May 24, 2005
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
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AZTECS COMPLETE REGULAR SEASON
* By virtue of its win over Brigham Young last Friday, San Diego State ended its season in third place in the Mountain West Conference.
* It marks the first time in the six seasons of the league's existence that SDSU has finished lower than second in the final standings.
2005 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
* By finishing third in the regular-season, San Diego State will be the number-three seed at this week's Mountain West Conference Tournament. That championship event gets underway on Wednesday, May 25, at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City.
* UNLV is the number-one seed as it won the regular-season league title for the second time in three years. Brigham Young was the MWC runner-up, two games behind the Rebels, and is the second seed. Both UNLV and BYU receive first-round byes in this year's tournament.
* SDSU's third-place seeding means it will face Air Force (the number-six seed) in the opening game of the tourney. That contest is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, at 11:00 a.m. (MDT).
* If the Aztecs win their first game, they would play Brigham Young at 11:00 a.m. (MDT) on Thursday. Should they open with a loss, their second contest would take place Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) against the loser of the Utah-New Mexico contest, which will be played at 3:00 p.m. that afternoon.
* Franklin-Covey Field is the 15,500-seat facility which also serves as the home to Salt Lake's AAA baseball team, an affiliate of the Anaheim Angels. The park dimensions are 345 feet down the left field line, 315 feet down the right field lines and 420 feet to straightaway centerfield.
* For the complete tournament schedule, see page 2 of this release.
RECORD VS. MWC OPPONENTS
* San Diego State won a pair of series, lost two and tied one this season in league play. The Aztecs won their series vs. Utah and Air Force, lost vs. UNLV and Brigham Young, and split six games with New Mexico.
* 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 Tournament.
All-Time MWC Play 2005 MWC MWC Tourn.Air Force........58-15....25-8........6-0.......3-0Brigham Young...62-43-1...19-1........2-4.......5-3New Mexico.......85-38....24-12.......3-3 ......3-0UNLV.............45-34....18-18.......1-5.......1-5Utah.............83-19....24-12.......5-1.......3-0
PAST TOURNAMENT FINISHES
* San Diego State won its only conference tourney championship 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 the past two seasons.
SERIES RECORD
* The Aztecs' record against Air Force stands at 58-15 in the series that began during the 1961 season. The teams met nine times from that year through 1964 until matching up on a regular basis while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
* Since joining the MWC, SDSU's record against the Falcons is 28-8. That ledger includes a 25-8 record in regular-season play and 3-0 in conference tournament action.
* San Diego State's record on the Falcons' home field is 19-8. The Aztecs are 36-7 in contests played in San Diego and 3-0 at neutral site fields.
* In 2005, SDSU recorded six victories over Air Force. After three games in Colorado Springs were snowed out, the Aztecs won four games played at Tony Gwynn Stadium while the Falcons opted to forfeit the other two contests.
* Air Force has faced the Aztecs in three previous Mountain West Conference tournaments. SDSU defeated the Falcons in the 2000 final as well as in the second round in both 2001 and 2002.
AZTEC PITCHING ROTATION
* San Diego State's pitching rotation has only been determined for three games, should SDSU advance that far at the conference tourney this week.
* Here are the Aztecs' projected starters for the team's first three contests of this week's Mountain West Conference Tournament:
G1..TBAG2..Bruce Billings (RHP, 5-5, 3.88)G3..Brett Douglas (RHP, 2-3, 7.92)
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
* Sophomore Brett Douglas earned MWC Pitcher of the Week accolades for his effort vs. BYU last Friday.
* He tossed eight innings of shutout ball, scattering seven hits with six strikeouts in the win over the Cougars that secured third place in the MWC for SDSU.
* Douglas held the Cougars, one of the top hitting and scoring offenses in the nation, to a .233 batting average and no runs.
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.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
* Air Force's record stands at 9-40 overall and 4-26 in the MWC as it finished in sixth place in the final league standings. The Falcons won three of their final six conference contests, winning two of three at Utah and taking a game from New Mexico in their season finale last Saturday.
* Air Force's top hitters include shortstop Geno Salazar (.315, 11 2B, 25 RBI), first baseman Karl Bolt (.312, 12 HR, 39 RBI) and center fielder Reid Lamson (.308, 10 2B, 21 RBI). The Falcons hit .278 as a team (.265 in league play).
