San Diego State baseball is currently stuck in the mud amid an eight-game losing streak.

After a victory against cross-town rival USD on February 26, the Aztecs have been winless for over a week and a half.

The Scarlet and Black traveled to northern California to take on St. Mary’s in a three-game set and dropped each game. Pitching was the central area of concern against the Gaels, as Aztec pitchers allowed 31 runs over the three-game span. Freebases were one of the most significant issues in this series, as St Mary’s totaled 21 walks over the weekend.

A lack of run support has been an over-arching theme during the eight-game skid as well.

In their mid-week matchup against Cal State Fullerton, SDSU hitters could only muster one run, as the team went down in a 7-1 defeat. However, the Aztecs weren’t strapped for opportunities, as the Titans only outhit SDSU 13-8, yet Aztec batters left nine runners on base, and ultimately that was a key difference.

After the SDSU struggled on the road, a four-game series against Northeastern was a prime opportunity to flip the script, yet the Aztecs faltered in a string of close games.

Game one was the most lopsided margin of the four-game set, with the Huskies jumping on starting pitcher Omar Serrano early in the game and never looking back. Serrano pitched four innings and gave up eight runs in the process. SDSU batters went quiet in the middle third of the game, which was enough to power the Huskies to a 10-4 victory.

Game two saw another fast start for Northeastern in which starting pitcher Evan Miranda gave up four runs in the first inning.

Even after the four-run deficit, the Aztecs were able to battle back into the game. A CJ Moran RBI double in the first inning that scored Nevan Noonan and a two-run single by Drew Rutter cut the Huskies lead to two. After Northeastern added two more in the top of the fifth, the Aztecs struck for three runs by way of a Sammy Kahler single that scored two and a Jake Jackson single that scored Kahler. With the score pitted at 7-6 in favor of the Huskies, Northeastern got two insurance runs in the top of the ninth innings by a Cam Maldonado home run, which was his second of the game and led to a final score of 9-6.

Game three was the most entertaining game of the series, which saw the Aztecs battle into extra innings.

The Aztecs were once again playing from behind in this game, trailing 5-3 in the seventh innings before Finley Bates’ two-run single knotted the game at 5-5. The score stood through regulation, and after a scoreless 10^th inning, the game found new life in the top of the 11^th. Northeastern was able to score two runs by way of a single and a wild pitch, which put the Aztecs’ backs against the wall. With the game on the line, Kahler came through in the clutch to tie the game at 11-11 on a two-run single that plated Moran and Noonan. In the top of the 12^th, the floodgates opened for the Huskies as they erupted for five runs in the top half of the inning to put the game on ice. SDSU fought back by scoring two of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but it wasn’t enough, and Northeastern claimed a 12-9 win

The last game of the series was the first game of the homestand that SDSU played with a lead. SDSU jumped out to a 3-1 in the bottom of the 2^nd courtesy of Jonathan Smith’s RBI double, Bates’ RBI groundout, and Rutter’s RBI single. However, the Aztecs’ lead was short-lived as the Huskies scored three of their own in the top of the 4^th inning and added two more runs in the top of the 7^th to add to their lead. Five SDSU errors were the difference maker in such a close-knit game; as SDSU fell 8-5 in a game, they were only outhit 10-9.

Zane Kelly and Moran are the two brightest stars for the Aztecs early this season. Kelly is currently hitting .346, with six extra-base hits. Moran is hitting .344 and has a team-high 13 RBIs. SDSU is also getting a major boost from Kahler, who is hitting .391 and starting to be a regular in head coach Shaun Cole’s starting lineup.

Entering the season, San Jose State was slated to be at the bottom of the Mountain West, yet the Spartans are currently sitting at 10-5 on the young season. The Spartans play Cal Poly and Santa Clara before the weekend series against the Aztecs. The first pitch on Friday at Tony Gwynn Stadium is at 6:00 p.m., with a 4:00 p.m. start on Saturday and a noon start for the rubber match on Sunday.

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.