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THIS WEEK
San Diego State, in first place in the league entering the week, resumes Mountain West Conference action with three home games against second-place Brigham Young beginning Thursday (April 18) at 6:00 p.m. (PDT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Prior to Thursday's contest, the teams will play the conclusion of the game that was suspended in Provo on March 23. In that contest, the Aztecs led, 11-10, and were coming to bat in the top of the ninth inning. The regularly scheduled nine-inning first game of the series will begin shortly after the finish of the suspended game.
The series continues with contests scheduled for Friday (April 19) at 6:00 p.m. (PDT) and Saturday (April 20) at 1:00 p.m. (PDT).
SERIES RECORD
San Diego State leads the series with Brigham Young, 47-30-1. The teams first met during the 1957 season and have played most of their games each other during since 1980 while both were members of the same conference (Western Athletic Conference and now the Mountain West).
The Cougars took six of seven from the Aztecs last season including a three-game sweep in Provo plus the title game at the Mountain West Conference Tournament held in San Diego. Prior to last year, SDSU was 9-2 against BYU over the 1999 and 2000 campaigns.
In 2002, SDSU is 2-0 vs. BYU after taking the first two games when the teams met in Provo last month.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
Brigham Young enters the series with an overall record of 16-19-1. The Cougars are 9-5 in the Mountain West Conference, in second place two games behind San Diego State.
The Cougar offense is led by first baseman Dave Jensen (.374, 15 2B, 37 RBI), outfielder Matt Carson (.353, 7 HR, 30 RBI) and outfielder Cameron Coughlan (.345, 37 runs, 16 stolen bases). As a team, the Cougars are hitting .295.
The BYU pitching rotation for this weekend is expected to be Jeff Mousser (6-2, 3.70), Ryan Adams (3-4, 7.49) and Paul Jacinto (2-1, 5.93). The team's top reliever is James Ray, who has made seven appearances and has a 3.12 earned run average with three saves. Ray was on the mound for the BYU when the game of March 23 was halted. The Cougars' team ERA stands at 6.57.
SDSU ROTATION
SDSU will begin the suspended game with Royce Ring on the mound. He had pitched to the final two hitters in the eighth inning when the game was originally played on March 23.
The Aztecs pitching rotation this weekend will have Chris Dunwell (5-3, 3.47) starting the first game of the series on Thursday following the conclusion of the suspended contest.
Rory Shortell (6-2, 3.33) and Joe Carque (5-1, 4.45) are expected to pitch the final two games of the week, although it is not known on which day each will pitch. Shortell had wisdom teeth pulled earlier in the week and his start may be moved to the final game of the series.
MOST RECENTLY
San Diego State traveled Cal State Northridge this past Tuesday where they were defeated, 13-1, by the Matadors.
Five CSN pitchers limited the Aztecs to five hits on the day as SDSU's lone run came on a solo home run by catcher Brian Manfred.
The Matadors scored eight runs over the first three innings with seven of those coming at the expense of starter Rob Harrand (4-1), who suffered his first loss of the season.
The loss snapped SDSU's seven-game win streak, the longest for the Aztecs since the 1997 season.
COACH JIM DIETZ
Aztec head coach Jim Dietz is in his 31st season at San Diego State, where he has compiled a career record of 1217-740-18 (.621). His win total ranks seventh among active Division I coaches. He picked up his 1200th career victory in the 11-2 win over Southern Utah on March 1.
He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place at the organization's annual convention in Orlando on January 4.
Dietz has announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2002 campaign. He will be succeeded by former Aztec and San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn, who is serving as an assistant coach this season.
PASSING THE HALFWAY POINT
The Mountain West Conference completed the first half (fifth weekend) of league play last weekend. San Diego State enters the week as the league leader by two games over Brigham Young.
The past two seasons, the first-place team in the MWC standings after six weekends of conference action has gone on to win the regular-season title.
New Mexico was 16-2 after the first six league weekends in 2000 and went on to a 22-8 mark en route to the title.
Last year, Brigham Young was 13-5 after the first 18 MWC games and finished first with a 21-8 conference record.
NATIONAL LEADER
In this week's NCAA statistics, Aztec junior Royce Ring leads the nation in saves with 11.
The other stat where SDSU ranks among the leaders is defense where its .967 fielding percentage ranks 30th in the country. That stat does not reflect the suspended game vs. Brigham Young to be completed on Thursday.
MWC TEAM RANKINGS
The Aztecs rank first in the conference in team earned run average and fielding percentage heading into the weekend.
The team's 3.50 ERA is over two runs better than number-two Utah (5.91). SDSU's fielding percentage of .967 leads UNLV (.963) by four points.
San Diego State's team batting average of .321 is fourth in the MWC behind new Mexico (.344), Air Force (.325) and Utah (.323).
MWC INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
SDSU has two players ranked among the top ten in the conference in batting average: McLintock (5th at .388) and Jon Stephens (7th at .383).
Three Aztecs pitchers are among the league's top 10 in earned run average: Rory Shortell (1st at 3.33), Chris Dunwell (2nd at 3.38) and Joe Carque (6th at 4.80).
