Jan. 29, 2004
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THIS WEEK
* San Diego State opens its 2004 home season with a three-game series against Sacramento State beginning Friday, Jan. 30. The teams will meet that evening at 6:00 p.m. (PST). The series continues with single contests on Saturday (Jan. 31) at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday (Feb. 1) at noon.
* This is the 66th season of Aztec baseball since the sport was elevated to major status in 1936. The school did not field varsity teams from 1943 to 1945.
SERIES RECORD
* San Diego State holds an 18-11 lead in the series with Sacramento State. The teams first met during the 1990 season. They faced each other six times each year while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference (1993-96).
* The Aztecs' record against Sacramento State in San Diego stands at 10-5.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS
* Friday's contest will be the 2004 season opener for Sacramento State, which compiled a record of 33-24 last season. The Hornets compete as an Independent in NCAA Division I baseball.
* CSUS expects to begin the season with five new starters in the field and a brand new starting rotation.
* Top returning offensive players include third baseman John Acha and shortstop Bret LeVier. Acha hit .322 with nine doubles, 34 runs, and 24 runs batted in a year ago while LeVier batted .269 with eight doubles, seven homers and 35 runs batted in.
* Top returning pitchers include junior Warren Rosebrock (2-1, 1 save, 4.41, seven walks in 34.2 innings) and senior Dan Smith (4-2, 4.95). Steve Cuckovich (15 starts, 7-4, 5.47) was one of the team's three primary starters last season. Renecke Stelzriede (3-2, 5.01) was the save leader with five.
FOR OPENERS
* San Diego State has an all-time record of 46-18-1 in season home openers since 1936.
* The Aztecs are 4-3 in home openers at Tony Gwynn Stadium since the facility opened in 1997. They have won their inaugural home contest each of the past two seasons.
HEAD COACH Tony Gwynn
* Tony Gwynn enters his second season as San Diego State's head coach after being named to the position in Sept. 2001.
* In 2002, he served as a volunteer coach for the Aztecs under Jim Dietz, who retired at the end of that season.
* A former Aztec who played baseball at San Diego state from 1979 to 1981, Gwynn concluded a 20-year major league career with the San Diego Padres in 2001. With a career batting average of .338, he won eight National League batting titles, five Gold Gloves, and made 15 appearances in the annual All-Star Game.
MOST RECENTLY
* The Aztecs traveled to the big island of Hawai'i last weekend and took three of five games from Hawai'i-Hilo to open the 2004 season.
* In the first game of Saturday's twin bill in Hilo, SDSU got the most out of four hits to claim a 6-3 win. Scott Shoemaker went six innings to record the win in the seven-inning opener. In game two, the offense came alive, but starting hurler Ben Coon struggled as SDSU dropped a 15-13 decision.
* In Sunday's doubleheader in Kona, the Aztecs recorded a 9-2 seven-inning win in game one. No SDSU player had more than one hit in the contest as each team had a total of seven. Chris Hartshorn went the distance to pick up the win. The Vulcans took the nightcap, 5-3, as SDSU could not hold on to an early 3-0 lead. Jeff Teasley took the loss in relief as the Aztec offense managed only five hits over the nine innings.
* The series finale in Monday saw San Diego State score twice in the eighth inning to tie the game at 2-2, then push across four in the 10th to claim a 6-2 win. Jordan Swaydan had three hits and Jake McLintock had the game-tying and game-winning RBIs.
IT'S BEEN A WHILE
* With the win last Saturday in the first game of the doubleheader at Hawai'i-Hilo, the Aztecs opened their season with a win for the first time since the 1996 campaign.
* The last time SDSU began the season with a victory was on Jan. 25, 1996, with a 10-5 win at Grand Canyon University.
SEEKING NUMBER 2,000
* The San Diego State baseball program enters the weekend just one win shy of the 2,000-victory mark.
* In the 66 seasons played since Aztec baseball was elevated to major status in 1936, San Diego State has an all-time record of 1999-1207-37 (.622).
* During that period, SDSU has had only four head coaches: Charlie Smith (1936-64), Lyle Olsen (1965-71), Jim Dietz (1972-2002) and Tony Gwynn (2003-present).
MWC PRESEASON PICKS
* San Diego State has been tabbed to finish second in the Mountain West Conference preseason coaches' poll. It marks the first time in the five-year history of baseball in the MWC that SDSU was not picked first in the poll.
* The Aztecs did receive a pair of first-place votes, and their vote point total was just two behind preseason favorite UNLV. The complete poll is as follows:
Team (1st votes) Pts1. UNLV (4).............242. San Diego State (2)..223. Brigham Young........154. New Mexico...........124. Utah.................126. Air Force.............5
THE USUAL SUSPECTS
* With the exception of starting pitcher Scott Shoemaker, San Diego State's starting lineup in the opening game of the season was made up of a number of familiar faces.
* SDSU's starting nine in the field (including the DH) consisted of four seniors, two juniors and a pair of freshman, all of whom have been at SDSU for their entire collegiate career. Eight of the nine have seen significant game action as members of the SDSU squad, with the lone exception being second baseman Garret Changnon.
PITCHING ROTATION
* San Diego State's pitching rotation for this weekend is expected to be as follows: Fri. - Scott Shoemaker (RHP) Sat. - Ben Coon (LHP) Sun. - Drew Jenson (LHP) or Chris Hartshorn (RHP) * Sacramento State's starters will likely be: Fri. - Ethan Katz (RHP) Sat. - Warren Rosebrock (RHP) Sun. - Marshall Hendon (LHP)
CATCHING DEPTH
* The catching position is one of SDSU's team strengths this season despite the fact that the position is being manned by a sophomore and a pair of true freshmen.