* Top hurlers include starters Paul Pratt (3-9, 9.83) and Clayton Couch (0-2. 7.27). Sam Rosener has recorded two of the team's four saves this season. The team earned run average is 12.04 (13.88 in MWC games).
OFFENSE EXPLODES
* San Diego State's 28-10 win at New Mexico on May 14 saw the Aztecs tie a couple of school offensive records.
* The 28 runs tied the most in a game SDSU began playing in Division I (1968), matching the total scored in a 28-6 win at Air Force in 1990. The Aztecs' 27 RBI in the contest tied the record set in that same game vs. Air Force.
* The team's 28 hits was one shy of the 29 it totaled at Colorado State, also during the 1990 season. The seven doubles was also one short of the record of eight in a game, accomplished four times previously.
* Quintin Berry tied the individual mark for most at bats in a game with eight, shared by four others.
BILLINGS LEADS MOUND STAFF
* Sophomore right-hander Bruce Billings has emerged as one of the top starting pitchers in the Mountain West Conference this season.
* Opponents are hitting just .231 against him in all games, a mark that leads the league. In conference games only, his .235 average also is tops in the MWC.
* He is currently averaging just over a strikeout per inning (102 K's in 99.2 IP) and has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of almost three-to-one (102 K's-35 BB's). Billings leads the conference (all-game stats) in strikeouts.
* His 3.88 earned run average in league play ranks first in the MWC this week.
* With 102 strikeouts this season, Billings has moved into the number-nine spot on the SDSU single-season top 10 list. He will likely move up the chart in his next start and could likely finish anywhere from eighth to fifth. The number-five spot is held by Scott Shoemaker, who recorded 110 K's last season.
* In his two seasons, Billings has allowed just four home runs in 149.2 innings.
GUERRERO PROVIDES PUNCH
* Second baseman James Guerrero has gone 22-for-56 (.393) over SDSU's last 12 games with 10 runs scored, 11 RBI, three doubles, a triple and a home run.
* He had a six-game hitting streak stopped last Thursday vs. Brigham Young.
* He tied the SDSU record for hits in a game with six against UNLV on May 1. That feat has been accomplished by three other Aztecs, most recently by Brian Kooiman vs. Sac State (4/23/95).
* He has reached base via hit or walk in 30 consecutive contests.
* Guerrero leads the team in triples (7), RBI (47), slugging percentage (.553), hit by pitch (10), and on-base percentage (.466).
DOUGLAS SHOWS HIS STUFF
* Sophomore hurler Brett Douglas has recorded his first two victories as an Aztec in his last two starts.
* In his outing at New Mexico on May 14. He went six innings, allowing four runs.
* Last Friday against BYU, he tossed eight shutout innings, striking out five in the win that secured third place for SDSU.
* In his last three starts (covering 19 innings), he has walked two and struck out seven while posting an earned run average of 2.84. Prior to those contests, his season ERA stood at 10.36.
MCLINTOCK SOLID AT THE PLATE
* Jake McLintock has hit safely in 15 of SDSU's last 17 contests. Over that span, he is hitting .422 (27-for-64) with 15 runs scored and 16 RBI.
* He is averaging just one strikeout every 10.8 plate appearances. When he struck out three times vs. USC on May 10, it was the first time he had fanned more than once in a game since Feb. 13 vs. Santa Clara.
* In conference play, he has struck out only five times in 123 plate appearances, an average of once every 24.6 times up to bat.
* Since March 18, McLintock has raised his overall batting average from .235 to its current mark of .363, and he finished as the league's top hitter with a .479 average in MWC play.
BERRY KEYS OFFENSE
* Since having a 27-game hitting streak stopped at CSU Northridge on April 26, center fielder Quintin Berry has hit in 12 straight contests.
* During his current streak, he is hitting .458 (27-for-59) with 14 runs scored, 14 RBI, four doubles, a triple and two home runs.
* His 27-game hitting streak was the second-longest streak in school history, just one shy of the Aztec record 28-game streaks of Derek Vinyard (1991) and Steve Dietz (1992).
* His season average now stands at .413, best on the squad this week. He is finished second in the league in hitting with a .479 average, percentage points behind teammate Jake McLintock.
* Last week, Berry's .411 batting average ranked 22nd-best in NCAA Division I. national stats are updated on Tuesday each week.
* The last Aztec to finish the season hitting .400 or better was Steve Dietz (.404) in 1992. Berry's current average is the highest for an Aztec since Harry Henderson completed the 1989 campaign with a .421 mark.
