May 1, 2008
AZTECS VIST AIR FORCE FOR CONFERENCE SERIES
*** After dropping a pair of contests earlier in the week at 20th-ranked Arizona, San Diego State continues a string of eight consecutive road contests as its travels Air Force to resume Mountain West Conference play with a three-game series this weekend.
*** That set of contests against the Falcons gets underway on Friday, May 2, at 2:00 p.m. (MDT) at Falcon Field in Colorado Springs. Colo.
*** San Diego State and Air Force will also meet on Saturday (May 3) and Sunday (May 4) for contests at 1:00 p.m. and noon respectively.
SERIES RECORDS
*** SDSU hold a 69-15 advantage in its series against Air Force and has won the last 22 meetings between the teams dating back to the 2003 campaign. Since joining the MWC for the 2000 season, the Aztecs are 39-8 vs. Air Force.
*** The Falcons' last win in the series came in Colorado Springs in 2003, a 3-0 shutout victory.
*** SDSU is 40-7 vs. Air Force in San Diego, 24-8 in Colorado Springs and 5-0 at neutral sites.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
*** Air Force's record stands at 16-25 (2-12 MWC) after a 13-4 win over Colorado Christian at home on Tuesday. The Falcons have won three of their last four including taking two of three games from BYU last weekend for their first league wins since 2006.
*** The team's leading hitters are designated hitter Matt Alexander (.321, 7 HR, 40 RBI) and right fielder Chay Derbigny (.318, 12 2B, 27 RBI). Derbigny has stolen 25 bases this season while infielder Nathan carter has swiped 18.
*** The Falcons' team batting average is .273 and they come into the weekend with an 8.58 ERA.
HEAD COACH Tony Gwynn
*** Tony Gwynn is in 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 16 appearances in the annual All-Star Game.
*** Tony Gwynn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 29, 2007.
STRASBURG WINS NATIONAL AND MWC HONORS AGAIN
*** Stephen Strasburg has been named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the week by Collegiate Baseball magazine and is the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance in the Aztecs' 4-1 win over TCU April 25.
*** It marks the third straight week and fifth time in 2008 that he has won the league award. It is also his second national pitching honor in the past three weeks.
*** In addition, he was named the West Region Player of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com. It is the second time he has won that award in 2008 as well.
*** Strasburg threw a one-hit complete-game in the Aztecs' win over the Horned Frogs this past weekend. It was his second complete-game one-hitter in his last three starts. He retired the first 18 batters he faced before a leadoff double in the seventh.
*** He finished the night with 13 strikeouts including three of the game's final four outs as TCU (which came in having won 13 of its last 15) hit .034 for the contest.
*** The run he allowed in the seventh was the first run he had given up in 34 consecutive innings going back to the Aztecs' contest at Utah on March 20.
*** Over his last four starts, Strasburg has recorded 61 strikeouts over 33 innings, an average of almost two K's per inning. His season total of 99 strikeouts is tied for the national lead in Division I entering this week.
DECKER HEATING UP
*** Brandon Decker is in the midst of a career personal-best 14-game hitting streak the longest by an Aztec this season.
*** In those 14 contests, he has gone 26-for-59 (.441) with four doubles, 11 runs scored and 12 runs batted in.
*** He has an on-base percentage of .403.
*** He tied a career high with four hits at UNLV on April 20.
*** He has gotten at least one hit in 20 of his last 22 contests.
*** Decker has raised his overall average to .346, just under its highest point of the season and third-best on the squad entering the weekend.
*** In Mountain West Conference play, he is hitting .393.
*** He has not committed an error in 30 games in the outfield (45 chances).
COLWELL REMAINS HOT
*** Sophomore outfielder Pat Colwell is on a career-best 12-game hitting streak entering the week. He had a nine-game streak as a freshman in 2007.
*** He is hitting .453 (24-for-53) over the Aztecs' last 12 games with five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 21 runs scored and 11 RBI.
*** During his hitting streak, he has raised his batting average over 50 points (from .309 to .361).
*** His .459 batting average in league play ranks second in the MWC this week.
*** In his 23 games as SDSU's leadoff hitter, Colwell has an on-base percentage of .508 and his batting average is .417.
*** Colwell has hit his first two home runs as a collegiate player this season, one being an inside-the-park shot vs. Utah on April 12 at Tony Gwynn Stadium and the other coming at UNLV on April 18.
*** He became the first SDSU player to ever hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat against Utah on April 12.
RUDDY IN RESERVE
*** Reserve catcher Bubba Ruddy had a five-game hitting streak ended in the final game at Arizona on Wednesday.
*** Over those five contests, he went 11-for-22 (.500) with three doubles, four runs scored and seven runs batted in.
*** He recorded a pair of doubles and both RBI in the 3-2 loss to the Wildcats this past Tuesday.
*** His three hits and three RBI in the series finale against TCU last Sunday (April 27) were both season highs for the junior transfer from Cypress JC.
*** Ruddy hit his first home run as an Aztec in the contest against New Mexico on April 5, a solo shot in the seventh inning that tied the game.
HANZAWA LEADS THE OFFENSE
*** Over SDSU's last 11 contests, shortstop Troy Hanzawa has gone 23-for-54 (.426) with six doubles, four triples, two home runs, 13 runs scored and 23 RBI.
*** Included in those contests is a pair of games in which he drove in five runs. Only he and Nick Romero have had five-RBI efforts this season.
