May 10, 2006
AZTECS VISIT BRIGHAM YOUNG FOR FINAL MWC SERIES
***After hosting UC Irvine on Tuesday, San Diego State will travel to Provo, Utah, for three games against Brigham Young starting Thursday, May 11, at Larry H. Miller Field at 7:00 p.m. (MDT). The series will mark SDSU's final Mountain West Conference contests of the season.
***The series against the Cougars will continue with single games on Friday, May 12, at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) and Saturday, May 13, at 1:00 p.m. (MDT).
***This is the 69th 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.
SERIES RECORDS
***The Aztecs' all-time record against Brigham Young is 62-44-1 in the series that began during the 1957 season. The teams met on a regular basis during the 1980's and 90's while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.
***Since joining the Mountain West Conference, SDSU's record against the Cougars is 23-22. That ledger includes an 18-18 record in regular-season play and 5-4 in conference tournament action. The Aztecs are 31-16 in contests played in San Diego and 11-6-1 at neutral site fields. San Diego State's record on the Cougars' home field is 20-22.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
***Brigham Young's record stands at 24-25 overall and 9-7 in the Mountain West Conference after Tuesday's 11-4 loss at Southern Utah. The Cougars have won eight of their last 11 contests and begin the week in fourth place in the league standings.
***The Cougars' top hitters include right fielder Ben Saylor (.357, 12 2B, 17 HR, 51 RBI), third baseman Blake Crosby (.319, 8 2B, 20 RBI) and catcher Casey Nelson (.311, 10 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBI). The pitching staff is led by freshman Jordan Muir (6-0, 2.88) and closer Josh Barrett (1-0, 3 saves, 2.84). BYU is batting .285 as a team with a 5.57 earned run average.
HEAD COACH Tony Gwynn
***Tony Gwynn is in his fourth season as San Diego State's head coach after being named to the position in Sept. 2001. He became just the fourth head coach in SDSU history since baseball was elevated to major sport status in 1936.
***In 2002, he served as a volunteer coach for the Aztecs under Jim Dietz, who retired at the end of that season.
***In 2004, 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.
***Gwynn recorded his 100th win with the Aztecs' 10-4 victory over New Mexico on April 7.
***Currently in his fourth season at SDSU, his record entering the weekend stands at 110-128 overall and 67-40 in Mountain West Conference play.
MOST RECENTLY
***SDSU dropped an 8-1 decision to UC Irvine at home on Tuesday as it was held to six hits by five UCI pitchers. Jordan Swaydan's solo home run was the Aztecs' lone offensive highlight.
***San Diego State won all three games last weekend at Air Force to record its first series sweep of the season.
***In the opener on Friday (April 28), the Aztecs set several individual and team records in a 36-11 win over the Falcons. The offensive charge was led by Lance Zawadzki, who had seven hits and five RBI. Quintin Berry and Curt Mendoza had four hits apiece while Berry and Zawadzki each scored six runs.
***In game two, San Diego State came back from a 5-3 deficit to defeat Air Force, 7-5. Brock Ungricht had three hits and scored three times while freshman Nick Romero had a pair of home runs. Mike Koons picked up the win in relief in a game that was delayed for 50 minutes due to lightning and hail.
***In the series finale, the Aztecs got three RBI apiece from Zawadzki and Paul Smyth in a 16-2 win. The game was played with a 10-run rule in effect and went just seven innings. Curt Mendoza and Jordan Swaydan had two hits apiece while Bruce Billings pitched five innings of shutout ball to record the win.
RECORD-SETTING CONTEST
***In last Friday's 36-11 win at Air Force, the Aztecs set a number of school records.
***The 36 runs and 34 RBI were the most ever recorded in a game by an SDSU team. Both of those numbers were also new Mountain West Conference marks.
***The six home runs hit by the Aztecs tied the school record of six that came at Brigham Young on April 16, 1999.
***Lance Zawadzki's seven hits in the contest established a new SDSU mark and tied the MWC record.
***Zawadzki and teammate Quintin Berry each scored six runs, tying the school record. It was the most runs scored by an Aztec in the Division I era (since 1969). The last time a player scored six times was during the 1959 season (Rick Sutherland vs. Westmont).
