Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
Feb. 27, 2008
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
*** San Diego State will participate in the six-team University of San Diego Tournament this week beginning Thursday, Feb. 28. In addition to USD and SDSU, other teams competing will include California, Cal Poly, Fresno State and Missouri.
*** Games will be played at both USD's Cunningham Stadium and SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium.
*** The Aztecs begin tourney play on their home field with a contest against Cal Poly on Thursday.
*** San Diego State will not face the University of San Diego since the teams opened their season with a four-game series against each other last weekend.
*** Two of the four teams that SDSU will play this weekend appear in one or more of the national polls: Missouri and Fresno State.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
*** The complete schedule for the USD tournament is as follows:
Thursday, February 28 Fresno State vs. California........USD...1:00 p.m. Cal Poly vs. San Diego State......SDSU...6:00 p.m.Friday, February 29 Cal Poly vs. USD...................USD..10:00 a.m. Fresno State vs. USD...............USD...2:00 p.m. Cal vs. Missouri..................SDSU...1:00 p.m. Missouri vs. San Diego State......SDSU...6:00 p.m.Saturday, March 1 Missouri vs. USD...................USD...1:00 p.m. Cal Poly vs. Fresno State.........SDSU...1:00 p.m. California vs. San Diego State....SDSU...6:00 p.m.Sunday, March 2 California vs. USD.................USD...1:00 p.m. Missouri vs. Cal Poly.............SDSU..11:00 a.m. Fresno State vs. San Diego State..SDSU...4:00 p.m.SERIES RECORDS
*** SDSU leads its series with Cal Poly, 58-29, count since the schools first met back in 1946. The teams were both members of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) from 1951-68 and were also in the Western Athletic Conference together for two seasons (1995-96). The Mustangs have won eight of the last 10 meetings including two of three in each of the three-game series played between the schools in 2006 and 2007. The Aztecs are 35-10 against Cal Poly in San Diego.
*** San Diego State and Missouri have met only twice previously with SDSU winning one game and the other ending in a tie. The draw came during the RBI Classic at UC Riverside in 1985 when the teams tied 10-10. The Aztecs defeated the Tigers in San Diego, 5-4, during the 1997 season.
*** The Aztecs are 4-2 against Cal including a win in the most recent meeting in 2004 at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Prior to that, the teams had not faced each other since 1981. SDSU has a 3-2 mark against the Bears in San Diego and also won the lone contest played in Berkeley in 1947.
*** San Diego State has played Fresno State more times than any other opponent with the Bulldogs holding an 82-78 advantage since 1939. The teams have been members of three conferences at the same time including the CCAA, the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (now the Big West) and the WAC. SDSU and FSU have not met on the baseball field since the 1999 campaign.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
*** Cal Poly comes into this week's tournament with a mark of 2-1 after winning two of three games at Alabama last weekend. Leading hitters after that opening series are catcher Wes Dorrell (.556, double, 2 RBI) and first baseman David Van Ostrand (.333, double, 4 RBI). Left-hander Grant Theophilus is expected to start on the mound vs. SDSU. In his lone appearance, he went 2.2 innings and gave up two runs at Alabama. Cal Poly is hitting .240 as a team with a 5.19 earned run average.
*** Missouri, ranked as high as fifth this week (Baseball America) is 3-1 after defeating Connecticut, Michigan State and Stetson (at the Stetson tournament) before dropping a 10-9 decision at Central Florida in a game that went just seven innings due to travel commitments. Outfielders Ryan Lollis (.500, double, 6 RBI) and Jacob Friday (.375, 2 doubles, 8 RBI) are the Tigers' leading hitters. Ian Berger, who threw two innings of relief last weekend, will get the pitching start. Missouri is hitting .273 with a 6.00 team ERA.
*** Cal came out of its opening weekend with a win over Kansas State plus a win and a tie against Utah Valley State at home. Leading the offense last weekend were outfielder Brett Jackson (.400, 2 3B, HR, 2 RBI) and first baseman David Cooper (.400, 3 HR, 11 RBI). Junior lefty Craig Bennigson, who worked seven innings in his start last weekend last weekend, will be on the mound for the Bears. Cal is hitting .276 as a team with a 3.00 ERA.
