College Baseball : Aztecs Take Pair From Pomona

It wasn’t easy, but San Diego State came away with a doubleheader sweep over Cal Poly Pomona Saturday afternoon at Smith Field.

Aztec right fielder Ron Vanegas singled home two runs in the fourth inning to give SDSU a 4-3 win in game one. Vanegas had two hits and drove in three runs.

Prior to Vanegas’ game-winning hit, the Broncos were leading 3-2. Two of Pomona’s runs came on a second-inning home run by catcher Jeff Edwards.

Bill Blount, who improved his record to 3-1, was the winning pitcher. Blount received relief help from Kevin Piper and Rich Holsman. Holsman retired the last two Pomona batters and gained a save.

The Aztecs came from behind once again in the second game. Center fielder Robbie Knowles’ single drove in Steve Hokama in the ninth inning to break a 4-4 tie and complete the sweep. Hokama, a pinch-hitter, opened the inning by getting hit by a pitch and moved to second on a passed ball.

Down 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh, the Aztecs scored on a sacrifice fly by Knowles and tied it in the eighth on two errors and a walk. The Broncos had erased a 2-0 deficit with a four-run second inning. John Love hit a two-run homer for Pomona in that inning.

Piper (2-0) was the winner in the second game, Mike Munoz took the loss. San Diego State is 15-7, while the Broncos drop to 7-10. The Aztecs, who began the season as one of the top-rated Division 1 teams in the country, have fallen out of the top 20.

In other action:

University of San Diego 6-1, Pepperdine 1-6--The Toreros and Waves split a West Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader at USD. In the first game, left fielder Mark Trafton and catcher Steve DeGennaro hit solo home runs in the fourth inning to lead the Toreros to a win. Mark Hawblitzel went the distance in the seven-inning game, allowing just four hits and picking up his first win of the season. Brian Scharkey (1-2) was the loser for Pepperdine.

Brad Bierley and Chad Kreuter hit solo homers for Pepperdine in the second game, and Dave Miramontes pitched a complete game. USD’s only run came on a single by Paul Van Stone in the fourth inning.

Casey Morales (0-1) was the losing pitcher. The Toreros are 6-15-1, the Waves 13-5-1.

UC San Diego 13-4, Occidental 3-1--At Pasadena, Bob Natal had six hits on the day to help the Tritons sweep the Tigers. In the opener, Natal drove in five runs on a two-run homer in the third inning and a pair of doubles. Marc Williams, John Rosness and Derek Alkonis had two hits apiece for UCSD, which had 15. Rosness had three RBIs.

David de Cordova went all the way for UCSD, striking out six. His record improves to 4-2. Dave Doerr (1-2) was the loser.

Natal was 3 for 4 in the second game and Alkonis had two hits and drove in two runs. Mark Sloan (3-1) was the winner for UCSD (12-7-1). Tom Geiger (2-4) took the loss for the Tigers (7-8).