Feb. 11, 2004
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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THIS WEEK
* San Diego State makes the first of three consecutive weekend road trips when it travels to northern California to face Santa Clara in a three-game series.
* Game one is set for Friday evening (Feb. 13) at 6:00 p.m. at Santa Clara's Buck Shaw Stadium. The series continues with games on Saturday (Feb. 14) and Sunday (Feb. 15), both 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 Santa Clara stands at 3-6. The teams first met during the 1957 season with SDSU losing the first five meetings between that year and 1974.
* The Aztecs' first win over the Broncos came during the 1974 season in the third game of a three-game series in Santa Clara.
* The teams had not faced each other since that contest until last season when the Broncos visited Tony Gwynn Stadium for three games, with SDSU taking two of the three.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
* Santa Clara is off to a 3-2 start this season after winning two of three at UC Riverside to open the year, and then splitting a pair of contests with Brigham Young at home earlier this week.
* The Broncos' top hitters in the early going have been infielders Dustin Realini (.500, 2 doubles, 8 RBI) and Michael Thompson (.353. 4 RBI) along with outfielder Nic Crosta (.471, 2 HR, 7 RBI). Santa Clara is hitting .330 as a team after its first five contests.
* On the mound, Chad Fillinger has made a pair of starts and is 1-0 with a 2.25 earned run average. He has struck out 12 in eight innings. Relievers Anthony Rea (1-0, 3.18) and Kellan McConnell (0-1, 3.00) have recorded a save apiece. The team ERA stands at 5.93.
* The Santa Clara roster contains a pair of pitchers from San Diego County: Scott Lonergan (Poway HS) and Scott Shapiro (St. Augustine HS). Lonergan has one of the Bronco's three wins this season, a victory in relief over UC Riverside.
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 dropped two of three games last weekend at home to UC Santa Barbara.
* On Friday (Feb. 6), nine different UCSB players had a hit apiece as the Gauchos defeated SDSU, 8-2, in the series opener. Starting pitcher Scott Shoemaker suffered his first loss of the year while on the offensive side, freshman Brock Ungricht had a pair of hits.
* On Saturday, San Diego State scored six times in the first inning and went on to an 8-5 victory. Senior lefty Daryl Harang picked up his first win of the year as seniors Josh Hill and Ryan Wilson had three hits apiece to lead the SDSU offense.
* In the series finale, the Aztec offense was held in check by a trio of UCSB hurlers as the visitors downed SDSU, 2-0. Senior Chris Hartshorn was the hard luck loser after going seven innings, allowing one run and striking out nine. Ungricht accounted for two of the team's three hits.
AZTECS REACH 2,000
* With its win over Sacramento State on Feb. 1, 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 2001-1211-37 (.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.
* 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. BYU...................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)
* Santa Clara's starters will likely be:
Fri . -Chad Fillinger (RHP)
Sat. - Andrew Slorp (RHP)
Sun. - Jared Hughes (RHP)
UNGRICHT LEADS HITTERS
* Freshman catcher Brock Ungricht has had little problem making the transition from high school to college baseball. He has appeared in 10 games this season and has hit safely in each.
* His 10-game hitting streak includes five multi-hit contests.
* Last weekend, he had two-hit games in the first and third contests against UC Santa Barbara.
* He currently leads the team in hitting this week at .439. He has also drawn five walks for a team-high .511 on-base percentage.
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 1.2 innings in the loss to UCSB.
* He had has recorded three saves through the season's first 11 games along with one win. He has struck out nine in his 8.2 innings of work and opponents are hitting .185 against him.
* 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.
NO "K" IN MCLINTOCK
* Junior right fielder Jake McLintock has yet to strike out in 50 plate appearances over 11 games.
* He enters the week as the team leader in runs batted in with 10 and doubles with four.
* 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).
TAKE A WALK
* First baseman Rielly Embrey has walked 14 times in the Aztecs' first 11 contests. He has drawn two or more bases on balls in four games and has walked at least once in eight contests.
* Embrey totaled 18 walks all of last season.
* Shortstop James Guerrero is also in double figures in walks with 11.
* Guerrero led the team in bases on balls as a freshman in 2003 with 36.
