth in the form of a Daniel Arambula RBI single, getting the Aztecs to double digit runs for the third time of the year.
Canavan came back out for the ninth, but yet again, did not make it easy on himself. Two walks and a base hit loaded the bases with no outs.
The shaky start to the inning was enough for Cole to pull Canavan out of the game, bringing in pitcher Issac Araiza to get out of the jam. A forced double play and a strikeout for Araiza closed the door, sealing the win.
SDSU heads to Moraga over the weekend hoping to get back to .500, playing a three game series against Saint Mary’s.
