March 29, 2005
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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THIS WEEK
* San Diego State begins the week with an exhibition game against the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Mar. 30, at 7:00 p.m. at PETCO Park.
* San Diego State will hit the road the next day to travel to Las Vegas where it will play a three-game Mountain West Conference series against UNLV this weekend.
* The first meeting between the Rebels and Aztecs is scheduled for Friday, Apr. 1, at 6:30 p.m. with game two slated for Saturday (Apr. 2) at 2:00 p.m. The time for the final game of the series on Sunday (Apr. 3) is set for 1:00 p.m.
* This is the 67th 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.
AZTEC-PADRE GAME
* Wednesday's game between San Diego State and the San Diego Padres will be first meeting of the clubs since 1998. That year's contests ended in a 4-2 Padre win as the major leaguers came back from an early 2-0 deficit.
* This year's game will be televised locally on Channel 4 SD and may also be heard live on The Mighty 1090 radio with Alan Horton and Ernie Martinez calling the action.
* Tickets are available with prices set at $15 for reserved seats, $10 for general admission, and $5 for Park in the Park.
SERIES RECORD VS. UNLV
* The Aztecs record against UNLV stands at 44-29 in the series that began during the 1978 season. The teams met on a regular basis during the 1990's while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
* Since joining the Mountain West Conference, SDSU's record against the Rebels is 18-18. That ledger includes a 17-13 record in regular-season play and 1-5 in conference tournament action.
* San Diego State's record on the Rebels' home field is 24-13. The Aztecs are 20-9 in contests played in San Diego and 1-6 at neutral site fields.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
* UNLV enters the week with a record of 11-17 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference. The Rebels are tied for the league lead with Brigham Young. They are scheduled to host UC Irvine on Tuesday (Mar. 29) prior to facing the Aztecs this weekend.
* The UNLV offense is led by shortstop Zeke Parraz (.324, 5 2B, 21 RBI), right fielder Ryan Bird (.324, 5 2B, 21 RBI) and first baseman Chris Bonnell (.317, 3 HR, 17 RBI). The Rebels are hitting .278 overall and .383 in league play.
* Among the team's top hurlers are starters Koji Pupo (2-0, 3.30) and Matt Luca (2-4, 4.37). The bullpen is anchored by reliever Kyle Tabeek (2-1, 2 saves, 1.88). UNLV's team earned run average stands at 4.82 overall and 3.91 in MWC action.
WEEKEND PITCHING ROTATIONS
* The probable starting pitchers for each team in this weekend's series are as follows:
San Diego State UNLVFriday.....Bruce Billings (RHP, 2-2, 3.53)....Derek Rodriguez (RHP, 1-4, 4.86)Saturday...Alex Hinshaw (LHP, 1-5, 5.97)......Koji Pupo (LHP, 2-0, 3.30)Sunday.....Ben Coon (LHP, 1-1, 4.55)..........Matt Luca (RHP, 2-4, 4.37)
HEAD COACH Tony Gwynn
* Tony Gwynn is in his third season as San Diego State's head coach after being named to the position in Sept. 2001. He spent the 2002 campaign as a volunteer assistant coach at SDSU under Jim Dietz, who retired at the end of that season.
* Last year, Gwynn led his squad to the Mountain West Conference regular-season championship and was named the MWC coach of the year.
* 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.
AIR FORCE SERIES POSTPONED
* San Diego State's three-game series at Air Force, scheduled for last weekend, was postponed due to snow.
* The teams played one-and-a-half innings on Thursday before the weather wiped out the rest of the weekend schedule.
* The Aztecs and Falcons will play six games when Air Force visits San Diego the weekend of April 22-24. The schedule is not yet set, but may consist of three doubleheaders or a pair of twin bills and two single games spread over four days.
BILLINGS BACK ON TRACK
* After suffering the loss in the series opener at USD on Mar. 11, sophomore right-hander Bruce Billings bounced back to post a win over Utah the following Friday (Mar. 18).
* In that contest, he went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) while striking out eight to even his record at 2-2.
* Over his last four starts (28 innings), he has posted a 2.25 earned run average with 34 strikeouts and only six walks allowed.
* His last two starts (13 innings) have produced 18 strikeouts and two walks.
GUERRERO GET OFFENSIVE
* Second baseman James Guerrero had his 12-game hitting streak snapped in the second game of the Utah series (Mar. 19). During that streak, he went 22-for-51 (.431) with five doubles and 10 runs batted in.