***The six runs scored by those two players also tied the conference record.
***All nine SDSU starters scored at least once during the game with a total of 13 different players crossing the plate.
PLAYOFF POSSIBILITIES
***With only three games remaining on its conference schedule, San Diego State could finish anywhere from first to fourth in the final league standings. Those placings are used to determine the seedings for the MWC Tournament to be held in Las Vegas May 23-27.
***The Aztecs (13-6 MWC) enter the week one game behind first-place TCU (14-5), a game-and-a-half ahead of New Mexico (10-6), and two-and-a-half games ahead of Brigham Young (9-7).
***TCU has a break from league play this week and will visit New Mexico next weekend while both New Mexico (at UNLV, home vs. TCU) and BYU (home to SDSU, at Utah) have three-game MWC series each of the next two weekends.
***In case of a tie in the final standings, San Diego State holds the tiebreaker vs. TCU while New Mexico owns the tiebreaker against the Aztecs. Both UNM and TCU have the tiebreaker against BYU.
ZAWADZKI PLAYER OF THE WEEK
***Junior third baseman Lance Zawadzki earned the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week award for his performance last week.
***Over four games, Zawadzki, an Ashland, Mass., native, went 10-for-17 (.588) from the plate with a home run, three doubles, nine RBI and eight runs scored, as San Diego State tallied a 3-1 record, including a three-game conference sweep of Air Force.
***He started the week going 2-for-4, with a double, one RBI and one run scored in a 15-7 loss to San Diego.
***In game one vs. Air Force on Friday, Zawadzki went 7-for-7 with a home run, two doubles, five RBI and six runs scored in the Aztecs' 36-11 win. His seven hits set a new SDSU record and tied the conference mark for most hits in a single game. Zawadzki became only the ninth player in Division I history and the second player in MWC history to go 7-for-7 in a single game.
ROMERO NABS NATIONAL HONOR
***San Diego State freshman second baseman Nick Romero has been named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week, an honor awarded by Collegiate Baseball newspaper for his performance in last weekend's three-game series at Air Force.
***In SDSU's contests against the Falcons, Romero went 6-for-10 with four home runs, six runs scored, 12 RBI, 3 BB, one HBP and a sac fly. His homers came in four consecutive at bats over two games, and he finished the weekend with a .667 on-base percentage and a 1.800 slugging percentage.
***In Friday's game, he hit two home runs in the fifth inning (three-run and two-run shots), then was replaced before coming up again. On Saturday, he hit a 2-run homer in his first at bat and a solo homer in his second at bat. He also had an RBI single in the ninth that gave SDSU an insurance run in its 7-5 win.
***On Sunday, his two-run single in the third helped stake the Aztecs to a 3-0 lead and he later scored twice after drawing a walk and being hit by pitch.
MENDOZA MOVES UP
***Senior outfielder Curt Mendoza had a five-game hitting streak stopped last Saturday at Air Force, but still went 6-for 12 in the series with a pair of doubles and four RBI.
***With that effort, he improved his batting average in league games to .410, a mark which leads SDSU and ranks fifth in the conference heading into the weekend.
***Over his last seven games, he is hitting .367 (11-for-30) with four doubles and six runs batted in.
***He is fourth on the team with six home runs, but has gone 11 games without hitting one out, his longest stretch of the season.
BERRY KEEPS GOING AND GOING
***Quintin Berry leads SDSU in stolen bases with 27 and is first in the Mountain West Conference in that category.
***His steals total represents 61 percent of the steals by SDSU as a team (team total is 44).
***Berry went nine games without stealing a base, his longest stretch in two seasons as an Aztec, before swiping three against Long Beach State on Tuesday, April 11.
***He has just one steal in his last seven games, that coming at Air Force last Friday.
***At the plate, Berry is 6-for-17 in the past four games with a double, triple and eight runs scored. His six runs scored on Friday at Air Force tied the SDSU record.
