Feb. 26, 2000

Box Score

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The San Diego State Aztec baseball team swept the Washington State Cougars in a non-conference doubleheader Saturday at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs improved their season mark to 10-7 with the doubleheader wins of 5-4 in the first game and 6-3 in the nightcap. With the two losses, the Cougars fell to 4-9 in 2000.

The Aztecs picked up the win in the first game behind a balanced offensive attack and a solid relief outing from Royce Ring. Ring improved his season record to 1-1 with 4.1 innings of one-run baseball. The only hit he allowed was a solo home run to Ryan Smith in the eighth inning. SDSU starter Jeremy Cook picked up a no-decision in the game giving up three runs and six hits in 4.2 innings.

WSU ace Todd Meldahl (1-3) was saddled with the hard-luck loss allowing only one earned run in 4.1 innings. The senior left-hander struck out three and allowed seven hits in his fourth start of 2000. The Cougars received another solid outing from the bullpen as sophomore Lanakila Niles allowed only one hit in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief work.

San Diego State jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after two innings. A two-run first inning started the scoring for the Aztecs behind three hits and one crucial WSU error. The Cougs scored their first run in the top of the second when senior right fielder Jordan Nilsen tripled home Bookie Gates. WSU brought the game to within one run, 3-2, in the third, capitalizing on a fielding error by SDSU shortstop Edgar Gonzalez.

The Cougars briefly tied the game in the top of the fifth when Nilsen clubbed his first home run in a Cougar uniform over the right field fence. Nilsen, a transfer from Southern Mississippi, was 2-for-4 in game one with two RBI and a run scored.

The Aztecs forged back into the lead with two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Designated hitter Tyler Echelbarger plated a run on a single to right field and then Gonzalez followed with a suicide squeeze bunt to score Garrett Cook to give the Aztecs the 5-3 lead.

WSU senior catcher Smith provided the spark to a potential late-inning rally with a solo home run in the eighth inning. The home run over the left field fence was Smith's first homer since his sophomore season. Down 5-4, WSU couldn't provide the heroics for a come-from-behind win, as Ring retired the Cougar offense quietly in the last two innings.

The Aztecs were led at the plate by a host of players with two-hit games. Andy Litteral, Billy Montgomery, Garrett Cook and Echelbarger each had multiple-hit games for SDSU. Nilsen and Gates were the only Cougs to record more than one hit.

In the nightcap, WSU starting pitcher Tyson Thompson did everything he could through the first five innings to give the Cougars a chance for the win. The hard-throwing sophomore right-hander allowed only two hits and no runs in the first five innings, but tired in the sixth as the Aztecs scored four runs to jump to a 4-1 lead.

SDSU starter Chris Hartshorn (1-1) pitched a four-hitter over seven innings and allowed only one run to pick up the win. Hartshorn struck out six and walked only one in his outing. In what was a pitchers duel between Thompson and Hartshorn through the first half of the game, WSU took the early advantage with a single tally in the fourth inning on a Ray Hattenburg home run.

Down 1-0, SDSU finally got to Thompson in the sixth inning by banging out five hits and four runs to help secure the doubleheader sweep. Consecutive singles by Matt Ricardy, Paul Lockhart and Ben Rosenthal fueled the four-run rally. Rosenthal plated a run with a sharp single to center field and Chad Chop scored another with a double off the left field fence. The Aztecs scored two more runs in the eighth inning off reliever Zach Fisher to take a 6-1 lead. Chop finished game two 2-for-3 and third baseman/pitcher Rory Shortell was 2-for-4 with two RBI.

The Cougars staged a comeback in the ninth with two runs and brought the tying run to the plate. Pinch hitter David Perriera led the inning off with a single and later scored on a SDSU error. Stefan Bailie, who didn't start the second game because of a foot injury, contributed a run-scoring double to pull the Cougs to within three runs. With runners on second and third and only one out, SDSU reliever Shortell struck out Justin Williams and got Mike Knight to fly out to right field to end the game.

With his 1-for-4 effort in game one and his pinch-hit double in the nightcap, Bailie extended his hitting streak to 13 games and upped his season average to a team-leading .447 (21x47). The Cougars also received some promising news as preseason All-American Jason Grove saw his first action of the year while recovering from a broken hamate bone in his right hand. Grove pinch ran in the ninth inning and scored a run. Freshman Garrett Alwert made his first appearance as a Cougar in the field starting at first base. Alwert is a two-way player who has also pitched in one game for the Cougs.

The Cougars and Aztecs will conclude the three-game series Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. game at Tony Gwynn Stadium. WSU is scheduled to start senior right-hander Reggie Rivard (0-2, 9.53), while SDSU will start lefty Ben Julianel (3-1, 2.57).

Game 1
WSU    011  010  010 -  4  7  5
SDSU   210  020  00x -  5  8  2
Todd Meldahl, Lanakila Niles (5) and Ryan Smith.
Jeremy Cook, Royce Ring (5) and Brandon Rogers.
W - Ring (1-1),L - Meldahl (1-3), S - None, HR - Nilsen (1), Smith (1).
T - 2:56, A - 235.
WSU Hits - Bailie, Gates 2, Nilsen 2, Smith.
SDSU Hits - Litteral 2, Montgomery 2, G. Cook 2, Echelbarger 2.
E - Stevenson (3), Hattenburg 2 (7), Smith (1), Meldahl (1), Gonzalez 2.
2B - Litteral, G. Cook, 3B - Nilsen (1).


Game 2
WSU    000  010  002 - 3   6  2
SDSU   000  004  02x - 6  11  1
Tyson Thompson, Zach Fisher (6) and Zach Bode.
Chris Hartshorn, Mike Garber (8), Rory Shortell (9) and Brandon Rogers.
W - Hartshorn (1-1),L - Thompson (1-2), S - None, HR - Hattenburg (1).
T - 2:43, A - 473.
WSU Hits - Stevenson, Williams, Curran, Hattenburg, Perreira, Bailie.
SDSU Hits - Chop 2, Montgomery 2, Ricardy 2, Lockhart, Rosenthal, Shortell 2, Gonzalez.
E - Gates (7), Fisher (1), Chop.
2B - Chop, Bailie (3), 3B - None.

Copy by Jeff R. Evans
WSU Sports Information