* The 12-game streak is second-longest on the club this season, one behind Quintin Berry's current 13-game streak. Lance Zawadzki has also had a 12-game hitting streak earlier this season.
* Guerrero's nine walks are second on the squad and he is first in RBI with 14.
* Guerrero had a season-high three RBI in the contest at USD on Mar. 12.
THE PERRYS
* Twin brothers Kasey and Kevin made their first starts of the season in the final two games of the series against the University of San Diego (Mar. 12-13). Kasey started both contests in left field while Kevin was at second base.
* Kevin Perry remained as the starter at second base during the Utah series (Mar. 18-20) and responded by going 3-for-7 with an RBI, two runs scored, a walk, hit by pitch and sacrifice bunt. He has hit safely in each of SDSU's last five games, batting .500 (7-for-14) in those contests.
* Kasey Perry appeared in all three contests against Utah off the bench. In his one at bat in those games, he had an RBI single and scored a run.
AZTEC BROTHERS
* Prior to Kasey and Kevin Perry, the last set of brothers to start the same game at SDSU was right fielder Bob Parry and third baseman John Parry, who played for the Aztecs during the 1987 season.
* The last set of brothers on the SDSU baseball team was Jacob and Jon Minter (2000 and 2001). Jacob was a catcher-DH while Jon was a relief pitcher. Although they never started the same game, they did make one appearance as a battery on Feb. 10, 2001, when Jon came on in relief and Jacob was the catcher.
COON SOLID STARTER
* Ben Coon made his third start of the season in the Utah series finale, going seven innings to record his first win of the season.
* In his three starts this season, he has thrown a total of 19.1 innings and posted a 3.72 earned run average with three walks and 12 strikeouts. He has walked only one batter in his last 15.1 innings pitched.
* Prior to moving into the starting rotation, Coon had recorded only four strikeouts in 8.1 innings (seven relief appearances) with a 6.48 ERA.
BERRY STREAKING
* Sophomore center fielder Quentin Berry is on a 13-game hitting streak during which he is batting .357 (20-for-56) with nine runs scored and six runs batted in.
* His streak is the longest for an Aztec this season, surpassing the 12-game streaks of teammates Lance Zawadzki and James Guerrero.
* His season average now stands at .349, best on the squad this week.
* He recorded a season-high three hits in a game in the final contest against Utah on Mar. 20 and he leads the team in stolen bases with eight (in nine attempts).
DOUGLAS EMERGES IN RELIEF
* Brett Douglas made his second consecutive solid relief stint in the middle game of the Utah series.
* He went the final 4.2 innings, allowing one run while striking out three.
* In his last two relief appearances, the sophomore right-hander has thrown a total of 7.2 innings, allowing two runs with six strikeouts for a 2.35 earned run average in those contests.
CAMPBELL CLOSES
* Junior Cody Campbell had his best relief outing of the season in the series finale against Utah. He went the final two innings, striking out three of the seven batters he faced to pick up his first save of the year.
* In his last two appearances (3.2 innings), he has struck out five and walked none. In the seven appearances prior to that (seven innings), he had recorded 10 bases on balls.
MCLINTOCK ON THE RISE
* Right fielder Jake McLintock went 4-for-7 in the final two games vs. Utah (his only starts of the series), collecting two hits in each contest.
* He also scored a pair of runs and had two RBI along with a triple as he raised his average some 22 points.
* The triple was his second of the season, and he leads the Aztecs in that category.
ZAWADZKI STARTS NEW STREAK
* After having a 12-game hitting streak snapped two weeks ago, Lance Zawadzki started a new one by hitting safely in all three games vs. Utah.
* In those three contests, he went 5-for-11 with two doubles.
* In his last six games, he is 8-for-22 with three doubles and a home run.
O'BRIEN CONTINUES TO HIT
* First baseman Tim O'Brien hit his team-leading third home run of the season in the series opener against Utah. * In his last eight games, he has gone 10-for-27 (.371) with four doubles, six RBI and six runs scored.
* He continues to lead the Aztecs in runs scored with 17 as well as in doubles with seven.
* The junior from Fresno City College is hitting a .323 and tops the squad in slugging percentage (.569).
AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS
* SDSU has a number of players ranked among the top five in various categories in the MWC stats for all games this week. (Conference-game only stats begin next week.)
* Pitcher Bruce Billings leads the league in strikeouts (47) and batters struck out looking (19). His 3.53 earned run average is fourth-best in the MWC.