ROMERO'S GOES DEEP
***Nick Romero's nine home runs this season are the most ever for a freshman at San Diego State. The previous best was eight by Jake McLintock during the 2002 campaign.
***He had his season-long seven-game hitting streak stopped on Tuesday vs. UC Irvine. He had previously put together four-game streaks on six occasions.
***During his seven-game streak, Romero was 13-for-27 (.481) with nine runs scored, 15 RBI, two doubles, a triple and five home runs.
SMYTH ON THE OFFENSIVE
***Senior Paul Smyth continues to lead the Aztecs in overall hitting with a .360 batting average.
***He has an eight-game hitting streak in progress during which he has driven in 12 runs, scored seven times, and hit three home runs.
***Heading into the weekend, Smyth also leads the SDSU offense in hits (71), doubles (15), triples (6) and RBI (50).
***He is a perfect 5-for-5 in steal attempts.
***Smyth's 22 multiple-hit games and 12 multiple-RBI contests lead the team.
MASTERFUL MASTERSON
***Justin Masterson picked up his team-leading sixth win last Friday at Air Force.
***In his last eight outings, Masterson has a 3.76 earned run average over 55 innings.
***Over that span he has walked 11 and struck out 55, and opponents have hit just .219 against him.
***On the season, he has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of better than four-to one with 100 K's and 23 BB's in 103.2 innings.
***His 100 strikeouts tie him for 13th with Al churchman (1936) on the SDSU single-season list. The all-time record is 122 K's by Rob Brown in 1989.
***He has gone five or more innings in all 14 of his starts and a minimum of six innings in 12 of those outings.
***Masterson made his first (and only) relief appearance as an Aztec in the 11-10 win over UNLV on April 2, tossing a perfect ninth inning to preserve the win and pick up his first save.
BILLINGS STRIKES
***Since coming back after missing a pair of starts in mid-March, Bruce Billings has shown signs of the form that earned him MWC Pitcher of the Year honors in 2005.
***In his seven starts since his return, he has thrown 45 innings and struck out 51.
***He set a personal career best with 12 strikeouts in the win over TCU on April 30.
***Last Sunday he tossed five scoreless innings at Air Force to improve to 5-3 on the year.
***Billings' ERA over his last seven outings is 2.20 and opponents are hitting .198 against him.
***He has lowered his season ERA over that period from 6.17 to its current 3.56.
SWAYDAN STANDS TALL
***Senior catcher Jordan Swaydan had a seven-game hitting streak, his longest of the season, stopped last Friday at Air Force.
***In those seven games, he went 11-for-26 (.423) with six runs and scored and five runs batted in.
***He has been a defensive stalwart behind the plate, throwing out 23 of 65 runners trying to steal on him for a 35 percent rate.
***His 23 runners caught stealing leads the conference by a wide margin.
***Swaydan has also picked three base runners off second base this season.
UNGRICHT ADDS TO OFFENSE
***Brock Ungricht has hit safely in each of the team's last eight outings, going 14-for-34 (.412) with eight runs scored, nine RBI, two doubles and a triple.
***He is third on the team with a .320 batting average.
***Ungricht's 10-game hitting streak earlier this year is the longest by an Aztec in 2006.
***He is third on the squad with 20 multiple-hit games and fourth with seven multiple-RBI contests.
***He has scored at least one run in four of SDSU's last five games.
WORKING OVERTIME
***SDSU has played four extra-inning contests this season and lost all four.
***Three of those overtime affairs have come in Mountain West Conference play.
***That number includes an 8-6 loss to UC Irvine, 3-2 loss to New Mexico and 7-5 loss to TCU, all in 10 innings at home.
***The fourth loss was a 6-5 defeat at UNLV in 12 innings on April 21.
KER-PLUNK
***Aztec pitchers have hit 64 batters thus far during the 2006 season, an average of 1.23 per game.
***They have tied team record for hit batters in a season, matching the 64 batters hit during both the 2002 and 2005 seasons.