*** Fresno State is ranked 23rd by Baseball America, one spot behind San Diego State this week. The Bulldogs split a four-game series at home against UC Davis last weekend. Top hitters include Danny Muno (.454, double) and Erik Wetzel (.333, two doubles, RBI). Justin Miller, who tossed one inning of relief last weekend, will start against SDSU on Sunday. FSU is hitting .249 with a 1.33 earned run average.
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.
LAST TIME OUT
*** San Diego State won its third straight on Tuesday, defeating USC, 2-1, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
*** Cory Vaughn had two of the Aztecs' three hits with a pair of doubles. SDSU scored its two runs on a balk and a wild pitch late in the contest.
*** James McLaughlin picked up the win, his first as an Aztec while freshman Addison Reed recorded his first save of the season.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
*** After defeating the University of San Diego in three of their four games, San Diego State has moved into a pair of national polls.
*** The Aztecs are ranked 22nd this week by Baseball America and 26th by Collegiate Baseball. It marks the first time SDSU has been ranked in the Tony Gwynn era. The team's last national ranking came in 1997 when they were 30th in Collegiate Baseball's poll.
*** The Aztecs are also receiving votes in the Rivals.com and National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association polls.
NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK
*** San Diego State has been named the national Co-Team of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com after is series against the nationally-ranked USD Toreros.
*** Over the four games, the Aztecs batted .357 against what one publication called the top weekend pitching rotation in the nation.
*** SDSU's team ERA over the four games was a respectable 4.63. In the three games they won, the Aztecs gave up only five runs (three earned).
MWC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
*** Senior second baseman Garett Green was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week after the first three games of the USD series.
*** Over those contests, Green went 8-for-13 (.615) with two doubles, a triple, two homers, eight runs scored and seven RBI.
*** He had a slugging percentage of 1.385 for the weekend and was flawless on 14 chances in the field.
MWC PITCHER OF THE WEEK
*** SDSU made a sweep of the MWC awards as Stephen Strasburg was named the conference Pitcher of the Week.
*** In the season opener against San Diego, the sophomore right-hander went eight innings, allowing a pair of runs on five hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
*** USD hit just .185 for the game as Strasburg out-dueled USD's Brian Matusz, who is projected as a first-round pick in next June's draft.
NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
*** Garett Green has also been named the National Player of the Week by College Baseball Insider.com for his performance in last weekend's season-opening series against University of San Diego.
*** He enters this weekend's tournament as the team leader in home runs (2), runs scored (9) and RBI (8) as well as the co-leader with nine hits.
*** He has been perfect on defense as well with no errors in 27 chances through the Aztecs first five contests.
GOOD START
*** Although very early in the season, San Diego State's 4-1 beginning is its best start since opening the 2002 season with a 5-1 record.
*** After five games a year ago, the Aztecs were hitting .203 with 24 runs scored and one home run. This year, after five games, SDSU is hitting .322 with five homers and 46 runs scored.
BERGER EXCELS
*** Jon Berger, a transfer from the College of Southern Nevada, was impressive in his collegiate debut on Monday at University of San Diego.
*** The 6-2 right-hander from Las Vegas tossed seven innings of shutout baseball, scattering four hits with one walk and three strikeouts to pick up the win.
*** The Toreros hit just .167 against him for the game.
VAUGHN GETS ON
*** In the four games in which he has played, freshman outfielder Cory Vaughn has gone 8-for-14 (.571) with three doubles, a triple and home run. He has hit safely in each of those four contests.
*** He had a pair of doubles against USC on Tuesday to account for two of SDSU's three hits on the night.
*** His homer at USD last Saturday was a blast that easily cleared the 395 mark in dead center field.
*** He recorded a hit in his first collegiate at bat, doubling in the season opener last Friday. Cory is the son of former Major Leaguer Greg Vaughn.
CLOSING IT OUT
*** Freshman Addison Reed has moved into the role of closer that was vacated by sophomore Stephen Strasburg, who is now SDSU's No. 1 starter.
