May 25, 2004
AZTECS WIN MWC REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
* San Diego State won the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship for the second time in three years in 2004. In the five season of the league's existence, SDSU has never finished lower than second in the final standings.
* The Aztecs clinched the title on the final weekend of the league season as they swept a three-game series at Utah to finish with a conference mark of 19-9 (.679). SDSU was two games short of the full 30-game MWC schedule due to a pair of games being snowed out at Air Force in mid-April.
* With New Mexico winning two of three from UNLV last weekend, both of those schools finished with identical 20-10 marks and a .667 won-loss percentage.
* Because SDSU played two fewer games, final winning percentage was the determining factor in crowning the regular-season champion.
2004 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
* By winning the regular-season title, San Diego State will be the number-one seed at this week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. That championship event gets underway on Wednesday, May 26, at UNLV's Earl Wilson Stadium.
* New Mexico is the number-two seed over UNLV by virtue of winning the tiebreaker as it defeated the Rebels in four of their six meetings this season.
* Both SDSU and UNM receive first-round byes in this year's tournament which is being played in a new format from previous editions. As the one seed, the Aztecs will play the lowest seed to advance from the first-round contests (UNLV-Air Force and Brigham Young-Utah) on Thursday (May 27) at 3:00 p.m.
* New Mexico will play the highest remaining seed from those first-round games at 11:00 a.m. Thursday.
* If the Aztecs win their first game, they would play next at 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Should they open with a loss, their second contest would be Friday morning at 11:00 a.m.
RECORD VS. MWC OPPONENTS
* San Diego State is the lone school to not lose a conference series this season. The Aztecs won four games vs. Air Force, four-of-six vs. UNLV, New Mexico and Utah, and split six games with Brigham Young.
* Below are SDSU's all-time records against each league opponent, record vs. each in league play over the years, record this season, and record in previous MWC Tournaments.
All-Time MWC Play 2004 MWC Previous TourneysAir Force 52-15 19-8 4-0 3-0Brigham Young 61-38-1 17-13 3-3 5-3New Mexico 81-35 21-9 4-2 1-3UNLV 44-27 17-13 4-2 1-3Utah 77-18 19-11 4-2 2-0
PAST TOURNAMENT FINISHES
* The 2004 MWC Tournament will be played on the field where San Diego State won its only conference tourney championship. That title came in 2000, the first year of the league's existence, as it defeated Air Force in the title game that season.
* Because the MWC was a first-year conference in 2000, there was no automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals for the tournament champion.
* The Aztecs have advanced to the title game in each of the previous four league championship events. They lost title games to Brigham Young in 2001 and 2002, and to UNLV last season.
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.
* As a player at SDSU, he had a three-year career batting average of .398 and was a two-time All-American. He also played basketball for four seasons, and still holds the school records for assists in a game, season and career.
* In his two seasons at the helm of the SDSU baseball program, his coaching record stands at 62-59 (.512) overall and 37-21 (.638) in Mountain West Conference play.
PLAYING DOWN THE STRETCH
* San Diego State captured the 2004 league title by winning nine of its last 12 conference games, including taking two of three from New Mexico, UNLV and Brigham Young plus a sweep of three contests at Utah.
* Since losing at home to Utah on April 25, the Aztecs have gone 12-3 over their last 15 games.
* SDSU's current five-game winning streak is its longest of the season and best in the past two years. The last time San Diego state won more consecutive games was during the 2002 campaign when they put together seven straight victories.
* The team's longest losing streak this year has been four games (Feb. 27-Mar. 5).
HITTNG AND PITCHING
* Over their last 12 contests, the Aztecs are hitting .360 as a team, raising their batting average to .296, its highest level of the season.
* In those dozen games, SDSU has racked up 42 doubles, eight triples and 15 home runs. The double and home run totals account over one-third of the squad's season totals while the triples number doubled the team's total in the previous 48 contests.
* During its current five-game win streak, the Aztec pitching staff has an earned run average of 2.80 and has recorded 42 strikeouts over 45 innings.
NON-CONFERENCE SLATE
* SDSU played arguably the toughest non-league schedule of any MWC team in 2004.
* The Aztecs played nine contests against teams that were ranked in the national top 25 at the time they faced the Aztecs. SDSU went 2-7 in those contests with both wins coming against North Carolina State (#22). Among the losses was an extra-inning defeat at 4th-ranked Texas.
