May 12, 2004
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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AZTECS HOST BRIGHAM YOUNG
* San Diego State concludes it 2004 Mountain West Conference home schedule with a three-game series against Brigham Young beginning Wednesday (May 12) at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
* The series continues with contests on Thursday (May 13) and Friday (May 14), both at 6:00 p.m.
* The games are being played earlier than usual due to SDSU graduation ceremonies scheduled to be held at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Saturday (May 15).
TRADING CARD NIGHT
* Friday night's home finale vs. Brigham Young will be Trading Card Night at Tony Gwynn Stadium with the first 400 fans receiving sets of 2004 Aztec baseball cards courtesy of the California Highway Patrol.
* The set features a full-color photo and bio on each of the 39 players on this year's roster along with the four Aztec coaches.
SERIES RECORDS
* San Diego State holds a 58-38-1 advantage in its series with Brigham Young over the years. The teams first met during the 1957 season and played their first 10 contests in San Diego between that time and 1966. The Aztecs and Cougars met regularly through the 1980s and 90s when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
* SDSU is 19-20 in games played in Provo and 28-13 in contests held in San Diego. The teams have met at neutral sites on 17 occasions with the Aztecs having an 11-5-1 mark in those games.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
* Brigham Young enters the weekend with an overall record of 21-26. The Cougars are 11-10 in conference play, four games behind league-leading UNLV and 2.5 games back of both New Mexico and SDSU.
* Leading the BYU offense are Brandon Taylor (.320, 11 HR, 41 RBI), Jeff Hiestand (.320, 9 2B, 23 RBI) and Kory Knell (.301, 8 2B, 22 RBI). Taylor is the reigning Mountain West Player of the Week after his performance in last weekend's series vs. New Mexico. The Cougars are hitting .293 overall as a team and .301 in MWC contests.
* Brigham Young's top pitchers include right-hander Nick Lemon (2-3, 5.10) and lefty Patrick Wells (5-4, 5.91). Six different Cougar hurlers have recorded at least one save this season. The team earned run average stands at 5.56.
HEAD COACH Tony Gwynn
* Tony Gwynn is in 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
* San Diego State won two of three games at UNLV last weekend to move to within a game-and-a-half of the conference leaders. In its most recent outing (Tuesday), SDSU defeated Cal, 6-5, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
* Last Friday, the Aztecs led from start to finish, scoring 11 runs over the first three innings on the way to a 13-9 win at UNLV. Rielly Embrey had three hits including a grand slam home run to lead the SDSU offense while James Guerrero had two hits including a homer and four runs scored. Drew Jenson went 5.2 innings in middle relief to pick up his first win of the season.
* Game two saw the Aztecs fall behind early as the Rebels scored seven times in the first two innings en route to an 18-11 victory. Outfielder Jake McLintock went 5-for-5 with three runs scored while Landon Burt contributed three hits and scored three times. Starter Daryl Harang lost for the first time in four decisions to fall to 4-5 on the season.
* On Sunday, SDSU jumped on the Rebels for five first-inning runs and went on to a 14-8 win in the rubber game of the series. McLintock had a pair of doubles and a triple with three RBI while Burt had another three-hit outing and scored twice. Freshman Bruce Billings made his first conference start on the mound, recording the win to improve to 4-1.
* This past Tuesday, the Aztecs got a run-scoring triple from Josh Hill and an RBI single by Jordan Swaydan in the bottom of the ninth to defeat Cal, 6-5. Burt had his third three-hit game in a row while teammate Rielly Embrey went 4-for-5. Joey Pace (1-0) got his first win of the year after sophomore Ben Coon had held the Cal offense in check from the third through eighth innings.
PITCHING ROTATION
* San Diego State's pitching rotation for this week is as follows:
Wed. - Scott Shoemaker (RHP, 8-5, 3.94)
Thur. - Daryl Harang (LHP, 4-5, 4.40)
Fri - Bruce Billings (RHP, 4-1, 5.60)
* Brigham Young's pitching lineup for the weekend is expected be:
Wed. - Patrick Wells (LHP, 5-4, 5.91)
Thur. - Nick Lemon (RHP, 2-3, 5.10)
Fri. - TBA
THE BEAT GOES ON
* Jake McLintock has hit safely in each of SDSU's last 16 contests, the longest hitting streak for an Aztec this season. Brock Ungricht's 13-game streak at the start of the season had been the longest.
