Aztecs Open WAC by Stealing Past Utah

A pair of unrelated Browns, Rob and Dan, led the San Diego State University baseball team to a 3-2 victory over Utah Friday in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both schools.

Rob Brown, a right-handed pitcher, went the distance and struck out 10 for the victory.

Dan Brown, pinch-running in the bottom of the eighth, stole his first two bases of the year, scoring the winning run on a double steal.

The victory got SDSU (16-10, 1-0) off to a good start in defense of its WAC regular-season title. Utah, which has lost 10 in a row, fell to 5-14 and 0-1.

With the score 2-2, Brian Lutes led off the Aztecs’ half of the eighth with a walk, then was replaced by Dan Brown, a reserve outfielder. Two outs later, Brown was on second and Jeff Barry, who had been intentionally walked, was on first.

Brown stole third without a throw from catcher Rob Beck to set up a first-and-third situation. Barry broke for second on the next pitch, and Beck surprisingly threw trying to get the third out.

The throw was high, and Brown, who had broken for the plate, made it easily to give the Aztecs their fifth victory in a row, tying their season high.

“I didn’t think he was going to throw it,” Brown said. “If he threw through, I was going no matter what.”

Said SDSU Coach Jim Dietz: “I don’t think that’s what they wanted to do. I think they just made a mistake.”

Another Brown, Aztec third base coach Gary, said he heard Utah Coach Rick Sofield instruct Beck not to throw to second if Barry tried to steal. Beck did, and SDSU won despite getting just five hits.

Rob Brown (5-3) won despite not having his best stuff.

“I didn’t feel good at all,” he said. “I got lucky. Toward the end, my curveball started working.”

Catcher Kasey McKeon agreed: “He didn’t have much. But he just knows how to pitch. When it’s on the line, he knows how to get the job done.”

Rob Brown is particularly tough in conference games. He was a first-team All-WAC last season after going 5-0 with a conference-leading 2.13 earned-run average.

Entering Friday’s game, SDSU led the WAC with a 2.72 team ERA.

Eric Plantenberg (3-2, 3.20 ERA) and John Hemmerly (3-2, 3.78) are scheduled to pitch today when the series continues with a doubleheader at 5 p.m. It ends with a game at 1 p.m. Sunday.

SDSU scored first with two runs in the third inning. McKeon started things off with a single to center. After Joe Valverde was hit by a pitch, Brian Dunn’s sacrifice bunt attempt was popped to Beck, who doubled up McKeon at second.

Billy Miller and Lutes walked to load the bases, and Harry Henderson singled up the middle to score two runs. That gave Henderson, a Monte Vista High graduate, the team RBI lead with 17. He also leads the Aztecs in average (.398), hits (37), doubles (11) and slugging percentage (.573).

Utah tied the score with two runs in the sixth on four singles and a sacrifice fly. Lance Madsen drove in the first run with a line-drive single to right. Beck hit a fly ball to deep right to score Mike Aranzullo from third.

Brown had cruised through the first five innings. Despite yielding three hits in the first two, he had faced only the minimum nine batters. In the first, Travis Hansen singled with one out. Madsen singled to right, but the Aztecs caught Hansen in a rundown between second and third, then picked off Madsen between first and second to complete a double play.

In the second, Steve Sigloch singled but was caught stealing on a perfect throw to second by McKeon, son of Padre Manager Jack McKeon.

Brown retired the side in the third, got three fly balls to center in the fourth and two strikeouts in the fifth. An Aztec double play ended the seventh, and Brown struck out two in the eighth and the ninth.