Tony Gwynn Stadium- San Diego, California

San Diego State’s bats went quiet in game two of the Tony Gwynn Invitation as they fell to the Utah Utes 8-0 on Friday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The Aztecs were unable to crack the code offensively and suffered their second shutout in the young season. SDSU was outhit 14-4slipped slip back to .500 (3-3), while improved to 5-0.

Utah’s starting pitcher, Colter McAnelly, had a career night in the Utes’ victory. He tossed seven flawless innings while totaling 10 strikeouts in the process.

Offensively, Utah was powered by the middle of their order, specifically Kaden Carpenter and Jake Long. Carpenter ended the game 4-for-4 with 4 RBIs, a walk, and a stolen base, while Long finished the game 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.

Tonight, the Utes offense made a living off two-out hitting. Utah ended the night batting .438 (7-for-16) with two outs and recorded six two-out RBIs.

“That is a mental thing: You have to be tougher with two outs, and our two-out pitches need to be better,” said head coach Shaun Cole.

The Utes scored in three of the first four innings, yet Utah’s biggest inning was in the top of the 5th.

SDSU ace Omar Serrano started the inning with two consecutive strikeouts before the Utah bats came alive. A Carpenter walk and a stolen base, followed by Austen Roellig’s RBI single, set the stage for catcher Derek Smith. On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Smith laced a double in the left-center gap that ultimately ended Serrano’s night.

Serrano finished the game after 4.2 innings, which is the most innings pitched for an SDSU starting pitcher this season. He ended the game with 109 pitches, five strikeouts, and six earned runs attached to his name. In the end, Serrano’s inability to end frames powered the Utes’ offense early in this one.

Cole also got a key contribution from sophomore pitcher Garvey Rumary, who ate up 4.1 innings in relief for the Aztecs.

“That was huge not to have to use any other arms because we do have two more games, and we got a Tuesday game, too, so he did a good job,” said Cole.

The Utes were able to strike for two more runs off Rumary in the 6th and 8th innings to extend their lead and provide an insurance boost.

The Aztec bats had little to show in this one, as the only hits of the game came from Jake Jackson, CJ Moran, Zane Kelly, and Evan Sipe. Jackson, Moran, and Sipe all had singles, while Kelly recorded the sole extra-base hit of the game for the Aztecs.

Next up, San Diego State returns to Tony Gwynn Stadium tomorrow night to face the No. 21 UCSB Gauchos with the first pitch at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Liam Farrell

Liam has been covering the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team for the last two years, while being a Journalism student at San Diego State University. He is joining the staff to primarily cover the Aztec’s baseball team in addition to the men’s and women’s basketball teams.