* During his current skein, McLintock has gone 28-for-68 (.412) over that span with seven doubles, a triple, two home runs, 17 runs scored and nine RBI.
* His overall batting average has risen to .315, his highest since early February.
* McLintock is second on the squad in doubles (15) and RBI (42).
* After going 8-for-14 at UNLV last weekend, he has raised his conference batting average to .380, tenth-best in the league this week.
EMBREY ON FIRE
* Senior first baseman Rielly Embrey is 10-for-22 (.455) over SDSU's last four games with nine runs batted in, four runs scored, three doubles and a home run.
* He had a career-high seven RBI at UNLV last Friday. That total was one shy of the school mark of eight in a game, last done by Jason Phillips (currently with the new York Mets) during the 1995 season.
* Embrey has raised his batting average to a season-high .322 overall and .372 in conference play.
SCHROYER CLIMBS SAVE CHART
* Ryan Schroyer recorded his 11th save of the season vs. USC on May 2, a mark that ties him for third on the SDSU single-season list. The number-two spot is held by Curtis Burkhead with 12 in 1979.
* His 11 saves also ties him for fifth on the career saves list despite the fact that he is in his first season as an Aztec.
* Schroyer's save total this season ranks fourth in the nation in Division I this week.
* Over his last nine appearances covering 11.1 innings, he has given up two earned runs (1.59 ERA) with 11 strikeouts and one base on balls.
SHOEMAKER WIN STREAK
* Senior Scott Shoemaker was not involved in the decision in his most recent start last Friday at UNLV, thus keeping his mark of seven straight wins in tact.
* His last decision was a win at New Mexico on April 30 in which went six innings, giving up three runs and striking out five.
* Shoemaker, who set a career high with 14 strikeouts against Houston on March 11, has recorded 64 K's in his last 62.1 innings.
* He has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4-to-1 with 96 K's and just 23 walks (96 IP).
* He leads the Mountain West Conference in both overall earned run average (3.94) and league-game only (3.06) among pitchers who have thrown a minimum of one inning per game played by their team.
UNGRICHT LEADS OFFENSE
* Brock Ungricht had a nine-game hitting streak halted in Tuesday's game against Cal. In the nine contests prior to that, he had gone 18-for-34 (.529) with six doubles, a triple, nine runs scored, three RBI and five walks.
* He leads the Mountain West Conference in hitting (league games) with a .449 average over 22 MWC contests.
* Ungricht leads the team in hitting among the regulars at .367, an average that ranks fifth in the overall conference stats this week.
GUERRERO SOLID AT THE PLATE
* Shortstop James Guerrero had a short five-game hit streak ended against Cal on Tuesday when he went 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run scored. In the previous five contests, he had gone 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles, a home run, seven runs scored and three RBI.
* He leads the Aztecs in walks with 40, surpassing the 36 he accumulated as a freshman in 2003.
* Guerrero has played and started every inning at shortstop in all 54 Aztec contests this season.
BURT HEATS UP
* Landon Burt had recorded multiple-hit game in each of SDSU's last five contests, going 13-for-24 (.542) over that span.
* He has scored nine times in the team's last four outings and has crossed the plate at least once in nine of San Diego State's last 10 games. He has also driven in at least one run in five consecutive contests.
* Burt is currently enjoying an 11-game hitting streak, third best on the team this season.
* Over SDSU's last 13 games, he has an on-base percentage of .537.
* His .386 average in Mountain West Conference contests ranks second on the squad and ninth in the league this week.
SWAYDAN CHIPS IN
* Jordan Swaydan has hit safely in four of the Aztecs' last five games, going 8-for-20 (.400) with at least one RBI in each of those five contests.
