It’s been a wild 48 hours for the San Diego State baseball team.
After falling behind 1-0 against San Jose State on Thursday evening and rallying for a 2-1 victory, the Aztecs put on their rally hats for a second straight night to stun UNLV 4-3 in 12 innings.
With the bases loaded with Aztecs and only one out, Jordan Verdon lofted a sacrifice fly to left.
It was just deep enough to allow Jacob Maekawa time to hustle home and slide underneath the tag for the game-winning run.
The Aztecs are the only 2-0 squad out of the four teams that made the Mountain West conference tournament and earned an automatic pass to the MW Championship round.
After falling behind 3-0 against the Rebels, the Aztecs got back in the game during their second time through the lineup.
SDSU outfielder Chad Bible capped off a three-run third inning with a RBI single to tie the game at 3. But both teams held their ground for the next couple hours setting up the epic finish in extras.
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The SDSU pitching staff also received great support in the field. Among the highlights were a gliding catch by Aztecs centerfielder Julian Escobedo and an impressive play by Maekawa on a grounder hit between first and second base.
The Aztecs have won four of the last five Mountain West conference tournaments and have positioned themselves to claim the crown again this weekend.
Top-seeded Nevada was eliminated by San Jose State in the Friday matinee and the Spartans will play the Rebels in an elimination game Saturday.
The surviving team gets a crack at the Aztecs Saturday evening at 6 p.m. but will need to beat SDSU twice to win the tournament.
