PRESS RELEASE - Aztec senior pitcher Ryan Doran threw his first career complete-game shutout to help San Diego State fight off elimination and defeat Fresno State 4-0 Friday afternoon in the 2013 Mountain West Championship at Pete Beiden Field.
San Diego State (28-29), the No. 3 seed, advances in the loser's bracket of the tournament and will face the loser of Friday night's UNLV-New Mexico game at 3 p.m. PT on Saturday.
After posting 10 runs on 10 hits in the morning elimination-game victory over Nevada, Fresno State (23-33) only got seven hits on Doran and did not get a base runner past second base. Doran (8-3) struck out seven Bulldogs and did not walk a single- batter in his 107-pitch performance.
The Aztecs were led offensively by center fielder and leadoff hitter Greg Allen, who went 2-for-5 with two RBI and one run scored in addition to several spectacular catches in the outfield that helped preserve Doran's shutout.
San Diego State jumped on the board first in the bottom of the second when it loaded the bases up with two outs. An error by Bulldog first baseman Trent Garrison allowed Tyler France to score the unearned run and give the Aztecs an early 1-0 lead.
Doran only allowed three singles through the first five innings and just one base runner past first base.
He then got another run of support in the fifth when Tim Zier drove in Allen on an RBI single through the left side of the infield to push the Aztec lead up to 2-0.
Bulldog left fielder Brody Russell, who went 2-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored to help Fresno State stave off elimination in the first game Friday, injected some energy into the home crowd with a leadoff single to start the sixth.
Russell advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Jake Alvarez and then Jordan Luplow reached first when Doran hit him with a pitch.
Just like that, Fresno State had two runners on for the first time in the game, and with just one out. Kevin Viers followed with a hard liner to the warning track in left-center, but Allen tracked down the ball for a clutch running grab for the second out of the inning.
That brought up Bulldog power-hitter Aaron Judge, but Doran silenced the crowed and ended the Bulldogs' first and only real threat by getting Judge to strike out swinging to end the inning.
Allen then completely deflated the Bulldogs in the bottom of the sixth with a two-out, two-run double to the corner in left field. That gave The Aztecs a 4-0 lead and Doran kept Fresno State at bay over the final three innings to round out his complete game.
