Aztecs Set to Battle CSUN in Midweek Clash on Tuesday

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State wraps up the non-conference portion of its regular-season schedule on Tuesday, May 6, when it welcomes CSUN for a midweek clash at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m. PT.  

The Aztecs (15-34, 10-14 MW) enter the week in a tie for fifth place in the Mountain West standings with Air Force, San José State and Washington State, as the top six teams qualify for the MW Championship later this month in Mesa, Arizona.

SDSU dropped three games to New Mexico in a conference series this past weekend, May 2-4, falling by scores of 9-7 (10 inn.), 9-8 and 15-7.

On the flip side, the Matadors (12-30, 8-16 Big West) are tied for ninth in the Big West race with Cal State Bakersfield after claiming a series victory at home against UC Riverside, posting an 11-0 shutout and a 7-4 triumph sandwiched around a 3-1 defeat.

At press time, the pitching matchup for Tuesday’s contest was not determined.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of May 5, the Aztec staff leads the Mountain West innings pitched (421.0) and is slotted second in strikeouts (388) while ranking fifth in opposing batting average (.305) and sixth in ERA (7.23).

Individually, Peyton Rodgers tops the conference with 26 games appearances, while Xavier Cardenas III (22) and Evan Miranda are slotted third and fourth in games pitched, respectively.

Cardenas shares the fourth position in the league with five saves, while Rodgers is tied for seventh with three in that statistic.

Despite missing two starts in April, Marko Sipila still finds himself among the conference leaders in opposing batting average (3rd, .274), ERA (6th, 4.70), strikeouts (6th, 61) and innings pitched (T-7th, 59.1).

In addition, Omar Serrano ranks fourth in the MW in innings pitched (68.1) and occupies the seventh spot in strikeouts (57) while sharing the eighth position in victories (4).

Elsewhere, Garvey Rumary is tied for sixth in fewest hits allowed (64).

Offensively, SDSU is tied for second in the MW with 18 triples and is slotted third with 100 doubles while ranking fourth with 188 walks. In addition, the Scarlet and Black occupies the sixth position in hits (455) and the seventh spot in batting average (.277), runs scored (273) and RBIs (248).

Finley Bates is tied for the conference lead with 36 walks, while Nevan Noonan is slotted fifth with 65 hits.

Elsewhere, Evan Sipe owns the top perch in the league with 10 sacrifice hits, followed by Drew Rutter and Jonathan Smith, who are both tied for third with six in that category.

Jackson and Smith have already tied the program record with two triples in a game this year. Jackson accomplished the feat in the season opener vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 14, followed by Smith’s performance at Air Force on April 7.

AZTEC NOTEBOOK
For the season, Nevan Noonan leads the Aztecs with multiple hits in 19 games, followed by Daniel Arambula (18), CJ Moran (14) and Jonathan Smith (13).  Noonan and Arambula are the only two players to start all 49 games for the Scarlet and Black this season.

In addition, Arambula is lone Aztec to start every contest at one position (third base), while Bates (leadoff) leads the team with 44 games played in the same spot in the batting order.

On March 18, Arambula garnered Mountain West Freshman of the Week accolades after leading the Scarlet and Black to a doubleheader sweep of San José State when he batted a combined .571 (4-for-7) with two homers, eight RBIs and four runs scored.

In SDSU’s 6-4 victory over Fresno State on April 12, Noonan belted his first two home runs in an Aztec uniform, including a two-run shot in the first inning before adding a solo blast in the fourth.

With his effort, Noonan completed San Diego State’s first game with multiple home runs since Shaun Montoya hit a pair at Nevada on May 17, 2024.

After his seventh inning double on May 4 vs. New Mexico, Moran has extended his streak of reaching base safely to 22 consecutive games.

Since returning from an injury against UCSD on April 15, a span of 13 games, Moran leads the team in batting average (.396) and shares the top spot in hits (19) while contributing five doubles, 10 RBIs and six runs scored.