Two players are also ranked first in individual categories this week. Royce Ring leads the MWC with 11 saves while Anthony Gwynn's 20 stolen bases is also tops in the conference.
HOME COOKIN'
San Diego has won its 18 if its first 21 home contests at Tony Gwynn
SDSU's streak of nine home wins a row to open the season was ended by Air Force on March 16 in the 7-6 Falcon win. The nine victories in a row betters the Aztecs' previous longest home win streak (since the facility opened in 1997) as SDSU won eight consecutive games at Tony Gwynn Stadium during the 1998 campaign.
The team's current home win streak stands at eight games.
In their 21 home contests, the Aztecs are hitting .337 with a 3.41 earned average. This compares with their contests away from Tony Gwynn Stadium where the team's batting average is .309 and the team earned run average is 4.25.
SDSU has a .965 fielding percentage at home and a .970 mark on the road.
DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE
Jake McLintock tied a school record with three doubles in a game against New Mexico on Sunday, April 7.
The record is held by several others, and was accomplished most recently by Chad Corona. McLintock actually tied the mark a year to the day that Corona had his three doubles at Air Force on April 7, 2001.
McLintock is second in doubles in all games for SDSU with 15 and leads the team in two-baggers in conference play with eight.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
A total of four Aztecs have won weekly MWC honors during the 2002 season.
That quartet includes Players of the Week Chad Corona (Feb. 4) and Taber Lee (March 25) plus Pitchers of the Week Joe Carque (Feb. 18) and Chris Dunwell (March 18).
In addition, Corona was named the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Player of the Week after the team's first series of the year at Hawaii-Hilo.
RING IT UP
Royce Ring recorded his 11th save of the season in last Sunday's 6-4 win over UNLV. He had recorded his second win of the year the previous night when the Aztecs defeated the Rebels, 5-4. With 19 games remaining in the regular season, he has a chance to set a new SDSU single-season save mark. The school record is 12 set by Curtis Smith during the 1979 season.
Ring has come in to pitch in 11 save situations and has been successful on 10 occasions. Last Saturday's 5-4 win over UNLV was the first time this year he was denied a save.
He now has a career total of 20 saves, bettering the school record of 17 held by former Baltimore Oriole hurler Mark Williamson (1981-82).
Ring has accumulated 32 strikeouts in his 21.2 innings this season (20 app.) and has allowed only three runs (one earned), nine hits and seven walks.
Opponents are hitting just .147 (11-for-75) against him this season and his ERA stands at 0.42.
STEPHENS SOLID ALL-AROUND
Over the last nine games, junior Jon Stephens is hitting .455 (15-for-33) with eight runs scored and six runs batted in. He has assumed the team hitting lead with a .380 average.
He also leads the team in walks with 27 and has an on-base percentage of .484.
Through 42 games he has committed only two errors at first base and is fielding .995 (379 chances). He has committed only one error in SDSU's last 37 contests.
HARTSHORN PROVIDING RELIEF
Junior right-hander Chris Hartshorn is quickly becoming one of SDSU top relief pitchers this season.
In his last seven appearances covering eight innings, he has allowed no earned runs while striking out 11 and surrendering six hits. He has lowered his earned run average this spring to 2.49.
He picked up his first career save in the win over UC Riverside on April 9.
BURT GETTING THE JOB DONE
Without much fanfare, sophomore Landon Burt has been playing a solid all-around game off the bench.
He has made several appearances as a defensive replacement in left field in recent weeks.
In addition to providing solid defense, he has hit safely in six of the last seven games in which he has come to the plate. In those games he has scored five runs and driven in a pair. He has also recorded three stolen bases in his last two appearances.
SHORTELL SETS HIT BATTERS MARK
Junior Rory Shortell set a new Aztec record for hit batters in a career when he plunked a pair of Lobo batters in the game vs. New Mexico on April 6.
His three-year total of 32 hit batters eclipses the mark of 28 set by former Aztecs Jeremy Cook over a four-year period (1997-2000).
Cook also set the SDSU record for most hit batters in a season with 14. Shortell has hit 13 thus far in 2002.
MAN-O-MANFRED
Over the last three games, senior Brian Manfred is 4-for-8(.500) with four runs batted in.
He is hitting .545 with runners in scoring position. Manfred, a catcher, is also 5-of-5 in stolen bases this season (fourth on the team) and is 9-of-12 during his Aztec career.
Manfred's home run at Northridge on Tuesday was just the second of his Aztec career.
Defensively he has thrown out 11 of the 18 runners who have attempted to steal on him this season.
EIGENHUIS RETURNS
Pitcher Erick Eigenhuis pitched one inning at CSU Northridge this past Tuesday, his first appearance on the mound for the Aztecs since May 9, 2000 in a game against UC Riverside.
After a fine freshman year in 1998, he was plagued by arm and back problems, missing all of the 1999 and 2001 seasons, and pitching sparingly in 2000 (six appearances).
In his inning of work at Northridge, he struck out one and allowed one walk.
THRIVING AT HOME
In Chris Dunwell's four appearances at Tony Gwynn Stadium this season, he is 4-0 with a 1.27 earned run average (four earned runs in 28.1 innings pitched).
