San Diego State baseball: Aztecs fall behind early, lose to USD Toreros 9-6

SAN DIEGO -- The inaugural Tony Gwynn Classic got off to its unofficial start on Thursday night as the San DIego State Aztecs and San Diego Toreros met in Lake Elsinore at The Diamond.

It was not the start SDSU was looking for in its banner event, falling in an early 5-0 hole, eventually losing 9-6.

The Aztecs gave up five runs in the first two innings, but only one earned, as the defense fell apart, committing three errors behind starter Mike Diamond. Diamond had given up four earned runs in just three innings in his first appearance of the year last weekend, but this time, he was only charged with one earned in 1 2/3 innings of work.

Adrian Orozco, Chris Collins and Jacob Erickson were able to stop the bleeding, surrendering just one run over the next six innings. This allowed the Aztecs to make up ground, making it a one-run game in the seventh.

The bottom of the seventh started with nine-straight balls from USD pitching. This brought Alan Trejo to a 1-0 count with runners on first and second. After showing bunt, Trejo brought the bat back for the slash play, resulting in Torero catcher Riley Adams dropping the pitch with Chase Calabuig stealing third.

Trejo would then squib the ball to the first base side, allowing Calabuig to score and make it a 6-4 game.

Justin Wylie came to the dish next, and smacked a single just out of the reach of the third baseman, putting runners on the corners for pinch hitter Niko Navarro.

Wylie would advance to second on a ball in the dirt before Navarro hit an RBI groundout to first base, drawing SDSU within one of their cross-town rivals.

The rally would end on a lineout to center from Spencer Thornton, and that was as close as they would get to winning the game.

SDSU went down 1-2-3 in the 8th, and the wheels came off in the top of the ninth. With side-armer Brian Heldman coming into the game with one out in the inning, the righty failed to put away consecutive hitters after reaching two strikes, letting USD get one of the runs back.

Aztec head coach Mark Martinez then decided to put catcher CJ Saylor on the mound, and while he also got to two strikes on consecutive batters, they both reached base, making it an 8-5 game. USD would score their ninth and final run on SDSU's fourth error of the game.

Trejo would drive in his third run of the night in the bottom half of the inning; a single to left that scored Calabuig to make it a 9-6 final.

San Diego State is back in action on Friday night as it plays its first official game of the Tony Gwynn Classic. The Aztecs will face Bryant in their opening round game at 6 PM PT. USD will face Nebraska on Friday night at 6 PM in its opening round game.

For more coverage from San Diego all weekend, be sure to check out my site AZ Desert Swarm, as I'll be on hand for many of the games throughout the three days.