By Thomas Christian (@ThomasGOATnba) — Reporter
With the sunshine sprinkling in on a 66-degree afternoon at San Diego State’s Tony Gwynn Stadium, the Spartans soundly completed their sweep of the Aztecs with a 7-3 victory Sunday.
Fresh off back-to-back wins against SDSU, the blue and gold faced freshman pitcher Chris Canada, the right-hander currently rising up the ranks of the SDSU bullpen, it was not a great time to face him for the Spartans.
Starting on the mound for SJSU was junior Aaron Eden.
Both pitchers came out dealing, retiring the first three batters on both sides to end the first.
Early in the second inning, it looked as though the two Mountain West squads would settle into a defensive battle. Instead, Dalton Bowling cracked the game wide open with a solo homer off Canada to go up 1-0. It was the first home run Canada had given up in his young collegiate career.
SJSU’s defense took a “bend but don’t break” approach against SDSU, allowing baserunners but taking the outs where they could get them. Though the Aztecs tied the game in the 2nd at 1-1, Eden remained calm under pressure.
Eden’s cool head and steady arm helped the Spartans manage SDSU’s West Coast attack. Under pressure with baserunners frequently in scoring position, the right-hander persevered to allow just two runs over six innings. One came off a questionable call when Aztec Poncho Ruiz looked to be tagged by catcher Makana Olaso while sliding into home.
Spartans’ head coach Brad Sanfilippo could be seen vocally disagreeing with the call, but SJSU still found themselves in a 2-1 hole, searching for an answer.
With one out and baserunners on first and second in the fourth inning, SJSU forced Cole Carrigg into a game of pickle and an out and caught another foul ball to extinguish an Aztec side that looked like it was starting to catch fire.
Olaso answered back in the sixth with a two-RBI double that gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead. Their squad looked to be clicking on all cylinders, giving the tiring Canada a run for his money.
Despite SJSU having the weaker bullpen, SDSU coach Mark Martinez visited the mound first in the game at the top of the sixth inning. He came to the mound twice more in the sixth and seventh, pulling Canada and his replacement Jacob Flores, before settling on right-hander Eldridge Armstrong for the relief effort.
Armstrong looked solid after recording another strikeout, but Theo Hardy had other plans after sailing a deep shot into the stands behind right field to tack on another two runs. Hardy’s first home run of the season gave the Spartans a 5-2 lead in a three-pitcher, four runs allowed seventh inning for SDSU.
A single from Charlie Rhee answered back for the Aztecs to bring another baserunner home for SDSU. But some good relieving by SJSU’s Darren Jansen and Corey Sanchez helped seal any chance of a comeback.
Colette continued the abuse of the Aztecs’ relievers, going yard and bringing another baserunner home to make it 7-3, Spartans lead.
Brady Hill took the final out of the 9th inning for the Spartans. Their outfielders gathered for their ritualistic dance ceremony, celebrating the sweep of a Mountain West opponent that sits at just 7-24 overall.
The Spartans increase to 18-15 overall and 9-6 in conference play, good for third place in the Mountain West.
The next game for SJSU will be on the road Thursday against UNLV at 6:05 p.m.
