FRESNO, Calif. – Second-seeded San Diego State was eliminated from the 2023 Mountain West Championship on Friday after suffering a 4-2 defeat to No. 4 seed Fresno State at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
With the loss, the Aztecs finish their season with an overall record of 24-29, while the tournament host Bulldogs (30-26) remain alive and will face the loser of the game-four matchup between top seed San José State and No. 3 Air Force in another elimination game on Saturday, starting at 1:30 p.m. PT.
SDSU was undone by the exploits of Tommy Hopfe, who hit a pair of two-run homers to spark Fresno State's offensive output, while Travis Welker came up with some huge defensive plays at shortstop to thwart potential Aztec scoring chances.
Grady Morgan greeted starter TJ Fondtain with a double off the wall in center field on the first pitch of the game, but the SDSU left-hander seemingly fought himself off the proverbial ropes after inducing a pair of popouts. However, Hopfe stepped to the plate and smacked an 0-2 offering over the fence in left to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.
For the second day in a row, the Aztecs left 10 runners on base, including a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the second. With one aboard and one away following a leadoff single by Poncho Ruiz, Charlie Rhee was hit by a pitch, while Xavier Gonzalez reached on a fielder's choice before Cade Martinez beat out an infield hit. However, Tino Bethancourt grounded out on a high chopper to third on a 3-1 pitch from starter Roman Angelo to end the inning.
SDSU had two early chances to trim the deficit off Angelo but came up empty. With two aboard in third after Caden Miller reached on a fielder's and a two-out walk to Ruiz, Angelo avoided trouble when Shaun Montoya flew out to deep right field.
Then in the fifth, Miller doubled to the gap in right center, but Welker made an off-balance catch of Cole Carrigg's soft liner behind the bag at second to end another threat.
In the interim, Fondtain (7-4) kept the Aztecs in contention by striking out six batters in six innings, allowed just three base runners following Hopfe's blast—two-out doubles by Murf Gray and Ben Newton, in the third and fourth, respectively, before issuing a walk to Morgan with one out in the fifth.
SDSU finally got to Angelo in the sixth when Ruiz cranked the first pitch over the fence in right to narrow the gap to 2-1. Following a pair of groundouts, Gonzalez doubled to left field but was left stranded when Angelo struck out Martinez.
In the seventh, Bethancourt drew a leadoff walk off reliever Victor Arreola and moved over to second on Irvin Weems' sacrifice bunt. However, Welker made a diving catch on Miller line drive behind second base before Arreola induced a groundout to Carrigg to keep the Scarlet and Black at bay.
Fresno State extended its lead to 4-1 in the top of the eighth when Hopfe homered to right off Eldridge Armstrong III, plating Gray, who previously singled through the right side.
Hopfe, the Bulldogs' own dual-role player, took the mound in the bottom of the ninth and issued a leadoff walk to pinch hitter Trevor Fox, who took second on Drew Giannini's grounder to second. Moments later, Fox raced home on Weems' single up the middle, cutting the margin to 4-2. However, Hopfe prevented further damage by inducing consecutive groundouts to Miller and Carrigg to secure his 11th save of the year.
Angelo (7-5) earned the victory, yielding five hits and a pair of walks to go with two strikeouts in six innings, while Fondtain (7-4) absorbed the tough loss, ceding four hits and two walks in his stint.
Ricky Tibbett pitched a scoreless seventh for the Aztecs, while Kelena Sauer retired the side in the ninth.
With his strikeout total, Fondtain fanned 99 batters for the season, the most by an SDSU hurler since Bubba Derby struck out 131 hitters in 2015.
After an 0-5 start to the 2023 campaign, San Diego State rebounded to capture a share of the Mountain West regular-season title with an 18-11 record. The Aztecs' MW regular-season championship was the program's third overall and first since 2004.
SDSU collected seven Mountain West postseason honors, including Fondtain, who was named Conference Pitcher of the Year, while Mark Martinez received MW Co-Coach of the Year recognition. The Aztecs' four first-team all-conference selections (Fondtain, Ruiz, Carrigg, Sauer) were the most in the league, while Montoya was a second-team honoree.
Aztecs Dealt Season-Ending Loss by Fresno State
