May 18, 2004
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AZTECS VISIT UTAH TO CONCLUDE REGULAR SEASON PLAY
* San Diego State concludes it 2004 regular season with a three-game series against Utah beginning Thursday (May 20) at 6:00 p.m. (MDT) at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City. The stadium is the home park of the Salt Lake City Stingers, the AAA affiliate of the Anaheim Angels.
* The series continues with contests on Friday (May 21) and Saturday (May 22) at 6:00 p.m. and noon respectively.
SERIES RECORDS
* San Diego State holds a 74-18 advantage in its series with Utah over the years. The teams first met during the 1964 season with the Aztecs winning the first 18 meetings between that season and 1974. The Aztecs and Utes met regularly through the 1980s and 90s when both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
* SDSU is 53-11 in games played in San Diego and 14-7 in contests held in Salt Lake City. The teams have met at neutral sites on seven occasions with the Aztecs winning all of those games.
* Since the 2002 season, Utah holds a slim 8-7 advantage, a mark that includes victories in two of three contests played in San Diego earlier this season.
SCOUTING THE UTES
* Utah enters the weekend with an overall record of 21-31. The Utes are 11-16 in conference play and in fifth place, eight games behind league-leading UNLV and 2.5 games back of fourth-place Brigham Young.
* Leading the Utah offense are third baseman Jay Brossman (.383, 9 doubles, 22 RBI), second baseman Jared Pena (.367, 24 doubles, 50 RBI) and outfielder Matt Ciaramella (.356, 25 doubles, 13 HR, 59 RBI). Ciaramella earned conference player of the week honors when the teams met at SDSU in late April. As a team, the Utes are hitting .305 overall and .222 in MWC play.
* The Utes' top pitchers include starting right-hander Ben Buck (6-2, 4.59) and relief specialist Clay Westmoreland (3.5, 5.33, 8 saves). Utah's team earned run average stands at 6.82.
THE POSSIBILITIES
* With three games remaining in its conference schedule, San Diego State can still finish anywhere from first to fourth in the final league standings.
* The Aztecs will finish first of they win three at Utah and New Mexico takes two of three from UNLV. They will finish second with a sweep and any other results of the UNM-UNLV series. Winning twice could see SDSU finish either second or third.
* SDSU needs to win at minimum of one game at Utah to clinch at least a third-place finish. * Due to the fact that San Diego State was unable to play two games at Air Force due to snow, the final standings will be determined by won-loss percentage.
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 against Brigham Young at home last weekend to remain in third place in the MWC, two games behind UNLV.
* Last Friday, the Cougars scored eight runs in the second inning and went on to an 11-2 win over the Aztecs. SDSU managed only five hits on the night including two each by Landon Burt and Chad Corona. Scott Shoemaker (9-6) was tagged for his first loss since early March.
* Game two saw the Aztecs have the big inning as they scored seven times in the fourth en route to an 11-8 victory. Brock Ungricht was one of three Aztecs with three hits as he drove in three runs. James Guerrero and Rielly Embrey also had three hits apiece. Daryl Harang struck out nine over 6.1 innings as he picked up the win to even his record at 5-5.
* On Friday, Lance Zawadzki had a pair of home runs including a grand slam as SDSU knocked off BYU, 9-4. The freshman second baseman had five RBI and was one of five Aztecs with two hits in the contest. Bruce Billings (5-1) won for the fourth straight time as he along with pitchers Ben Coon and Ryan Schroyer limited the Cougars to four hits.
PITCHING ROTATION
* San Diego State's pitching rotation for this week is as follows:
Thur. - Scott Shoemaker (RHP, 8-6, 4.50)
Fri. - Daryl Harang (LHP, 5-5, 4.27)
Sat. - Bruce Billings (RHP, 5-1, 5.36)
* Utah's pitching lineup for the weekend is expected be:
Thur. - Jason Price (LHP, 3-8, 6.22)
Fri. - Doug Mackay (RHP, 4-7, 6.67)
Sat. - Ben Buck (RHP, 6-2, 4.59)
ZAWADZKI RETURNS
* Since Lance Zawadzki returned to the lineup two weeks ago after an injury, he has hit safely in six of seven games.
* He had a pair of home runs including a grand slam in the series finale vs. Brigham Young last Sunday. His five RBI in that contest is the second-most in a game for an Aztec this season (behind Rielly Embrey's seven at UNLV).
* The freshman transfer from LSU has missed a total of 28 games this season with ailments that include appendicitis, dislocated kneecap and pulled hamstring.
EMBREY ON FIRE
* Senior first baseman Rielly Embrey is 15-for-33 (.455) over SDSU's last seven games with 11 runs batted in, seven runs scored, five doubles and a home run. He has hit safely in six of those seven contests.v * He had a career-high seven RBI at UNLV on May 7. 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 .329 overall and .381 in conference play.
SCHROYER CLIMBS SAVE CHART
* Ryan Schroyer recorded his 12th save of the season vs. BYU on May 13, a mark that ties him for second on the SDSU single-season list. Royce Ring is the Aztec record holder with 17 saves during the 2002 season.
* His 12 saves also ranks fifth on the career saves list despite the fact that he is in his first season as an Aztec.
* Schroyer's save total ranks third in the nation in Division I this week.