* Over his last 15 contests, he is 19-for-51 (.373) with two doubles, a home run, six runs scored and 11 runs batted in.
* He has also walked eight times and been hit by pitch twice for an on-base percentage of .483 in those 15 games.
BILLINGS GETS THE CALL
* Freshman Bruce Billings made his first conference start last Sunday at UNLV.
* He went 5.1 innings, allowing just three runs to a Rebel team that is averaging over nine per game this season. In the process, he picked up the win to improve to 4-1 on the year.
* Billings has won each of his last three starts and has a 4.19 ERA over 18.1 innings in those contests with wins over Loyola Marymount, UCLA and UNLV. He has also struck out 15 and walked only four in those three starts.
SWIPING BAGS
* Landon Burt has stolen three bases in a game twice this season, most recently at Brigham Young on April 16. His total for the season now stands at 27, a mark that leads the team. James Guerrero is second with 10.
* Burt has been successful on his last 20 steal attempts. The last time he was caught was against Nebraska on March 14.
* Burt's 27 stolen bases are the most by an Aztec since Billy Montgomery swiped 28 during the 2000 campaign. Prior to that, Kalin Foulds had 58 in 1998 to set the school record.
* As a team, SDSU is 38-of-43 (88%) in stolen bases in Mountain West Conference games and has held league foes to 19-of-29 (66%).
MWC WEEKLY HONORS
* Last week, Daryl Harang (Pitcher of the Week) became SDSU's fifth player to earn a weekly MWC award this season, joining four teammates who have earned Mountain West Conference honors a total of six times this season.
* Catcher Brock Ungricht has been named MWC Player of the Week twice, earning the award in back-to-back weeks for his performances in SDSU's series at New Mexico and vs. UNLV at home.
* Pitcher Scott Shoemaker has won the league's Pitcher of the Week accolade on two occasions in 2004, for his efforts in contests vs. Houston and UNLV.
* First baseman Rielly Embrey was named the Player of the Week after the Aztecs' series vs. Air Force in mid-March while senior hurler Chris Hartshorn won the Pitcher of the Week honor after tossing a shutout at Santa Clara in mid-February.
* In addition to the league award, Embrey was also named the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week after his effort vs. Air Force.
AZTEC NOTES
* Over its last six contests, San Diego State is averaging 10.5 runs and 15 hits per game. Over that span, the team is hitting .375 with 22 doubles, six triples and six home runs.
* Brock Ungricht leads the team with 23 multiple-hit games followed by James Guerrero and Rielly Embrey with 19 apiece. Embrey leads the Aztecs with 13 multiple-RBI contests, with Jake McLintock right behind him with 12.
* James Guerrero is only the second Aztec to accumulate more than 40 walks in a season in the past 10 years. Travis Lee walked 55 times during the 1996 campaign.
* Rielly Embrey is only the sixth Aztec to drive in 50 or more runs since 1994. The last player to reach that plateau was Jake McLintock, who had 58 RBI during in 2002.
* Lance Zawadzki has hit safely in four straight games since coming back from a hamstring injury at UNLV last weekend. The freshman transfer from LSU has missed a total of 28 games this season with ailments that also include appendicitis and a dislocated kneecap.
* Curt Mendoza's home run against Cal was his first since January 26. His previous two came in that season-opening series at Hawaii-Hilo.
* SDSU has spread the home runs around this season, with three players sharing the team lead with five (Rielly Embrey, Landon Burt and Chad Corona). A fourth, Jake McLintock, is just behind that trio with four.
* In the first four years of the league's existence, SDSU has not finished lower than second in the regular-season standings.
ON DECK
* The Aztecs conclude their 2004 regular season next week when they travel to Salt Lake City to face Utah in a three-game Mountain West Conference series.
* Those three games will be played at Franklin Covey Field (home of the Salt Lake City Stingers, AAA affiliate of the Anaheim Angels) beginning Thursday, May 20, at 6:00 p.m. (MDT).
* The series continues with single games on Friday (May 21) and Saturday (May 22) at 6:00 p.m. and noon respectively.