Feb. 4, 2004
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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THIS WEEK
* San Diego State continues home action with a three-game series against UC Santa Barbara beginning Friday, Feb. 6 at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The teams will meet that evening at 6:00 p.m. (PST). The series continues with single contests on Saturday (Feb. 7) and Sunday (Feb. 8) at 1:00 p.m.
* 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's all-time record against UC Santa Barbara stands at 78-26-1 dating back to the 1936 season when the teams first met. At that time, the school was known as Santa Barbara State, but joined the UC system in 1944.
* The Aztecs and Gauchos met regularly while both were members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA - now the Big West).
* The teams have met only four times since the 1983 season. UCSB defeated SDSU, 20-1, at Tony Gwynn Stadium during the San Diego Classic in 1998. Last season, the Aztecs won two of three contests in Santa Barbara.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
* Friday's contest will be the 2004 season opener for UC Santa Barbara, which compiled a record of 25-28 last season. The Gauchos finished 8-13 (tied for fifth) in the Big West.
* The Gauchos return 21 letterman in 2004, led by juniors Matt Wilkerson (.270, 4 HR, 30 RBI) and Chris Malec (.223, 17 RBI). In their two years in Santa Barbara, Wilkerson and Malec have hit a combined 30 home runs and driven in 156 runs. The leading retiring hitter is infielder Nate Sutton (.318, 28 RBI).
* Top returning pitchers include reliever Ivan Ramierz, who went 4-1 with a 4.54 earned run average a year ago. Steve Morlock, the Gauchos' closer last season (nine saves) will likely be the starter in the series opener.
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
* SDSU opened its 2004 home slate by dropping two of three games to Sacramento State.
* On Friday (Jan. 30), the Aztec could muster only one hit over the final 5.2 innings as the Hornets scored twice in the seventh to take a 6-5 victory. Landon Burt led the Aztec attack with three hits and pair of runs scored.
* On Saturday, Sac State took advantage of four SDSU errors to score eight unearned runs en route to a 10-8 win. Chad Corona had a homer, double and three RBIs in the losing cause.
* In the series finale, the Aztecs jumped out to an 8-0 lead after four innings, and then had to hang on to claim an 11-7 victory. Starter Chris Hartshorn picked up his second win in two outings this season while Brock Ungricht paced the offensive attack with four hits and three runs batted in.
AZTECS REACH 2,000
* With its win over Sacramento State last Sunday, the San Diego State baseball program reached the 2,000-victory plateau. * In the 66 seasons played since Aztec baseball was elevated to major status in 1936, San Diego State now has an all-time record of 2000-1209-37 (.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...........125. Utah.................126. Air Force.............5
PITCHING ROTATION
* San Diego State's pitching rotation for this weekend is expected to be as follows:
Fri. - Scott Shoemaker (RHP)
Sat. - Daryl Harang (LHP)
Sun. - Chris Hartshorn (RHP)
* UC Santa Barbara's starters will likely be:
Fri . - Steve Morlock (RHP)
Sat. - James Dayley (RHP)
Sun. - Michael Martin (RHP)
SERIES IMPROVEMENT
* The Aztecs improved in almost every category from their season-opening series at Hawaii-Hilo to last weekend's three games vs. Sacramento State.
* In the five contests at Hawaii-Hilo, the team hit .269 and had a 5.62 earned run average. Against Sac State, the Aztecs hit .343 and had a 4.67 ERA. They also had more triples and home runs in the three-games last weekend than in the five to open the season.
* The only area in which they faltered was on defense, where they committed a total of five errors over three games against Sacramento State after recording just four in the five games vs. Hawaii-Hilo.
GETTING ON BASE
* Through the first eight games of the season, SDSU hitters have drawn 54 walks and struck out 38 times.
* Two Aztecs have already reached double figures in bases on balls: James Guerrero (11) and Rielly Embrey (10). Guerrero led SDSU in walks as a freshman last season with 36.
* Aztec batters have also been hit by pitch 11 times, and the team's on-base percentage stands at .431.