For the season, Moran is batting .377 (46-122) with 13 doubles, 26 RBIs and 19 runs scored. The Murrieta, California, native is tied for second on the squad with multiple RBIs in nine games, including three in the second game of a doubleheader vs. Northeastern on March 8.

Since March 28, a stretch of 24 games, Noonan is hitting .390 with team highs of 39 hits, five homers and 25 RBIs, followed by Arambula (.347), Bates (.321), Smith (.316) and Jake Jackson (.310).

Jackson has two homers, six doubles, one triple and 14 RBIs in that span, while Smith has contributed one home run, five doubles, three triples, 14 RBIs and seven stolen bases.

In a doubleheader at Air Force on April 6, Jackson recorded eight consecutive hits across two contests and tied a single-game school record with four doubles in the opener, helping the Scarlet and Black to a big 16-4 victory.

All 17 of San Diego State’s freshmen have seen action this season, including pitcher Aaron Kniffin, who returned from an injury to make his collegiate debut against California Baptist on April 8. The Scottsdale, Arizona, native allowed one unearned run vs. the Lancers on one walk in 1 2/3 innings. He also fanned a season-high three batters at USD on April 21.

Against Nebraska on Feb. 16, the Aztecs employed 21 players on the night, including five true freshmen who were making their first career appearances (Evan Escobar, Cody Liscio, Dillon Marrisett, Alito McBean, Hank Tripaldi). Tripaldi singled in his first collegiate at-bat with a grounder through the right side in the eighth.

Escobar has started 25 of 31 games at shortstop, belting his first collegiate home run vs. Fresno State on April 12, while Tripaldi made his first career start at Washington State on March 22. 

Previously, McBean earned his initial career start on the mound in the Aztecs’ home opener against Seattle on Feb. 20. The SDSU left-hander earned his first collegiate victory on April 22 against Cal State Fullerton when he allowed one run on seven scattered hits and three walks in five innings of work.

In addition, catcher Xavier Farnum made his first career start at USC on April 1, finishing with one hit, one walk and a run scored, while Keynen Gomez earned his first collegiate start at second base vs. California Baptist on April 8.

Farnum has started eight of his last 12 games played, collecting 11 hits in 31 at-bats (.355) with three doubles, one triple, 10 RBIs and eight runs scored.

The Aztecs are 14-2 this season when leading after seven innings, suffering their first two losses in that category at UCR (April 29) and vs. New Mexico (May 4). SDSU is also 13-1 this year when limiting opponents to five runs or fewer and 13-3 when outhitting the opposition.

San Diego State has emerged victorious in 85 of its last 138 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 7-6 mark this year, a 14-13 ledger during the 2024 campaign and a 14-12 record in 2023.

Since 2019, the Aztecs are 77-64 in their last 141 games when striking out 10 or more batters. SDSU pitchers fanned 17 hitters in its season opener against Seton Hall at the MLB Desert Invitational.

The Aztecs are 179-74 over the last seven-plus seasons when scoring five or more runs, including a stellar 38-6 record during the 2017 campaign.

SERIES RECORD VS. CSUN
San Diego State owns a 47-44 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1960.

However, the Aztecs lost both meetings to the Matadors in 2024, dropping a 7-5 decision at Tony Gwynn Stadium before suffering a 2-0 shutout in Northridge.

In that latter contest, right-hander Aidan Russell earned his first career start on the mound and matched his collegiate best with six strikeouts but did not factor in the decision after completing four innings of work in a scoreless tie.

MATADORS AT A GLANCE
After capturing a series victory against UC Riverside this past weekend, CSUN (12-30, 8-16 Big West) raised its record to 5-16 at home while maintaining a 7-14 mark on the road.

Infielder Roberto Gonzalez finds himself among the Big West leaders in several categories, including triples (1st, 7), OPS (2nd, 1.089), on-base percentage (3rd, .485), slugging percentage (5th, .604) and batting average (7th, .358).

