SDSU Tops Northridge in 13 Innings

Greg Quam scored San Diego State’s first run with a home run off Cal State Northridge’s Scott Sharts in the first inning Friday.

Four hours and 12 innings later, Quam scored the winning run on Bill Dunckel’s RBI single to give the Aztecs a 10-9 victory over the Matadors in a nonconference game at Smith Field.

The victory ended CSUN’s seven-game winning streak and improved the Aztecs’ record to 27-8.

Quam began the winning rally with a single to left field. He advanced to second on Derek Vinyard’s single and scored on Dunckel’s line drive to right-center field.

CSUN starter Sharts was rocked for eight runs in the first inning, then after sitting on the bench as the designated hitter for eight innings, he returned to throw three more innings.

This time he was unbelievably sharp--allowing only two singles and striking out three.

CSUN trailed, 8-1, after the first, but scored five times in the third and once in the fourth, fifth and sixth to take a 9-8 lead.

SDSU tied it in the seventh on a RBI single by Marcelino Garcia, his third hit of the game.

After reaching Sharts for eight runs and seven hits in the first inning, the Aztecs could only score one run off reliever Pierre Amado, who had pitched only one inning all season, in seven innings.

In his 12 previous starts, Sharts pitched eight complete games and had gone an average of almost eight innings. He entered with a 3.56 ERA.

But he was not sharp at all early. It looked like Sharts might escape the inning with just two runs allowed, but a two-out throwing error by Matador shortstop Mike Solar gave SDSU new life.

On Solar’s error, Aztec catcher scored all the way from first. SDSU followed with a walk, a Jason Ledford RBI single, another walk and a bases-loaded double by left fielder Quam, who had homered to lead off the inning. Scott Dennison ended the scoring with a run-scoring single to left.

After the sixth, CSUN could only manage one hit off Mike Borman, the Aztecs third pitcher.