* The incumbent at the position, sophomore Jordan Swaydan, got his 2004 season off to a great start by going 7-for-13 (.538) in three-plus games in Hilo. He scored five runs, hit one homer, and was errorless behind the dish.
* Freshman Brock Ungricht (Mission Bay HS, San Diego) appeared in four games in the season-opening series, two at catcher at two at designated hitter. He hit .313 (5-for-16) with five runs scored and a pair of stolen bases.
* The third catcher is freshman Clay Coulter (West Hills HS, Santee), who appeared in one contest in Hilo as the designated hitter, going 1-for-4 with a run scored.
ON THE MOUND
* San Diego State pitchers fared well in the season-opening series in Hilo, with a number of new faces getting a chance to contribute.
* The Aztec staff returned home with an earned run average of 5.62, but much of that was due to the second game of the series when Hawai'i-Hilo scored 15 earned runs. In the other four games, the SDSU pitching staff had an ERA of 2.81 and an opponent batting average of just .230.
SHOEMAKER STARTS WELL
* Senior right-hander Scott Shoemaker began the season in impressive fashion as the Aztecs' opening day starter last weekend. In the first game of Saturday's twin bill, he went six innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out eight.
* Shoemaker transferred to San Diego State this season from Long Beach State where he pitched twice against the Aztecs in 2003. He is a San Diego native who attended Granite Hills High and Grossmont Junior College. Shoemaker has been drafted by major league clubs three times during his playing career.
MCLINTOCK RETURNS TO FORM
* In last weekend's series, junior Jake McLintock showed why he was a freshman All-American in 2002. He finished the weekend with an average of .429 after going 9-for-21 with eight runs batted in over the five contests.
* He hit safely in each of the last four games while recording three multiple-hit and three-multiple RBI contests.
* He had both the game-tying and game-winning RBI in the series finale (in the eighth and 10th innings respectively) and did not strike out in 22 plate appearances.
BURT TIES HBP RECORD
* Entering this season, outfielder Landon Burt needed to be hit by pitch one time to tie the SDSU career mark of 18 held by Steve Hagins (1995-97).
* The senior from Palm Springs didn't wait long, getting plunked in his second at bat of the season opener.
* Burt set the SDSU single-season hit by pitch mark last year with 15.
SCHROYER SHUTS 'EM DOWN
* Senior transfer Ryan Schroyer proved highly effective in his two appearances in the series in Hilo. In the opener, he came on to pitch the final inning in SDSU's 6-3 win, retiring the side in order to record his first save as an Aztec.
* In the series finale, entered the game in the eighth, with the score tied 2-2, a runner on second and one out. He went on to toss the final 2.2 innings picking up the victory as SDSU won, 6-2, in 10 innings.
* Schroyer came to SDSU after three seasons at Arizona State and was named a third team 2004 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball. He has also been listed as the most significant transfer in the nation for the 2004 season.
* Last year, he compiled a record of 5-2 with nine saves and a 1.53 earned run average for the Sun Devils and was selected in the 11th round by the Minnesota Twins in last June's major league draft.
HALL-MARK OF EXCELLENCE
* In his third season as an Aztec, outfielder David Hall is getting his chance to be an every day player. The junior from Vista started three games last weekend in center field and came on as a defensive replacement in another.
* At the plate, he went 3-for-8 with a double, run scored and three RBI. He also walked twice for an on-base percentage of .545.
BASEBALL AMERICA PRESEASON HONORS
* Baseball America's preseason all-Mountain West Conference team features four Aztecs among its members. Included in that group are catcher Jordan Swaydan and outfielder Jake McLintock plus pitchers Scott Shoemaker and Ryan Schroyer.
* Right-handed hurler Brett Douglas out of Westminster (Calif.) High School has been projected as the league's freshman of the year.
* SDSU also has a pair players listed among those in the league in Best Tools categories. That duo includes Chad Corona (best raw power) and Rielly Embrey (best defensive first baseman).
* The Aztecs have five of the 10 players listed as the MWC's top prospects including Schroyer (2), Corona (3), McLintock (4), James Guerrero (7) and Shoemaker (10).
* In addition, Schroyer has been listed fifth and Corona 32nd in Baseball America's Fab 50 seniors. * The publication projects UNLV to win the MWC conference title in 2004 with San Diego State finishing second.
SENIOR AZTECS
* San Diego State has nine players on its roster who have spent their entire careers at San Diego State.
* Infielders Ryan Wilson, Chad Corona Cook, Rielly Embrey and Garrett Changnon along with outfielders Landon Burt and Josh Hill are all four-year Aztecs. In addition, pitchers Drew Jenson and Daryl Harang are in their fourth season at SDSU.
* Senior hurler Chris Hartshorn is actually in his fifth year at San Diego State after redshirting during the 2003 campaign.
AZTEC INVITATIONAL AT PETCO PARK
* San Diego State will stage the first event at brand new Petco Park when it hosts the first Aztec Invitational there in mid-March.
* The tourney field includes Houston, Nebraska, UCLA, Long Beach State and San Diego in addition to the Aztecs. Local schools Pt. Loma Nazarene and UC San Diego will also face each other during the four-day event.
* Over 5,500 four-day passes to the event have been sold thus far. Single-day ticket prices are $15 for adults and $10 for students with tournament passes selling for $50 and $30 respectively.
* Ticket information is available by calling (619) 283-SDSU or visiting the SDSU Aztec web site (goaztecs.com).
ON DECK
* San Diego State will continue home action next weekend when UC Santa Barbara visits Tony Gwynn Stadium for a three-game series. The first contest is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 6, at 6:00 p.m., and will be followed by single games on Saturday (Jan. 31) and Sunday (Feb. 1) at 1:00 p.m.