* The Aztecs fared well against the Pac-10, winning all three games it played against members of that conference. In 2004, SDSU went 3-0 vs. the Pac-10 with victories over USC, UCLA and Cal.
MWC WEEKLY HONORS
* Senior left-hander Daryl Harang and outfielder Josh Hill have been named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week respectively for their efforts in last weekend's series sweep at Utah. (Hill shares this week's award with New Mexico shortstop Josh Mader.)
* Six different Aztecs have won the MWC weekly awards a total of nine 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. Harang was also a double honoree this season, previously being selected on May 3 for his 1-0 shutout win over New Mexico.
* 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 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) National Hitter of the Week after his performance vs. Air Force.
TEAM ERA LEADER AGAIN
* San Diego State has led the Mountain West Conference in team earned run average, both overall and in league games only, every season since the conference began operations in 2000.
* With the league season recently ending, SDSU tops the team ERA chart for the fifth straight year at 5.33 over its 28 contests. New Mexico was second at 5.59.
* Entering this week's MWC Tournament, the Aztecs have a league-leading overall earned run average of 5.04, well ahead of second-place Brigham at 5.62.
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.
* The Aztecs 42 home runs this season is the most since the 2000 squad hit 45 over 62 contests.
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 .336 batting average and leads the squad with 53 runs batted in. In league play, his final average was .380 and he had 36 RBI in 28 games.
* Embrey is a kinesiology major with a 3.98 grad point average.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
* SDSU has spread the home runs around this season, with seven players recording four or more.
* With his homer in last Saturday's contest at Utah, senior third baseman Chad Corona has taken the team lead with six.
* Three other players are just behind Corona with five home runs this season (Rielly Embrey, Landon Burt and Curt Mendoza). Three others (Lance Zawadzki, Curt Mendoza, Jake McLintock) are just behind that trio with four.
AZTEC RECORD SETTERS
* Three members of the 2004 SDSU baseball team have either tied or set school records while three others have entered the Aztec top 10 list in various single-season and career categories.
* Senior outfielder Landon Burt has established a career mark for being hit by pitch with 21 during his four-year career. Junior outfielder Jake McLintock's 15 career sacrifice flies is also a new SDSU mark. And freshman second baseman Lance Zawadzki tied the school record for doubles in a game with three at in SDSU's contest at Cal State Northridge on March 9.
* McLintock has entered the SDSU career top 10 in two categories: hits and doubles. His three-year total of 211 hits ties him for ninth place with three others. His 41 career doubles also ranks ninth best all-time.
* Senior right-hander Scott Shoemaker has 105 strikeouts this season, a figure that ties him for sixth on the SDSU charts. His 18 starts entering the week are the fourth-most ever in a season for an Aztec hurler.
* Ryan Schroyer's 13 saves this season ranks as the second-most in a season at San Diego State. That mark also ties him for fourth on the Aztec career saves list despite the fact that he is in his first year at SDSU.
STREAKING
* The longest hitting streak by an Aztec this season has been turned in by junior Jake McLintock at 16 games. That streak is currently still active, and over those 16 contests he is batting .418 (28-for-68) with 17 runs, 20 RBI, 8 doubles, two triples and two home runs.
* Other Aztecs who have had double-digit hitting streaks this season include Landon Burt (15 game: April 24-May 20) and Brock Ungricht (13 games: Jan. 24-Feb. 15).
* Other than McLintock, the team's current longest hit streaks are five games by Ungricht, Josh Hill, James Guerrero and Rielly Embrey.
ATTENDANCE RECORD
* On Thursday, March 11, San Diego State set a new NCAA single-game attendance mark when it drew 40,106 for its game against Houston in the first-ever contest played at PETCO Park, the new home of the San Diego Padres.
* In that game, SDSU got a complete-game pitching performance from senior Scott Shoemaker as it defeated Houston, 4-0. Shoemaker struck out a career high 14 batters and allowed only three hits to the Cougars over nine innings
* The Aztecs scored two in the first on RBI's by James Guerrero and Rielly Embrey, then added two more in the fifth on a two-run homer by Rielly Embrey.
AZTECS WIN 2000TH
* With its win over Sacramento State on Feb. 1, the San Diego State baseball team 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 2029-1232-37 (.621).
