Feb. 21, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
*** San Diego State opens its 2008 campaign with a four-game series against the University of San Diego beginning Friday, Feb. 22. The teams will open their seasons with a single game at 6:00 p.m. (PST) that evening at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium.
*** The matchup continues with a pair of games on Saturday (Feb. 23). The teams will meet at USD's Cunningham Stadium at 1:00 p.m., then travel back to Tony Gwynn Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. contest.
*** The series wraps up with a 1:00 p.m. start at USD on Sunday (Feb. 24).
*** This is only the second time in the last eight years that SDSU has opened the season at home.
*** This will be the 70th 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 RECORD
*** San Diego State leads its series with University of San Diego by the count of 56-45-3 since the teams first squared off in 1962.
*** The Aztecs ended a seven-game losing streak at the hands of the Toreros when they won the final meeting between the teams last season at Tony Gwynn Stadium on April 17.
*** Since 2000, USD holds a 14-6 edge in the series including eight wins in 11 games at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
*** The University of San Diego comes into the 2008 season ranked as high as fifth in the preseason polls (Rivals.com). The Toreros also appear among the preseason top 10 in three other polls (7th Baseball America; 7th National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association); 9th USA Today/ESPN).
*** Last season, San Diego finished with a record of 43-18, won the West Coast Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the fourth time in five years.
*** USD is led by a trio of preseason All-Americans in pitchers Brian Matusz (10-3, 2.85 in 2007) and AJ Griffin (6-2, 11 saves, 2.70 in 2007) plus utility player Josh Romanski (.335, 30 RBI, 9-1, 3.05 in 2007).
*** USD has five position starters back including catcher Logan Gelbrich (.316, 16 doubles, 38 RBI) plus infielders Kevin Hansen (.316, 34 RBI) and Sean Nicol (.300, 5 HR, 30 RBI).
FOR OPENERS
*** San Diego State has a record of 45-23-1 in season openers since 1936. Since attaining Division I status in 1969, the Aztecs are 24-14 in their annual debuts.
*** SDSU has won only two of its last 10 season debuts, those victories coming last season (at Cal Poly) and in 2004 (at Hawai'i-Hilo).
*** The last time San Diego State opened its season by winning a home game was in 1991 (over Cal State Los Angeles). SDSU has opened on the road in seven of the past eight seasons.
*** When opening the season at home, SDSU has an all-time record of 26-9-1 and the Aztecs are 12-6 as a Division I school.
HEAD COACH Tony Gwynn
*** Tony Gwynn enters his sixth 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.
*** Tony Gwynn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 29, 2007.
WHO'S MISSING
*** The Aztecs lost all four starting pitchers plus two of their primary relievers from the 2007 squad.
*** The starting quartet of Donnie Hume, Steven Hirschfeld, Lance Sewell and Bruce Billings has departed along with relievers Aaron Brady and Mike Koons. Those six hurlers accounted for 23 of SDSU's 29 wins a year ago.
*** Among the position players, the first base and catching spots have been vacated with the loss of Joe Spiers, Chris Anderson and Frank LoNigro.
CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT
*** San Diego State had a total of seven players drafted by major league clubs last June. Six of those players, including five juniors, signed pro contracts and left the SDSU program.
*** Among the signees were pitchers Sewell, Hume, Hirschfeld, Billings, Garrett Parcell and Charles Nolte. All of those hurlers were juniors with the exception of Billings.
*** In addition, four others signed free agent contracts at the conclusion for the 2007 season: juniors Spiers, Anderson and Koons along with senior Frank LoNigro.
*** Outfielder Brandon Glover was also drafted, but chose to return to the Aztecs for his senior season.
RETURNING STARTERS
*** San Diego State has six position starters returning this season.
*** The Aztecs return three quarters of their starting infield including Garett Green (2B), Troy Hanzawa (SS) and Nick Romero (3B).
*** Senior Glover Brandon Glover started every game in center field in 2007 while the starters in left and right came primarily from the threesome of Cameron Johnson, Pat Colwell and Josh Chasse, all of whom are back in 2008.
ON THE MOUND
*** Of the five pitchers back from last season, only three reached double digits in innings pitcher: Shane Kaufman (39.0), Stephen Strasburg (37.0), Nate Solow (30.) and J.R. Murphy (21.2).
*** After only four starts in 2007 by that group (3 by Solow, 1 by Murphy), those four are expected to move into the starting rotation in 2008. The fifth returning pitcher, Travis McCracken, saw limited action a year ago and will continue to work out of the pen.
*** Tentative plans call for freshman Addison Reed to step into the role of closer. The remainder of the bullpen will consist of eight newcomers (four freshman, four JC transfers) plus returning redshirts George Snyder and Brandon Villalobos.
CURRENT DRAFTEES
*** Five of San Diego State's new players have been drafted by Major League teams at least once during their playing careers.
*** That list includes:
Zach Babitt........White Sox (2007)
Eric Martinez......Royals (2005-06)
Brett Miller..........Devil Rays (2007)
T.J. Thomas......Braves (2007)
Cory Vaughn......Phillies (2007)
*** In addition, a total of eight returning players have been previously drafted by pro clubs: Brandon Glover, Cameron Johnson, J.R. Murphy, Brandon Pullen, Nick Romero, George Snyder, Nate Solow and Brandon Villalobos.
FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN
*** After a standout season as SDSU's closer in 2007, Stephen Strasburg was named to a pair of Freshman All-American teams and was named the Mountain West Conference Co-Freshman of the Year.