UNGRICHT LEADS HITTERS
* Freshman catcher Brock Ungricht has had little problem making the transition from high school to college baseball. He has appeared in seven games this season and has hit safely in each.
* Last Saturday, he connected for three hits in the contest vs. Sac State, then had four hits and three RBI in Sunday's series finale.
* For the weekend, he batted .615, and currently leads the team in hitting this week at .448.
SCHROYER SHUTS 'EM DOWN
* Senior transfer Ryan Schroyer continued to be impressive in the early season as the closer out of the SDSU bullpen.
* He was called upon last Sunday to toss the final 2.1 innings to preserve an Aztec victory. Along the way he struck out five while picking up his second save of the year.
* 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.
BURT HEATS UP
* Outfielder Landon Burt had at least one hit in each of last weekend's games and went 5-for-11 (.455) for the weekend.
* He hit a pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of Sunday's game to insure the win.
* The homer was just the second of Burt's four-year SDSU career and his first at Tony Gwynn Stadium. His other one came last season at Air force.
PLAYING PEPPER
* SDSU's search for a second baseman seems to have ended for the time being with the emergence of sophomore Sam Pepper.
* He started the final two games of last weekend's series and went 3-for-7 with two walks and a pair of runs batted in. The starts were the first for Pepper, who is in his third season at SDSU.
* He has also made an appearance at third base this season as a defensive replacement. He has hit safely in the three contests in which he has come to the plate, including a base hit in his first career at bat during the series at Hawaii-Hilo.
* Pepper redshirted for the Aztecs as a freshman, then did not play as sophomore (2003) when he served as a student assistant coach at SDSU.
MCLINTOCK MAKES CONTACT
* Junior right fielder Jake McLintock continues to be one of SDSU's most reliable hitters. * He enters the week third on the team in average at .333 and leads the squad in runs batted in with 10 and doubles with three.
* McLintock has yet to strike out this season in 36 plate appearances.
* He has one sacrifice fly this season to bring his career total to 12, one off the SDSU career mark of 13 held jointly by Carlo Cota (1999-2002), Kerwin Danley (1980-83) and Bobby Meacham (1979-81).
ZINK A RELIEF
* Freshman right-hander J.T. Zink has been a pleasant surprise out of the pen for the Aztecs in his first season at SDSU.
* He has made two appearances in middle relief and has proven effective in holding the opposition at bay. He has allowed one earned run over his four innings of work for a 2.25 earned run average.
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. He then broke the record when he was hit by a pitch in last Saturday's game vs. Sacramento State.
* Burt set the SDSU single-season hit by pitch mark last year with 15.
ERROR FREE AT TWO AND THREE
* The Aztecs have not committed an error at either second or third base through eight games despite using three players at each position thus far.
* The trio of Sam Pepper, Garrett Changnon and Chad Williams has not had an error in 42 chances at second.
* At third, the threesome of Chad Corona, Ryan Wilson and Pepper had handled 16 chances flawlessly.
AZTEC NOTES
* Three Aztecs have hit safely in each game in which they have come to the plate in 2004: Brock Ungricht (7), Sam Pepper (3) and Clay Coulter (2).
* Ungricht and Jake McLintock have each had three multiple-hit games, and McLintock and Curt Mendoza have each recorded three multiple-RBI contests.
* Senior hurlers Scott Shoemaker and Chris Hartshorn have recorded 12 strikeouts apiece (in 11.0 and 12.1 inn. respectively) to account for 24 of the staff's 54 K's.
* Landon Burt has recorded SDSU's lone defensive assist from the outfield.
* Freshman Brandon Rauch got his first start in the field, playing left in last Sunday's contest. He collected his first hit as a collegiate player, going 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored and two RBI.
* After the first eight games of the season, SDSU is averaging 9.1 left on base per contest.
* With two home runs this season, outfielder Curt Mendoza is half way to his total (four) of last season.
ON DECK
* San Diego State will make the first of three consecutive weekend road trips when it travels to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos in a three-game set beginning Friday, Feb. 13, at 6:00 p.m.
* The series will continue the following two afternoons at Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium at 1:00 p.m. each day.