* During that period, SDSU has had only four head coaches: Charlie Smith (1936-94), Lyle Olsen (1965-71), Jim Dietz (1972-2002) and Tony Gwynn (2003-present).
MOST WALKS/STEALS SINCE...
* James Guerrero (45) and Landon Burt (43) are the only Aztecs to accumulate more than 40 walks in a season in the past 10 years. The last player to do so was Travis Lee, who walked 55 times in 1996.
* Burt's 29 stolen bases are the most by an Aztec sincc Kalin Foulds had 58 in 1998 to set the school record.
* SDSU's offensive total of 296 walks in 2004 is the most since the 1992 campaign when the team totaled 299 bases on balls.
STEALING AWAY
* Landon Burt's string of consecutive stolen bases ended in the game against Brigham Young on May 13. 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 29, a mark that leads the team. James Guerrero is second with 11.
* His 29 steals in all games leads the conference by 9 over the next best total.
* As a team, SDSU was 44-of-52 (85%) in stolen bases in Mountain West Conference games and held league foes to 20-of-31 (65%).
FOUR-YEAR AZTECS
* San Diego State has 13 seniors on its 2004 roster who are winding up their Aztec baseball careers. Nine of those players have spent their entire careers at San Diego State.
* Infielders Ryan Wilson, Chad Corona, 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 both in their fourth season at SDSU. Senior hurler Chris Hartshorn is actually in his fifth year at San Diego State after redshirting in 2003.
* SDSU's other seniors include two-year Joey Pace and Kyle Floquet along with pitchers Scott Shoemaker and Ryan Schroyer, who are both in their first seasons with the Aztecs.
SHOEMAKER SOLID STARTER
* Senior Scott Shoemaker had a 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 105 K's and just 28 walks (103.2 IP).
* He allowed one run on three hits in 5.2 innings in last Thursday's contest at Utah, but was not involved in the decision.
HARANG PITCHES TOUGH
* In his last two starts, senior lefty Daryl Harang has allowed just two earned runs (1.46 ERA) over 13.1 innings. He has struck out 17 batters over that period, picking up wins over Brigham Young and Utah in the process.
* He has won three of his last four starts, including a 1-0 shutout over New Mexico in which he went eight innings and earned MWC Pitcher of the Week honors.
* His 3.96 overall ERA ranks second in the league among pitchers who meet the NCAA stat-qualifying minimum of one inning pitched per game played by the team.
BILLINGS CONTINUES TO WIN
* Freshman Bruce Billings picked up his fifth straight win in last Saturday's game at Utah to improve to 6-1 on the year. In that game, he went 6.2 innings, allowing just two runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.
* In his last five starts, he has a 4.20 ERA over 30 innings with wins over Loyola Marymount, UCLA, UNLV, Brigham Young and Utah. He has also struck out 24 and walked eight in those five starts.
SCHROYER CLIMBS SAVE CHART
* Ryan Schroyer recorded his 13th save of the season at Utah on May 20, a mark that ranks second on the SDSU single-season list. Royce Ring is the Aztec record holder with 17 saves during the 2002 season.
* His 13 saves also ties him for fourth 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 12 appearances covering 14.2 innings, he has given up two earned runs (1.23 ERA) with 14 strikeouts and two bases on balls.
COON PROVIDING RELIEF
* Lefty Ben Coon has shown a return to form with several solid relief appearances over the past couple of weeks.
* Last weekend at Utah, he appeared in two games (Friday and Saturday), going a total of 4.1 innings. He allowed no runs on three hits while striking out two. In Friday's contest, he tossed the final three innings to pick up his first career save as an Aztec.
* Coon has had more success in relief than as a starter this year. In 19 appearances as a reliever, he is 4-0 with one save and a 2.52 earned run average. In a starting role (five starts), he is 0-3 with an 11.25 ERA.
MCLINTOCK MISSING
* Right fielder Jake McLintock will be the only regular who will not be with the Aztecs for the conference tournament this week. The junior from Bonita, Calif. (Bonita Vista HS) was diagnosed with mono two week ago and missed last weekend's series at Utah as well.
* McLintock has been one of the Aztecs' hottest hitters over the past few weeks and currently has a 16-game hitting streak going, longest on the team this season.
* He has raise his overall batting average to .315 (from .267) over the last five weeks and finished the MWC schedule with a .380 average in league games. He leads the team with 15 doubles and is second with 42 runs batted in.