SAN DIEGO – San Diego State picked up a much-needed win on Tuesday with a 5-1 conquest of Long Beach State at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
With the result, the Aztecs (7-21) snap an eight-game home losing streak and defeat the Dirtbags (14-13) for the fourth straight time dating back to the 2018 campaign.
Making his first start in the Scarlet and Black uniform, pitcher Chris Canada (1-0) recorded his first collegiate victory after posting a personal-best seven strikeouts in a season-long 5.0 innings.
Meanwhile, Caden Miller and Cole Carrigg led the SDSU offense with two RBIs apiece.
Miller gave the Aztecs a lead they would not relinquish after smacking a two-run triple with one out in the bottom of the third off the Beach's second reliever of the night Kaden Moeller (0-1). The SDSU shortstop ripped a 3-2 pitch down the left-field line, plating Xavier Carter and Tino Bethancourt, who previous singled and walked, respectively.
The Dirtbags scored their only run in the top of the sixth when Rocco Peppi led off with a double and eventually crossed the plate on a pair of wild pitches. LBSU threatened to add more after Jonathon Long followed with a walk, while Eddie Saldivar singled to left. However, Poncho Ruiz nailed both runners at second on successive stolen base attempts.
Then in the bottom of the frame, the Aztecs gave themselves some breathing room at 4-1 when Cole Carrigg belted a two-run homer, his second round-tripper of the season, driving in Ruiz, who kept the inning alive just moments earlier after beating out a slow roller to third with two outs.
SDSU closed out the scoring in the eighth when Ruiz raced home on Tyler Glowacki's sacrifice fly. Previously, the Aztec catcher led off with a walk and advanced to second and third, respectively, on Carrigg's single and Brian Leonhardt deep flyout to left center.
Canada was solid on the mound for the Aztecs, scattering three and a pair of walks. The Beach's Sebastian Murillo doubled with one out in the third; however, the SDSU left-hander got out of the inning unscathed after inducing a pop up to Charlie Loust and groundout to Chase Lutrell.
In all, four Aztec hurlers combined for 12 strikeouts, marking the 14th time this season that the SDSU staff has reached double figures in that category. Finishing on a high note, Jadon Bercovich struck out three in the ninth in his one-inning stint to offset a walk.
Conversely, the Dirtbags utilized eight pitchers on the night, including starter Noah Carabajal, who struck out three and walked one in two scoreless innings.
San Diego State will be back in action this weekend when it plays host to San José State in a three-game Mountain West series, April 8-10, at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Friday and Saturday's games are set to begin at 6 p.m. PT, while Sunday's finale is set for a 1 p.m. start.
Aztecs Defeat Long Beach State, 5-1