HARANG ERA LEADER
* Senior left-hander Daryl Harang picked up his first win of the year in SDSU's 8-5 victory over UC Santa Barbara last Saturday. He allowed just three runs (one earned) over 6.1 innings.
* He currently leads the Aztecs pitching staff with a 1.32 earned run average over three appearances (two starts).
HARTSHORN PITCHES TOUGH
* Fifth-year senior pitcher Chris Hartshorn had a career-high nine strikeouts over seven innings in last Sunday's loss to UC Santa Barbara.
* He allowed one run in the contests, but suffered the loss in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Gauchos.
* In his three outing this season covering 19.1 innings, Hartshorn (2-1) has recorded 21 strikeouts and walked only five. He is the lone Aztec hurler with more than one win.
HILL COMES ALIVE
* Senior Josh Hill had his best at the plate in two years when he collected a single, double and triple against UCSB last Saturday.
* He also had a team-high four RBI in that contest and was denied a chance for the cycle when he was walked intentionally late in the game.
* Hill was injured for much of last season, recording just one hit in 18 at bats during his junior season.
WILSON BREAKS OUT
* Senior utility man Ryan Wilson had one of his best days in last weekend's win over UCSB. In that contest, he went 3-for-3 with four runs batted in.
* He has appeared in six games, starting twice at both second and third this season. He is hitting .429 (6-for-14) with a double and six RBI.
STEALING AWAY
* After stealing eight bases over the first four games of the year, the Aztecs have stolen just two in the last seven contests. The team has attempted only two steals in the last four games.
* James Guerrero leads SDSU with four steals in four attempts while Landon Burt is perfect in three tries. The only other Aztec with more than one stolen base is freshman Brock Ungricht (2-for-2).
ZAWADZKI READY TO PLAY
* Second baseman Lance Zawadzki has recovered from an appendicitis operation just prior to the season opener and could see his first action of the season this weekend.
* Zawadzki transferred to San Diego State from LSU, which he attended last fall after a standout prep career in the state of Massachusetts.
* As a high school player, he was named a top 50 prospect by Baseball America and was drafted last June by Montreal. He was a two time all-state honoree and an All-American as a senior last season.
ALSO AVAILABLE...
* Freshman pitcher Jared Suwyn could make his Aztec debut this weekend as well. He has missed the first three weeks of the season with an injury, but may see action as a member of this week's travel squad.
* Suwyn is a local product (Mission Bay HS), who led San Diego County in wins last season (13-0) and threw a pair of no-hitters.
AZTEC NOTES
* Jake McLintock (vs. Hawaii-Hilo, Jan. 24) and Brock Ungricht (vs. Sacramento State, Feb. 1) have recorded SDSU's only four-hit games this season.
* Aztec pinch hitters are 1-for-5 with a walk. Senior Rielly Embrey is the only Aztec with a pinch hit.
* SDSU has not won two games in a row through its first 11 contests. The team has lost two consecutive games on one occasion.
* Aztec hitters have recorded more walks (67) than strikeouts (60). SDSU batters have had more walks than strikeouts in seven of 11 games.
* The shortstop and right field positions are the only ones that have been occupied by just one player this season. James Guerrero has played every inning at short while Jake McLintock has had 11 full games in right.
* McLintock and Guerrero are the only two players to have started every game. Landon Burt and Rielly Embrey have also appeared in all 11 games.
* Center fielder David Hall has a four-game hitting streak going, currently the second longest on the squad. * Infielder Sam Pepper has hit safely in each game in which he has come to the plate (three contests).
* Senior Right-hander Scott Shoemaker has a strikeout-to-walk ration of better that 3-to-1 (15K-5 BB) while teammate Chris Hartshorn is better than 4-to-1 (21K, 5 BB).
ON DECK
* San Diego State will make the second of three consecutive weekend road trips when it travels to Los Angeles to participate in the Public Storage Classic at USC's Dedeaux Field.
* The Aztecs open tourney play against Notre Dame on Friday, Feb. 20, at 2:00 p.m. The next day, they face Louisville at 1:00 p.m., and then conclude play against host USC on Sunday at 2:00 p.m.