ZAWADZKI GOES DEEP
* Third baseman Lance Zawadzki recorded his second two-home run game of the season when he connected twice in the win over Brigham Young last Friday.
* With those two long balls, he assumed the team lead with seven on the season.
* His other two-HR effort came vs. Air Force at home on April 24.
TRIPLE YOUR FUN
* After hitting six triples in the first 27 games of the season, the Aztecs have recorded 24 in their last 27 outings.
* SDSU recorded four triples in a game vs. New Mexico on April 9 and again at Brigham Young on April 15.
* The four triples hit by SDSU in those games was one shy of the school record of five in a game set vs. Point Loma Nazarene in 1987 and vs. Western New Mexico in 1984.
* James Guerrero has accounted for six of those 24 recent triples and had two in the game vs. New Mexico (Apr. 8), tying the SDSU mark for three-baggers in a game. The last Aztec to accomplish the feat was Anthony Gwynn, who had a pair of triples vs. Brigham Young on May 22, 2003.
* In last week's NCAA national stats, SDSU's average of 0.55 triples per game ranked fifth-best in the nation.
* With seven triples, Guerrero's average of 0.14 per game ranked 16th among individuals in the NCAA Division I statistics.
SWAYDAN SHOWS CONSISTENCY
* Catcher Jordan Swaydan saw a short five-game hitting streak end at New Mexico on May 13, then went out the next day and had his best offensive outing of the season.
* In the four games since ending that short streak, he has reached safely in four contests, going 9-for-16 (.563) with five runs scored, eight RBI, two doubles and a pair of triples.
* He is fielding .992 behind the dish and has not committed an error over the past 38 games in which he has played (300 chances). He did not commit an error in league play (216 chances) while hitting .343 in MWC action.
VERSATILE DESME
* Freshman Grant Desme has proven to be of the most versatile athletes on this years Aztec squad.
* He has started games at every infield spot (except catcher). He has played at first (four games), second (12 games), third (10 games) and shortstop (four games).
* Desme has also started contests in center field.
BATS COME ALIVE
* San Diego State's team batting average of .314 entering the week is close to the highest it has been this season. The team's highest mark was .316 on May 1.
* Since April 1, the average has moved steadily upward from .279 to its current number.
* Over their last 20 games, the Aztecs are hitting .342 as a team, averaging 9.0 runs and 12.8 hits per contest.
* During that span, SDSU has hit 49 doubles, 14 triples and 16 home runs.
RECORD BOOK PART I
* Jake McLintock passed former Aztec Bobby Meacham recently and is now the SDSU record holder for most career at bats with 825. McLintock also had one more RBI last weekend and has passed Chris Gwynn for the Aztec career mark in that category with 175. Gwynn (1983-85) totaled 168 runs batted in during his SDSU career.
* He also now holds the career record in number of times being hit by pitch with 27 and is the SDSU sacrifice fly leader with 18 during his four seasons. He enters the week tied for the Aztec career mark in total bases.
* McLintock needs one hit to tie Chris Gwynn for the San Diego State career record in that category, and he is three doubles and two triples shy of those two records as well.
RECORD BOOK PART II
* James Guerrero's three-year total of 113 walks moves him into a tie for the number-four spot on the SDSU career list with Gary Armstrong (1975-77). Travis Lee (1994-96) is number three with 119 career bases on balls.
* With seven triples this season, Guerrero now has 15 in his career and has tied the SDSU record of 15 held by Anthony Gwynn (2001-03), Nikco Riesgo (1986-88) and Art Preston (1950-52). His two triples in a game earlier this season tied the SDSU mark as did his six hits in a game on May 1.
* With 223 career hits, Guerrero has cracked the Aztec top 10 in that category. Entering the Brigham Young series, his total is tied for sixth all-time at SDSU with Doug Elliott (1977-79). The number-five spot is held by Travis Lee with 231.
* Guerrero also ranks third all-time in being hit by pitch with 19. He has been plunked 10 times this year, fourth-most ever in a season for an Aztec.
* He is tied with Doug Elliott in career at bats with 671 and is just outside the SDSU top 10 in runs scored.
HITTING IN A PINCH
* After 54 games, Aztec pinch hitters have gone 12-for-38 for a .316 average.
* Nine different players have come through at the plate when coming off the bench.
* Freshman Joseph Scaperotta has two singles and a double as a pinch hitter in nine at bats. James Scott is 2-for-3 with a single and triple.