LONG BALL
***SDSU has hit 48 home runs through 52 games this season after totaling 26 at the same point of the 2005 campaign.
***The Aztecs have hit 14 home runs over their last 7 contests.
***Tim O'Brien's homer in the second game of the TCU series (April 29) was his team-leading 10th of the season. Paul Smyth's homer last Saturday took his season total to nine, tying him for second with Nick Romero, who hit four HR at Air Force.
***At this point, Aztec pitchers have allowed 45 home runs. The last time SDSU finished a season with more home runs than its opponents was in 2000 when it hit 45 and gave up a total of 43.
SENIORS HONORED
***With the series vs. TCU (April 28-30) marking San Diego State's final weekend home contests of the season, the Aztecs took the final game that weekend to honor 11 seniors who are concluding their SDSU careers in 2006.
***That group included four pitchers (Dan Bruckart, Ben Coon, Will Miller, Adam Simon), two catchers (Joey Huskins, Jordan Swaydan, three infielders (Brian Kinsman, Tim O'Brien, Sam Pepper) and a pair of outfielders (Curt Mendoza, Steve Smyth).
***Five of those non-pitchers have been starters for much of the 2006 season while three of the pitchers have seen significant time this year.
THE RECORD BOOK
***Four Aztecs have entered an all-time SDSU top 20 list this season.
***With a 76 strikeouts this season, junior Bruce Billings has 236 career strikeouts to jump up the fourth spot on the career list. He needs o
ne more to climb to No. 3, where Bill Ruzich (1948-50) sits with 237 career strikeouts. Rick Navarro (1989-91) is second at 243. ***With 82 career walks, Brock Ungricht has moved into a tie for sole possession of the No. 18 on the Aztec career chart with Nikco Riesgo (1986-88). Greg Quam (1991-93) and Lance Pinnell (1987-89) are tied for 16th with 83 bases on balls. ***With his home run last Friday vs. Air Force, shortstop Lance Zawadzki has moved into a tie for the number-18 spot on the career list at 17 with Jake McLintock (2002-05). His next four-bagger will move him into a tie for 15th with Steve Montejano (1985-88), Tony Gwynn (1979-81) and Paul Wirkus (1979-80).
***With six homers in 2006, senior outfielder Curt Mendoza now has 24 for his career, moving him into sole possession of the fourth spot on the Aztec career chart. His next homer will move him into a tie for the number-three spot with Tommy Rinks (1956-58) at 25. The SDSU career mark is 28 homers by Paul Lockhart (1997-2000).
AZTEC NOTES
***San Diego State is 14-8 over its last 22 games. Last year at this point of the season, the Aztecs' record stood at 21-31, one game off this year's ledger.
***Over their last 10 contests, the Aztecs are hitting .326 as a team.
***Reserve first baseman Brian Kinsman scored a career-high three runs last Friday at Air Force.
***SDSU catcher Chris Anderson and outfielder Brent Spirnak both connected for their first career home runs in the game at Air Force last Friday.
***Middle reliever Mike Koons worked three innings in Saturday's win at Air Force to pick up his fourth win of the year. He retired nine of the 10 batters he faced before hail and lightning forced a 50-minute delay, and he was unable to continue when play resumed.
***Redshirt freshman Charles Nolte recorded his first career save when he tossed the final three innings in last Friday's win over Air Force.
***Senior pitcher Ben Coon made his first plate appearance in his four years at SDSU last Sunday at Air Force, drawing a walk and scoring a run.
***With one more home run, Tim O'Brien will have 11 this season, the most for an Aztec since Paul Lockhart had the same total in 2000.
***O'Brien has scored and driven in at least one run in four of SDSU's last five contests.
***With his sixth save of the year vs. Air Force last Sunday, senior Adam Simon is tied for the lead in the MWC in that category (all games) and he leads the league in conference contests with four.
***Over its last 10 games, SDSU has a fielding percentage of .973. For the season, the team is fielding .954.
ON DECK
***San Diego State will host third-ranked Cal State Fullerton in its regular-season finale next Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium in the second meeting of the season between the teams.
***That contest will be SDSU's last until they travel to Las Vegas on May 23 to begin play in the 2006 mountain West conference Tournament.
***The team has nothing scheduled for the weekend of May 19-21.