* Quentin Berry is tied for first in stolen bases this week with eight and second in sac bunts with three.
* Andres Esquibel is tied for second in saves with two.
WALKING INTO THE TOP 10
* With a total of nine walks this season, junior James Guerrero has moved into the SDSU top 10 in career bases on balls.
* His total of 91 free passes ties for the number-10 spot in the list with Flavio Alfaro (1983-84).
* The number-nine position is occupied by Tommy Rinks (1956-58) with 92 walks.
* Despite moving into the top 10, Guerrero has not drawn a walk in any of SDSU's last 12 games, his longest stint without a base on balls as an Aztec.
ON THE DEFENSIVE
* The Aztecs have been errorless on defense in only one game this season (the 15-6 win over Cal State Northridge on Feb. 15). The team is averaging two errors per contest.
* In the league season-opening series vs. Utah Mar. 18-20 (SDSU's most recent games), the Aztecs committed just four errors for a .964 fielding percentage over the three games.
* The team's overall fielding mark for the season stands at .947.
CARSON OUT FOR SEASON
* Infielder Clayton Carson's season is over as he will have back surgery in the near future for a herniated disk.
* Carson began the season as the starting shortstop and was moved to third base 10 games into the season. He reached base safely via a base hit in 12 of the 13 games in which he appeared.
* Despite playing on only 13 of the team's 24 games heading into this weekend, his total of nine runs batted in is fifth on the squad.
SEE THE BALL, HIT THE BALL
* Five Aztecs who are in their first year of Division I baseball at San Diego State have recorded base hits in their first collegiate at bats this season.
* That quintet includes:
Garrick Evans, OF - 2B vs. Texas 2/4
Tim O'Brien, 1B - 1B vs. Texas 2/5
Chris Anderson, C - 1B vs. Texas 2/5
James Scott, PH - 1B vs. Santa Clara 2/13
Kevin Howard, PH - 1B vs. CSUN, 2/15
BURKLE OUT 3-4 MORE WEEKS
* Junior right-hander Shaun Burkle, who has been one of the team's most effective relief pitcher this season, is expected to miss 3-4 more weeks with a fracture in his right hand suffered on Feb 25.
* He has made six appearances this season (eight innings), allowing three runs (none earned) on eight hits and two walks along with three strikeouts. Seven of the eight hits he has given up have been singles.
* In his six outings, opponents are hitting .229 against him.
HITTING IN A PINCH
* After seven games, Aztec pinch hitters have gone 8-for-18 for a .444 average.
* Seven different players have come through at the plate when coming off the bench.
* Freshman Joseph Scaperotta has a single and a double as a pinch hitter in four at bats.
* Last season, the Aztecs totaled six pinch hits all year, finishing with a .231 average (6-for-26) in that category.
PLUNKIN' THE OPPOSITION
* SDSU pitchers are averaging over one hit batter per game.
* With 27 HBP's in 24 games, the Aztec staff is hitting 1.13 batters per contest.
* That average projects to 65 hit batters over 58 games.
* The team record is 64 hit batters in season (66 games in 2002).
* Last game against Utah on Mar. 18 ended a string of 10 straight contests in which the Aztecs had hit at least one batter.
POWER SHORTAGE
* The Aztecs have hit only eight home runs through their first 24 games of the season.
* That figure projects to 19 home runs over 58 games.
* The last time SDSU hit 20 or fewer homers in a season was in 1991 when it had 13 in 64 games.
SCHEDULE CHANGES
* The Aztecs have re-scheduled the contest at Cal State Northridge that was rained out on Feb. 22. They have also added a game to replace one that was rained out vs. Santa Clara in early February as well.
* SDSU will host UCLA on Tuesday, April 19, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
* The Aztecs will play at Cal State Northridge the following Tuesday, (April 26) at 3:00 p.m.
AZTEC BASEBALL ON TV
* SDSU will make a pair of television appearances this season.
* The first will be the game at Brigham Young on Friday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. (MDT), a game broadcast on BYU-TV (available on cable or on the Internet).
* The second televised contest will be carried by College Sports Television (CSTV) when the Aztecs meet UNLV on Sunday, May 1, at 1:30 p.m. (PDT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
UP NEXT
* Following the UNLV series, the San Diego State returns home nest weekend when they will face New Mexico in a three-game league series.
* The first contest between the Lobos and Aztecs is scheduled for Friday, Apr. 8, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
* Games two and three will be played on Saturday (Apr. 9) and Sunday (Apr. 10), both at 1:00 p.m.