* Over his last 11 appearances covering 13.1 innings, he has given up two earned runs (1.35 ERA) with 14 strikeouts and two bases on balls.
SHOEMAKER STREAK ENDS
* Senior Scott Shoemaker saw his string of seven consecutive wins end when he took the loss in SDSU's defeat at the hands of Brigham Young on May 12. It was his first loss since March 5 when SDSU fell to North Carolina State, 3-1.
* Shoemaker, who set a career high with 14 strikeouts against Houston on March 11, has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than 4-to-1 with 99 K's and just 24 walks (98 IP).
* With two more strikeouts, he will move into the SDSU single-season top 10 list. Three players (Mike Erb-1986, Erik Plantenberg-1990, Aaron Harang-1999) are tied for eighth on the chart with 101 K's in a season. The school record is 122 strikeouts by Rob Brown during the 1989 campaign.
UNGRICHT LEADS OFFENSE
* Brock Ungricht has hit safely in 11 of SDSU's last 13 games, going 21-for-47 (.447) with seven doubles, a triple, 11 runs scored, six RBI and seven walks. His on-base percentage over those contests is .500.
* He is second in the Mountain West Conference in hitting this week with a .440 average over 25 MWC contests.
* Ungricht leads the team in hitting among the regulars at .367, an average that ranks sixth in the overall conference stats this week. His .491 slugging and .448 on-base percentages also lead the Aztecs.
COON PROVIDING RELIEF
* Lefty Ben Coon showed a return to form with a pair of solid relief appearances last week.
* Against Cal, he came on in the third inning and gave up one run while striking out five over six innings of work in a contest that the Aztecs won in the ninth. In last Friday's contest vs. BYU, he pitched three innings of relief (sixth through eighth), retiring all nine batters he faced. For the week, he went nine innings, allowing one run on six hits while striking out seven and walking one.
* Coon has had more success in relief than as a starter this year. As a reliever, he is 4-0 with a 4.11 earned run average. In a starting role, he is 0-3 with a 9.00 ERA.
BURT CONTINUES HOT HITTING
* Landon Burt had recorded multiple-hit games in each of SDSU's last eight contests, going 19-for-36 (.528) over that span. His on-base percentage in those eight games is .564.
* He has scored 12 times in the team's last seven outings and has crossed the plate at least once in 11 of San Diego State's last 13 games.
* Burt is currently enjoying a 14-game hitting streak, second best on the team this season and just two shy of Jake McLintock's current 16-game streak.
* His .400 average in Mountain West Conference contests ranks second on the squad and seventh in the league this week.
BILLINGS GETS THE CALL
* Freshman Bruce Billings picked up his fourth straight win in last Friday's game against Brigham Young to improve to 5-1 on the year. In that game, he went five innings, allowing just four runs (two earned) on four hits with five strikeouts.
* In his last four starts, he has a 4.63 ERA over 23.1 innings with wins over Loyola Marymount, UCLA, UNLV and BYU. He has also struck out 20 and walked only five in those three starts.
CAUGHT IN THE ACT
* Landon Burt's string of consecutive stolen bases ended in last Thursday's game against Brigham Young. He had a streak of 21 straight steals come to an end when he was caught trying to take second in that contest. The last time he was caught prior to that was against Nebraska on March 14.
* He 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 28, a mark that leads the team. James Guerrero is second with 11.
* His 28 steals leads the conference by 10 over the next best total.
* Burt's 28 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 41-of-49 (84%) in stolen bases in Mountain West Conference games and has held league foes to 20-of-30 (67%).
SLAMMIN' AZTECS
* San Diego State has hit three grand slams this year, the most ever in a season by an Aztec squad.
* Three different players have recorded slams in 2004: Landon Burt vs. Air Force on March 19; Rielly Embrey at UNLV on May 2; and Lance Zawadzki vs. Brigham Young on May 14.
* The three grand slams is the most in a season by a Mountain West Conference team.
MWC WEEKLY HONORS
* Two weeks ago, 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.
ACADEMIC HONOR
* Senior first baseman Rielly Embrey has been named to the 2004 District VIII All-Academic Baseball team. It marks the second straight year that he has garnered the honor.
* He is currently second on the team with a .329 batting average and leads the squad with 52 runs batted in.
* Embrey is a kinesiology major with a 3.98 grad point average.
AZTEC NOTES
* Over its last six contests, San Diego State is averaging 9.4 runs and 13.7 hits per game. Over that span, the team is hitting .360 with 30 doubles, eight triples and 10 home runs.
* Senior outfielder Josh Hill has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, going 11-for-27 (.407) with two doubles, two triples and eight RBI.
* Brock Ungricht leads the team with 24 multiple-hit games followed by James Guerrero and Rielly Embrey with 21 apiece. Embrey leads SDSU with 13 multiple-RBI contests.
* James Guerrero (42) and Landon Burt (40) are the only Aztecs 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 (52) 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.v * 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). Three others (Lance Zawadzki, Curt Mendoza, Jake McLintock) are just behind that trio with four.
ON DECK
* The Aztecs will compete in the Mountain West Conference tournament in Las Vegas beginning Wednesday, May 26.
* The team's first contest will depend on its seeding as determined by the final conference standings.
* The winner of the tournament will receive the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals.