San Diego College Baseball : SDSU Pitchers Are Worked Over in 7-4 Loss to USD

Jim Dietz, San Diego State’s baseball coach, decided to give his pitching staff some work in the Aztecs’ final home game of the season Tuesday night.

And most of his pitchers ended up getting worked over.

The University of San Diego had 12 hits off nine pitchers en route to a 7-4 victory. The Aztecs had 11 hits, but most of their scoring chances were wiped out by five double plays.

The nonconference game meant little to the Aztecs (27-20-1), who begin an important four-game Western Athletic Conference series Thursday afternoon in Honolulu against Hawaii.

San Diego State, the defending conference champion, is 8-4 in conference and trails Hawaii (11-1) by three games with 12 to play.

A year ago, the Aztecs were 4-8, but they won 15 of their last 16 conference games to win the championship.

All of those late-season victories last year, however, came at home. This year, the Aztecs play their last 12 conference games on the road.

That may be a plus, considering the way San Diego State played in its final home game.

The Aztecs committed four errors and issued five walks. USD (26-17-1) scored three runs in the first and three more in the third to take a 6-1 lead.

USD first baseman Sean Baron had three hits, and shortstop Chris Bwy had two hits and drove in two runs.

Pat Fitzsimons pitched seven innings, allowing eight hits and two runs, for the victory.

Outfielder Nikco Riesgo hit his eighth triple of the season in the fourth inning to move within one of the single-season Aztec record. Chris Gwynn had nine triples in 89 games in the 1984 season. Riesgo now has 13 career triples, one short of the Aztec career record, also held by Gwynn.

Two of the Aztecs’ four games this weekend against Hawaii will be broadcast on the radio. KSVD (AM 1000) will present the first game of a doubleheader Friday at 8 p.m., and the final game of the series Sunday at 5 p.m.

Biola 6, Point Loma Nazarene 3 (10 innings)--Biola scored three runs in the 10th inning to win the nonconference game at San Diego.

Danny Hand went 3 for 5, scored three runs and had a solo home run in the eighth for Biola (14-18). Steve Martin was 2 for 2 with two RBIs for Point Loma Nazarene (17-29).