Rory Shortell has done almost as well at Tony Gwynn Stadium this season. He is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA at home in 2002.
Freshman Jake McLintock has also taken a liking to the Aztecs' home field. He is bating .423 with 25 RBI in his 19 contests at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Teammates Josh Hill (.395) Taber Lee (.394) are close behind him.
DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING
The Aztecs' have committed just eight errors in their last eight games and have seen the team's fielding percentage rise to .968.
The school record for defensive percentage is .966, set during the 1996 campaign. The exact percentage that year was .96560 while the current squad is sporting a .96750 fielding percentage.
KER-PLUNK
With 47 hit batters through the first 42 games of the season, the Aztec pitching staff is on pace to surpass the school record for most hit batters.
The SDSU mark of 60 was set by the 2000 squad over the course of 60 contests.
At its current pace, Aztecs hurlers could plunk 68 batters by season's end (over it's 61-game regular season schedule).
San Diego State has hit three or more batters in a game five times this year with a high of four coming at LMU on Feb. 26. Aztec hurlers hit three batters this past Tuesday at Northridge.
ATTENDANCE UP
San Diego State's attendance average at home games this season is 736 through 21 games, the highest since Tony Gwynn Stadium opened in 1997.
The Aztecs have played before four crowds of 1,000 fans or more this season. Three of the 10 highest crowds at the facility have come this year.
SDSU SIGNS PREP STANDOUT
SDSU recently signed pitcher-outfielder Wardell Starling to a letter of intent for the 2003 season. Starling is ranked 16th among the nation's top 100 high school prospects.
He is currently playing at Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, the number-one ranked prep team in the nation this week. He is hitting .450 with four home runs. On the mound he is 6-0 with a 1.50 earned run average and 55 strikeouts in 30 innings.
Starling was an all-state selection last season and a member of the USA Baseball Junior National Team during the summer of 2001.
He also played for the Spring, Texas, team that lost to Taiwan in the 1995 Little League World Series.
He joins the 12 baseball recruits signed last November, a group that includes three other players ranked among the nation's top 100 prep prospects.
AZTEC PLAYER NOTES
In his last four appearances covering 25.1 innings, Joe Carque has an ERA of 2.84.
In his last six games, Carlo Cota is hitting .393 (13-for-33) with five doubles and seven runs scored. He has hit a double in five of SDSU's last seven contests.
Chad Corona's streak of scoring at least one run in a game was stopped at five when he failed to score at Northridge on Tuesday.
Josh Hill has a four-game hitting streak during which he is 5-for 9.
Ryan Wilson has made his first starts of the year in seven of SDSU's last eight games. Over those seven contests, he is 9-for-23 (.391) with a triple, four RBI and three runs scored. The Aztecs are a perfect 7-0 in games in which Wilson has started in left field.
In his last four relief appearances, junior Eric Human has given up two earned runs in nine innings of work (2.00 ERA) while striking out six.
Second baseman Carlo Cota has 19 multiple-hit games this season, including six three-hits efforts. Jon Stephens, Chad Corona and Jake McLintock have all recorded 17 multiple-hit efforts.
In his last three appearances (at Utah, vs. New Mexico, and vs. UNLV), junior Rory Shortell has allowed just four earned runs in 23 innings for a 1.57 earned run average.
The team's longest current hitting streak is six games by Jon Stephens. The longest this season belongs to freshman Jake McLintock (12 games).
AZTEC TEAM NOTES
After starting the season 5-4, San Diego State is 24-9 since.
San Diego State has turned 35 double plays this season after recording a total of 37 during the 2001 campaign.
The Aztecs have hit 18 triples this season with 20 home runs. The last time SDSU had more triples than homers was in 1991 when they recorded 28 triples while hitting just 13 home runs.
The Aztecs have been in double figures in hits in 25 of their 42 games and in doubles figures in runs on 12 occasions.
Aztecs pitchers have reached double figures in strikeouts in 14 games this season. They most recently accomplished the feat in two of the three games against UNLV last weekend.
SDSU is 6-3 in one-run games and 15-3 in contests decided by five runs or more. Opponents have reached double figures in runs just four times this year.
SDSU is averaging 7.3 runs and 11.7 hits a game compared to their opponents' 4.7 runs and 8.1 hits per contest.
SCHEDULE ADDITION
The Aztecs have added a home game against UC Irvine. The contest is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
That contest will replace the game against Oregon State that was rained out in San Diego on Feb. 17.
ON DECK
After a non-league contest on Tuesday (April 23) at USC at 5:00 p.m., the Aztecs continue Mountain West Conference play with a three-game home series against Utah starting Friday, April 26 at 6:00 p.m. (PDT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The series continues on Saturday (April 27) at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday (April 28) at 1:00 p.m.
All three of the games vs. the Utes as well as he USC contest can be heard live on the Internet at www.goaztecs.com with Alan Horton calling the play-by-play.
The games against Utah will mark the fourth of four straight weekend conference series to be hosted by San Diego State in April.
It will also be head coach Jim Dietz's final weekend home series as head coach of the Aztecs.