FORT WORTH, Texas — San Diego State rallied to score eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 9-8 victory over the Utah baseball team in the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Thursday.
"I don't know how it happened, but I'll take it," Aztecs coach Tony Gwynn said. "This is huge."
Utah broke up a no-hitter from SDSU pitcher Jon Berger in the fifth inning, rallying with two outs to take a 5-0 lead. Corey Shimada and Nick Kuroczko each hit an RBI double in the inning while Tyler Yagi drove in two runners with a single.
Each team scored a run in the sixth inning, while Utah added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to take a 8-1 lead.
San Diego State came back in the bottom of the eighth to score eight runs on six hits and four walks to pull ahead, 9-8. Erik Castro and Ryan O'Sullivan each drove in two runs for the Aztecs.
"That last inning we were like, we have to focus and have a good at-bat," said Colwell, who hit the game-winning hit with an RBI double to the left-center gap. "It's unbelievable and my heart was pounding. The guys have so much confidence right now, and we are the team to beat right now."
"We walked too many guys and didn't throw quality strikes," Utah coach Bill Kinneberg said. "They got the momentum going and did a great job of scoring eight runs."
Andrew Wilding pitched 7.1 innings, allowing just two runs with six strikeouts. Stephen Streich earned the loss to go to 3-2 on the year.
Shimada and Michael Beltran led Utah with two hits.
The Utes move into the elimination bracket, facing TCU at 2 p.m. today. The winner of that game goes on to face San Diego State in the championship later tonight.
TCU 9, BYU 2: The No. 1-seed TCU Horned Frogs stayed alive with a victory over No. 3-seed BYU, eliminating the Cougars.
Cougar third baseman Steve Parker had hit a leadoff triple to the left-field warning track in the second, but he was fooled on Kyle Winkler's pitching delivery and got caught trying to advance to home. He likely would have scored on Bowen's fly-out to right field the next play.
"That may have taken the steam out of us when he got picked at third," said BYU coach Vance Law.
TCU, now 36-15, then rallied to take the initial 2-0 lead when Matt Curry hit a two-run single up the middle with no outs in the second.
For the first five innings it was three-up, three-down for the Cougar offense. BYU had a two-out rally in the sixth when J.T. Musso singled and Stetson Banks doubled down the left field line, but Kent Walton grounded out weakly to first base.
Adam Miller surrendered the mound to Nathan Bunch in the sixth. Bunch loaded the bases and gave way to Jared Miller in relief. Jared Miller struck out a pair before Brance Rivera's two-out single scored two more Frogs, upping the tally to 4-0.
Adding insult to injury, Matt Vern doubled, stole third and then home with two outs in the seventh to increase the lead to 5-0.
After TCU scored its sixth run, BYU finally got on the scoreboard when Walton singled in Musso from second base in the eighth. The Frogs got that run back before Vern knocked a two-run homer over the right-field fence for a 9-1 lead.
BYU 5, NEW MEXICO 1:BYU right-handed starter Marc Oslund stuffed New Mexico's big-hitting lineup and eliminated the No. 2 Lobos. Cougars' leadoff hitter Sean McNaughton was the source of BYU's offense, hitting the tournament's first two home runs, a pair of two-run shots.
Summit League
SUU 11, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 8: At Tulsa, Okla., the Thunderbirds scored nine runs during the middle innings and then added two more in the bottom of the eighth in the opening round of the Summit League tournament. The win moves the Thunderbirds to the next round where SUU will face the winner of the Oral Roberts-Centenary game today at 3 p.m.