SDSU Defeats Hawaii, 5-2, for Division Baseball Title

The fans who sit on Ragger’s Rail came to Smith Field prepared Sunday afternoon.

The rowdy group that sits on the railing above the right-field fence and makes life generally miserable for opposing teams (and especially right fielders) came equipped with mops and brooms hoping to see San Diego State finish a four-game sweep of Hawaii.

They got their sweep. Rusty Elsberry allowed just four hits over eight innings and Nikco Riesgo lined a two-run double in the third inning to help the Aztecs beat the Rainbows, 5-2.

The win completed a remarkable run by the Aztecs that gives them the Western Athletic Conference Western Division championship. SDSU, which has won 15 straight WAC games, came into this series trailing Hawaii by three games.

But, spurred on in part by their raucous fans, the Aztecs won four straight and will play host to the WAC playoffs for the first time. A double-elimination tournament featuring four teams--SDSU, Hawaii, New Mexico and Wyoming--will begin at Smith Field Thursday.

“This has really been something,” SDSU Coach Jim Dietz said. “It’s just a remarkable thing. You don’t see this kind of fan support at this school very often. I’m happy we could do it for them.”

The group poured over the right-field fence after Matt Haar struck out Dan Nyssen with a man on in the ninth inning for the final out. They waved their brooms and used their mops to sweep the infield. Even the usually unemotional Dietz was in the middle of the celebration.

“There’s no question, they just took it away from us,” Hawaii Coach Les Murakami said. “We only had to win once but we couldn’t get the job done.”

The Aztecs started the series with an 8-7 come-from-behind victory Friday night. Steve Montejano’s two-run single in the ninth gave SDSU the win and started the ball rolling. Saturday, SDSU swept a doubleheader behind the pitching of Tony Faryniarz and Mike Erb.

Sunday, it was Elsberry’s turn. He was in control of the game from the start, allowing only two runs (both unearned) in the seventh inning. When he walked the first two batters in the ninth, Haar came in to finish. In the four games, Haar had a win and two saves.

Riesgo got the Aztec offense going in the third when he doubled into the right-field corner off Rainbow starter Mike Ponio, who took the loss. Steve Hill and Tom LeVasseur scored on the play to make it 2-0. Montejano hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to drive in Bob Parry and extend the Aztecs’ lead.