* 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 63 HBP's in 54 games, the Aztec staff is hitting 1.17 batters per contest.
* That average projects to 66 hit batters over 56 games (the minimum that SDSU will play this season depending on results at the MWC Tournament).
* The team record is 64 hit batters in season (66 games in 2002).
* Aztec hurlers have hit more than one batter in a game on 16 occasions this season with a high of five vs. Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 1.
* Alex Hinshaw has hit 15 opposing hitter this season, one shy of the SDSU record of 16 by Jeremy Cook (2002).
TURN ON THE POWER
* San Diego State had hit only eight home runs through its first 26 contests, but has connected for 22 in its last 28 games.
* The Aztecs hit two homers in a game for the first time this year when James Guerrero and Curt Mendoza connected in the win over New Mexico on April 8.
* Since that time, two Aztecs have had two-home run games from a pair of individuals: freshman Joseph Scaperotta (at BYU on April 15) and sophomore Lance Zawadzki (vs. Air Force on April 24 and vs. BYU on May 20).
* As a team, SDSU had a three-home run contest vs. Air Force in San Diego on April 24 as Zawadzki had two and Jordan Swaydan hit one in that contest. The team also connected for three at New Mexico on May 14 (Berry, Mendoza, Guerrero).
WORKING OVERTIME
* San Diego State has played a total of seven extra-inning contests in 2005, with four of those coming during the week of May 1-8.
* Over those eight days, SDSU had consecutive overtime affairs against UNLV, Cal State Fullerton and Utah. It marked the first time in school history that the Aztecs had played three straight extra-inning contests.
* In its seven overtime games this season, SDSU has a record of 4-3
MWC WEEKY HONORS
* Two Aztec pitchers have been honored as MWC Pitcher of the Week two times apiece this season. (Brett Douglas earned the honor this week.) In addition, one hitter has garnered league Player of the Week honors.
* Junior lefty Alex Hinshaw was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks after his performance vs. UNLV last on April 29. In that contest, he allowed just three runs (two earned) on four hits over seven innings while striking out a career-high 14 in the Aztecs' 7-4 victory over league-leading UNLV.
* Hinshaw's first award came on April 18 when was named the Pitcher of the Week for his performance in his outing vs. Brigham Young (on April 14). In that outing, he tossed a complete-game victory while striking out a career-high (at the time) 12 batters, scattering six hits and walking three.
* San Diego State sophomore right-hander Bruce Billings was named the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance in contests vs. UCLA and Air Force during the period of April 18-24. In three appearances that week, Billings picked up two wins and struck out 17, while giving up no runs and holding opponents to a batting average of .097 in 10.0 innings on the mound. Billings was also the league Pitcher of the Week on March 9 after throwing seven innings at South Alabama, allowing one unearned run on four hits while striking out six.
* SDSU's other honoree was outfielder Garrick Evans, the MWC Player of the Week on Feb. 21 after he went 7-for-17 (.412) with a home run, double, three RBI and four runs scored over four games (one vs. CSU Northridge and three at North Carolina State).
SLAMMIN' AZTECS
* SDSU has recorded a pair of grand slams this season.
* Tim O'Brien hit the first vs. New Mexico on April 9 at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
* The other came off the bat of Jake McLintock at UNLV on Sunday, April 3.
* The team record for grand slams in a season is three, set last season.
STREAKS AND SUCH
* Outfielder Quintin Berry has the team's longest current hitting streak at 12 games. * Berry has also recorded the most multiple-hit games this season with 28 followed by third shortstop James Guerrero and Lance Zawadzki, both at 23. * Jake McLintock and Zawadzki have had 12 multiple-RBI contests, just ahead of Guerrero (11).
AZTEC NOTES
* Left-hander Alex Hinshaw suffered his first loss on the mound since April 2 when the Aztecs fell at New Mexico on May 12. He had won his last four decisions. His last outing was a no decision after throwing seven scoreless frames vs. BYU last Wednesday.
* Jake McLintock made his SDSU pitching debut on May 10 vs. USC. The senior right-hander came on in the ninth inning, allowing a hit before getting a fly ball out and a double play.
* With three more walks last during last week's BYU series, Brock Ungricht has taken over the team lead in that category with 33.
* In his last six relief appearances covering 13.1 innings, redshirt freshman right-hander Jared Suwyn has allowed only one earned run for an ERA of 0.68 over that span.