*** Reed has taken the first step toward filling the shoes of Strasburg, who earned Freshman All-American honors in 2007.
*** In three appearances, he has not allowed a base runner over three innings of work, walking none and striking out two.
*** He has faced eight batters and recorded nine outs, getting a double play to end last Monday's game at University of San Diego.
*** Reed picked up his first collegiate save with a perfect ninth inning against USC on Tuesday.
GLOVER STREAKING
*** Senior center fielder Brandon Glover has a five-game hitting streak and is the lone Aztec to hit safely in all of the team's contests in 2008.
*** He has recorded the team's only assist from the outfield, throwing out a USC runner attempting to go from first to third on a base hit up the middle.
*** Glover led the SDSU outfield in 2007 with eight assists.
CASTRO RECORDS FIRST HOMER
*** Catcher-infielder Erik Castro connected for the first home run of his collegiate career in Monday's game at USD. It was a two-run shot in the eighth inning that stretched SDSU's lead to 6-0 in that contest.
*** Castro is a sophomore from nearby Fallbrook who spent his freshman season at the University of Arizona, where he played third base. He recorded no home runs in his 40 games for the Wildcats.
*** He has played in all four games this season and has been behind the plate in two contests including a start at catcher in Monday's game. Castro last caught during his prep days at Fallbrook High School.
TANOS CATCHING ON
*** Freshman Brett Tanos made his debut as a catcher in Tuesday's contest against USC. The game marked his first game behind the plate at any level after playing shortstop during his high school career.
*** He finished the game with five putouts and one assist. The assist came in the fifth inning when he threw out a USC runner attempting to steal second with a runner on third. That caught stealing helped snuff out a potential big inning for the Trojans.
*** In SDSU's first four contests, Tanos had been the Aztecs' leadoff hitter as the DH. In those contests he is batted .353 (6-for-17) and had an on-base percentage of .421.
ATTENDANCE MARKS
*** The attendance figures for last weekend's two contests at Tony Gwynn Stadium were among the all-time top ten for the facility.
*** Last Friday's (Feb. 22) crowd of 1,427 was the ninth-biggest crowd for a game at SDSU's home stadium.
*** On Saturday (Feb. 23) the gathering of 1,417 fans was the 10th-largest crowd for an Aztec home game. *** All three of SDSU's games thus far in 2008 have had crowds well over the 1,000 mark.
AZTECS ON TV
*** The Aztecs are scheduled to appear on national television twice late in the season during their series at Brigham Young. The contests at Brigham Young on Friday, May 9 at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) will be broadcast by The Mtn. The telecast will be shown on tape-delayed basis the next day (May 10) at 5:00 p.m. (MDT) the same day.
*** That game on May 9 will also be shown live on BYU TV, both on cable and over the Internet.
*** The SDSU-BYU game on Saturday, May 10, at 1:00 p.m. will be shown live on The Mtn.
AZTEC NOTES
*** Cory Vaughn has each recorded four multiple-hit contests while Troy Hanzawa and Garett Green each have a pair of multiple-RBI efforts.
*** The Aztecs have yet to record a sacrifice bunt after four games.
*** In its four wins, San Diego State has given up just six runs (four earned) for a 1.00 earned run average in those contests. The Aztecs have walked seven and struck out 29 over 36 innings in those games.
*** Offensively, SDSU is averaging almost three doubles, a triple, a home run and four walks through the first five games.
*** Nick Romero's homer last Friday was the 16th of his SDSU career, moving him into a tie for 20th on the all-time Aztec list.
*** In his season debut in right field last Saturday night, sophomore Brandon Decker collected a hit, RBI, hit by pitch and run scored in four plate appearances.
*** After a rough first outing as a starting pitcher last Saturday, senior Shane Kaufman rebound against USC, going six innings and allowing one run on six hits while striking out four.
ON DECK
*** After this weekend's USD Tournament, San Diego State will make the short trip north to take on UC Riverside on Tuesday, March 4, at 6:00 p.m.
*** The Aztecs return home next weekend when they host the annual Aztec Invitational with games against Santa Clara, Loyola Marymount, Oklahoma State and defending national champion Oregon State.