Despite missing 14 games, outfielder Andrew Gauna (.326) leads the Matadors with seven home runs while ranking sixth in the Big West in slugging percentage (.598) and 10th in OPS (.990).

In addition, fellow outfielder Andrew Becker (.316) tops the squad with 28 RBIs, while infielder/outfielder Kyle Panganiban (.312) boasts a team-high 14 doubles and is tied with Gonzalez for the Matadors’ No. 1 spot in stolen bases (9).

Entering Tuesday’s contest, CSUN is slotted third in the conference with 56 stolen bases and occupies the fifth spot with 43 home runs but ranks seventh in batting average (.275), hits (405), runs scored (268) and RBIs (243).

Collectively, Matador pitchers are slotted eighth in the Big West in hits allowed (459) and rank 10th in both strikeouts (335) and opponent batting average (.305) while occupying the basement in ERA (8.73).

CSUN lists six players on its 2025 roster from San Diego County high schools, including two Rancho Bernardo High alums in Trent Abel and Jehee Lee, who are joined by Gauna (Patrick Henry HS/San Diego Mesa CC), Becker (Canyon Crest Academy), Blake Ignaciak (El Camino HS/Palomar JC) and Destin Allen-Fox (Santana HS).

Abel and Aztec third baseman Daniel Arambula were teammates on the USA Baseball 12U national team that helped the U.S. squad claim its third straight World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U12 Baseball World Cup title in 2017 in Taiwan.

AZTECS IN MLB DRAFT
Since 1965, San Diego State has had 227 student-athletes chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, including 31 selections since 2015.

Former Aztec center fielder Cole Carrigg was taken by the Colorado Rockies as a catcher in the Competitive Balance "B" Round with the 65th overall pick of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft; pitcher TJ Fondtain was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round (423rd overall), while fellow hurler Kelena Sauer went to the Toronto Blue Jays shortly thereafter in the 15th round (454th overall).

With its selections, SDSU has had multiple players picked in six of the last eight years and nine of the last 12.

In 2022, former Aztec right-hander Troy Melton was chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round with the 117th selection overall.

The previous year, in 2021, SDSU had five individuals drafted by MLB organizations: Mike Jarvis and Wyatt Hendrie (Pirates), Matt Rudick (Mets), Jaden Fein (Nationals) and Michael Paredes (Twins).

LOCAL HEROES
San Diego State sports eight players on its current roster who are alumni of San Diego County high schools, including Xavier Farnum (Christian), Trevor Fox (St. Augustine); Jake Jackson (Madison); Nevan Noonan (Francis Parker); Peyton Rodgers (Torrey Pines); Eli Selga (Cathedral Catholic); Connor Shaw (Westview); and Evan Sipe (San Marcos).

MW TO HOST 2025 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP IN MESA, ARIZONA
The Mountain West, in partnership with the Arizona Sport and Entertainment Commission, will host the Credit 1 Baseball Championship, May 21-24 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The agreement marks the first time the MW baseball tournament will be held on a neutral field and in the state of Arizona.

“Hosting the baseball championship in a first-class venue like Sloan Park is a tremendous opportunity for the Mountain West, our baseball student-athletes and our fan base,” said MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez.

The six-team double elimination format begins on Wednesday, May 21, with the No. 3 seed facing the No. 6 seed. The second game will feature the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

On Thursday, May 22, the top two seeded teams square off with the winners from Wednesday. The winners of Thursday’s first two contests advance to Friday, while the losing teams battle in elimination games. The MW champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 24, earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Ticket information for the 2025 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Baseball Championship will be available at a later date.

UP NEXT
Following Tuesday’s clash, San Diego State heads to the Silver State for a key Mountain West series against Nevada, May 9-11, at Peccole Park in Reno, Nevada. All three games will air live on the Mountain West Network.