*** He ended the season with seven saves and a 2.43 earned run average.
*** Strasburg will join the starting rotation as the Aztecs No. 1 starter this year.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE
*** Four of the six Aztecs who received all-conference honors in 2007 return this season.
*** Third baseman Nick Romero (.365, seven doubles, 25 RBI in MWC play) was a first-team selection.
*** Three players earned second-team accolades: outfielder Brandon Glover (.353, nine doubles, 19 RBI in league play), shortstop Troy Hanzawa (.280, 23 runs in league games) and Stephen Strasburg (3 saves, 2.04 in MWC action).
*** Gone are second-team honorees Bruce Billings (RHP) and Frank LoNigro (C/OF), both of whom were seniors.
TRANSFER TIME
*** The Aztecs have added just one transfer from a four-year school to their 2008 roster. That player is Erik Castro, who was at Arizona in 2007.
*** Castro was an all-state player at Fallbrook (Calif.) HS after batting .489 in 2006. He appeared in 40 games for the Wildcats last season, hitting .253 as a freshman.
*** Primarily a third baseman in high school, Castro is expected to be SDSU's starter at first base when the season opens.
PRESEASON ALL-MWC
*** SDSU placed three players on the 2008 preseason all-Mountain West Conference team in a poll of the league's head coaches and selected media.
*** Junior third baseman Nick Romero was picked as the Utility/DH player. Center fielder Brandon Glover and pitcher Stephen Strasburg were the other two Aztecs selected.
*** Romero was a first-team all-MWC selection at the conclusion of the 2007 season and a second-team pick his freshman year. Strasburg was a second-team choice in 2007, the only freshman named to the all-conference squad.
AZTECS PICKED THIRD
*** San Diego State has been picked to finish third the regular-season Mountain West Conference baseball standings.
*** In a vote of the six MWC head coaches and a select media panel, the Aztecs received 42 points to finish behind favorite TCU and Brigham Young.
*** MWC Preseason Poll:
Rk. Team (1st place votes) Pts. 1. TCU (6)..................60 2. Brigham Young (3)........52 3. San Diego State..........42 4. New Mexico...............40 5. UNLV.....................26 6. Utah.....................23 7. Air Force.................9WALLACE AWARD WATCH
*** Two players have been named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list, an award presented to the top collegiate player in the nation at the end of the season. Those two athletes are pitcher Stephen Strasburg and second baseman Garett Green.
*** The initial list contains a total of 224 nominees with the Aztec twosome among the five players representing the Mountain West Conference.
*** Green is SDSU's top returning hitter after batting .324 a year ago with 12 doubles and 35 RBI. In league play, he hit .384. He led the Aztecs with 14 multiple-hit games and finished the season with an eight-game hitting streak.
*** Strasburg was a Freshman All-American in 2007 who was the top reliever in the New England Collegiate League last summer. He was also invited to pitch for Team USA in its series vs. Chinese Taipei in July 2007.
YOUNG ROSTER
*** Of the 40 players on San Diego State's 2008 roster, 17 are upperclassmen. However, eight of the team's nine seniors are only entering their second year at SDSU, while seven of the eight juniors are playing Division I ball for the first time.
*** A total of 13 players are true freshman this season.
*** Only two players have more than one season of Division I experience. Junior Nick Romero and senior Mike Willeford are both in their third seasons with the Aztecs.
MLB CONNECTIONS
*** Two freshmen on the 2008 roster are the sons of former Major League players.
*** Outfielder Cory Vaughn is the son of Greg Vaughn, who had a 15-year career with the Padres, Braves, Reds Devil Rays and Rockies and was a four-time all-star.
*** Second baseman Zach Babitt is the son of Shooty Babitt, a second baseman who played for the Oakland A's and is currently an MLB player evaluator.
GEOGRAPHY LESSON
*** The roster features 14 athletes who played their high school ball in San Diego county.
*** Included in that number are seven pitchers, two catchers, three infielders and a two outfielders.
*** A total of 10 players are from outside the state of California.
BASEBALL AMERICA HONORS
*** Three Aztecs appear on Baseball America's preseason all-Mountain West Conference team led by pitcher Stephen Strasburg, who the publication also projects as the MWC pitcher of the year.
*** The other preseason all-MWC picks are Nick Romero and Troy Hanzawa.
*** Strasburg is named as the conference's top prospect for the 2008-09 drafts. He is the only one of the five players mentioned who is not eligible for the 2008 draft.
*** Romero is listed as the MWC's No. 3 draft prospect.
2008 SCHEDULE
*** Eleven of SDSU's opponents this season appear among Collegiate Baseball's preseason Top 40: Arizona (1), San Diego (7), Missouri (15), Cal State Fullerton (16), Long Beach State (17), UCLA (18), Oregon State (19), Fresno State (21), Oklahoma State (31), UC Riverside (35) and California (39).
*** In addition, four others are also among those receiving votes in that same poll: Houston, TCU, Santa Clara and USC.
AZTEC ON TV
*** The Aztecs are scheduled to appear on national television late in the season when their contest at Brigham Young on Saturday,. May 10 at 1:00 p.m. (MDT), is broadcast by The Mtn.
*** That game will also be show live on BYU TV, both on cable and over the Internet.
WEBCAST
*** Video of all of San Diego State's home games will be available on the SDSU web site (www.goaztecs.com) again this season.
*** Fans can go to the calendar on the Aztec home page and click "Watch Live" to view all the action.
*** The video broadcast of these games is free of charge.
ON DECK
*** After their series with USD, the Aztecs will host USC on Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
*** SDSU then will participate in the USD Tournament beginning Thursday (Feb. 28) at home against Cal Poly at 6:00 p.m.
*** All of the Aztecs' contests during that event will be played at Tony Gwynn Stadium with games against Missouri, California and Fresno State on Friday (6 pm), Saturday (6 pm) and Sunday (4 pm) respectively.