Ineffective pitching, sloppy defense and a sputtering offense led San Diego State (6-19, 2-4) to a 7-2 loss on Tuesday night against UC Riverside (11-14) at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs’ losing streak extended to six games following the loss.
Struggling to find the zone, the staff combined for six wild pitches, six hit batters and four walks. The constant inability to throw strikes has been the theme for the Aztecs this season and will need to change if the team wants any chance at making the conference tournament.
The defense did not do their part, committing four errors on the night, leading to four unearned runs crossing the plate.
“We had a tough week last week,” said head coach Shaun Cole. “Coming out here and playing the way we did against Riverside, no disrespect to them, they played great, but I expected us to play way better.”
UCR drew first blood in the second inning off Chris Canada. Canada was tagged for two runs, giving up an RBI single to center fielder David Gibbs and a bases loaded walk to third baseman Landon Nunes.
Things got out of hand in the fifth when third baseman Daniel Arambula made a costly throwing error, allowing two runs to score. Following the error, Connor Shaw surrendered another run, giving Riverside a 7-0 lead.
The bright spots on the staff were freshman pitchers Thomas Young and Peyton Rodgers. The duo combined for 2.1 perfect innings while striking out three.
“Thomas Young had a knee injury for a while, that’s why he hasn’t had too many appearances,” Cole said. “So he’s coming back. I thought he threw fairly well. Peyton Rodgers has been pretty good for us all year.”
Riverside’s pitching made San Diego State look very uncomfortable in the box and it showed on the stat sheet. The offense scattered five hits and the only semblance of offense came from a two-run single in the eighth inning from shortstop Evan Escobar.
The Aztecs look to end their losing streak this weekend against conference opponent UNLV. Game one will be on Friday at 6 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
“I’m excited for the conference weekend,” stated Cole. “Our guys should be excited for it because all of sudden, you take two out of three or sweep, but definitely just win the series at home and everybody’s feeling a lot better.”
