In a 1-2 mesmerization, TJ Fondtain and Ricky Tibbett collaborated on a six-hitter to lead the San Diego State baseball team to a 7-1 victory over Hawaii at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
UH coach Rich Hill was admittedly disappointed in the outcome of the opening round of the Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament in San Diego.
Hill, who coached at the University of San Diego for 23 years, is co-creator of the tournament that pays tribute to his former SDSU teammate, a Hall of Fame outfielder. Friday’s meeting was a revival of the UH-SDSU rivalry that dated four decades. Several former Aztecs, including Tony Gwynn’s younger brother, Chris Gwynn, were in attendance. “He was telling stories about the old Rainbow rivalry games of the past, and how awesome they were,” Hill said of Chris Gwynn.
But nostalgia gave way to the Aztecs’ crafty pitching and timely offense. The Aztecs widened a 2-1 lead with a five-run sixth. Three of their runs were unearned because of UH’s first two infielder errors of the season.
“That’s baseball,” Hill said. “We’ll go back to work tomorrow.”
In last week’s four-game split against Washington State, the ’Bows offense amassed 26 walks and 12 hit batsmen. Left fielder Scotty Scott was second nationally in on-base percentage (.833) and third in walks (seven). But on Friday, the ’Bows coaxed one walk and were not plunked. Scott, who was 1-for-4, was called out for interference when he was ruled to have leaned into a two-strike pitch that appeared to graze his forearm.
Fondtain, a left-hander, did not pitch in his first two SDSU seasons. This year, he pitched 4 1/3 innings against California before mystifying the ’Bows. Fondtain retired the first 13 UH batters before second baseman Stone Miyao reached on an error with one out in the fifth. Miyao eventually scored on Dallas Duarte’s two-out single.
“I think the ball was kind of jumping on guys,” Hill said of Fondtain. “He’s a big, tall kid, kind of arms and legs. He kind of comes around the corner on you a little bit. The ball jumps on you. At the same time, we need to do a better job of being aggressive to the fastball, and being fastball ready.”
Fondtain allowed three hits and an unearned run while striking out seven and walking none in six innings. Fondtain was on target on 56 of 79 pitches.
Tibbett pitched three scoreless innings, also allowing three hits.
“I’ve known that kid Tibbett for a while,” Hill said. “He’s got a good arm.”
Freshman left-hander Corey Ronan, in his UH debut, did not allow a hit in the final 2 1/3 innings. “It was a good place to get him in the game,” Hill said. “I think he’s going to be a cornerstone of what we’re doing. It was good to get him in his first Division I game. And he responded. He had some velocity. He was able to throw his curveball for a strike. He really limited the damage in the late innings.”
The ’Bows loaded the bases in the ninth, but then Duarte grounded into a game-ending double play. That ending and the Aztecs’ five-run sixth were momentum deflaters.
“We wanted to work and scrap and get to that point where we were one swing away,” Hill said. “We just came up short tonight.”
Of the setback, Hill said: “The best thing about baseball is ‘tomorrow.’ That one word.”