*** He has scored at least two runs in a game on 13 occasions in 2008.
*** His .367 batting average leads the club as does his 73 hits, 46 runs scored, seven triples and 11 stolen bases.
*** Hanzawa's five RBI in each of SDSU's contests vs. UNLV on April 18 and 20 mark a career high.
*** His 22 multiple-hit games are the most on the team and his 10 multiple-RBI efforts are second-most on the club.
*** Hanzawa is hitting .341 in conference play with 23 RBI in 18 games.
FLYING SOLOW
*** Sophomore Nate Solow has struck out 76 and walked only 25 in his 63.2 innings of work. His strikeout total is the second-best in the Mountain West Conference behind teammate Stephen Strasburg.
*** His 13 strikeouts against BYU on March 14 were a career high.
*** Solow picked up his back-to-back wins (vs. UC Riverside and at USC) in his two starts just prior to the narrow 3-2 loss at Arizona on Tuesday.
ROMERO GOES DEEP
*** Junior third baseman Nick Romero went hitless in the final two games against TCU last weekend marking only the second time this season that he had back-to-back games without reaching base safely.
*** He rebounded by going 4-for-9 in the two games at Arizona earlier this week.
*** Over the last eight games, he is hitting .357 (15-for-42) with nine runs scored and 13 runs batted in.
*** He is tied for second on the team with 17 multiple-hit games and leads the squad with 11 multiple-RBI efforts. He has driven in four or more runs in a game five times in 2008.
*** He belted four home runs during the week of April 14-20 to bring his season total to a team-leading nine, matching his season total as freshman in 2006.
*** His 24 career homers is four shy of the SDSU career mark held jointly by Curt Mendoza (2003-06) and Paul Lockhart (1997-2000).
*** Romero hit a grand slam in the game against Arizona on April 8. It was his first career slam as an Aztec and moved him into the team lead for homers.
*** His five RBI in that same game marked the second time this season he has driven in five runs.
*** Romero's 30 walks this season lead the team and his three-year total of 81 moves him into 20th on the SDSU career list.
GLOVER STREAK ENDS
*** Senior outfielder Brandon Glover had an 11-game hitting streak halted in the series opener against TCU last Friday (April 25). He then proceeded to hit safely in each of the next two contests against the Horned Frogs.
*** Over the last 16 contests, he is hitting .350 (21-for-60) with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs and 12 bases on balls for a .466 on-base percentage.
*** He has raised his season batting average 45 points (from .224 to .269) over the last 16 games. He is hitting .333 in league play.
*** Glover's home run in the win over Utah on April 12 was the first of his collegiate career (including two seasons at Texas A&M). He added a second two games later vs. UC Riverside last Tuesday and two more in the series against UNLV to record four in five contests that week.
*** Prior to the home run against Utah, he had recorded 482 at bats as a collegiate player without a home run.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
*** Troy Hanzawa's seven triples in 2008 ties for the ninth-most in a season by an Aztec.
*** Hanzawa's 12 career triples moves him into a tie for 10th place on the all-time Aztec list.
*** Nick Romero's 143 career RBI move him into the sixth spot on the San Diego State all-time list.
*** Romero's nine homers this year give him a career total of 24, moving him into fifth on the San Diego State career list. *** Romero's nine career triples also tie him for 18th.
*** Romero's 81 career walks ranks 20th on the SDSU all-time list.
*** Garett Green's 12 sacrifice flies over the past two seasons ties him for fifth all-time at SDSU.
*** Green's seven sacrifice flies this year ties for the fifth-most ever in a season by an SDSU player.
*** Stephen Strasburg's 99 strikeouts tie him for the 15th-most in a season by an SDSU pitcher.
AMONG THE NATIONAL LEADERS
*** Entering play this week, SDSU ranked among the national Division I leaders in two offensive areas: 13th with 20 triples and 17th in triples per game (0.45).
*** On the pitching side, the Aztecs are 16th in most strikeouts per game (8.5) and 43rd in fewest walks per game with (3.23).
*** There is a total of 286 teams in Division I baseball.
*** Individually, Stephen Strasburg is tied for the national lead in strikeouts (99), third in strikeouts per nine innings (13.44) and sixth in earned run average (1.63).
*** Nate Solow's 68 strikeouts rank 38th in the nation and he is 27th with an average of 10.55 K's per nine innings.
*** Troy Hanzawa's six triples rank 10th in the nation while his hit total of 70 ranks 29th.
*** In addition, Garett Green is tied for third in Division I with seven sacrifice flies.
GETTING OFFENSIVE
*** In SDSU's last 12 games, the team has been in double digits in hits 10 times and compiled a batting average of .353 over those contests.
*** In the process, the team batting average has risen 20 points, from .273 to .293, just under its highest mark since the second week of the season.
*** In those 12 games, SDSU had 35 doubles, seven triples and 15 home runs.
*** The home runs represent just under half of the team's season total.
*** The Aztecs recorded season highs in runs (18) and hits (25) in the contest at UNLV on April 19.
AZTEC NOTES
*** Freshman left-hander Craig Rasmussen has a good relief outing vs. Arizona on Wednesday, going 2.1 innings and allowing no runs on three hits.
*** Junior right George Snyder tossed a perfect inning of relief against Arizona on Wednesday. It was his first appearance since April 8, when he struck out the only batter he faced against the Wildcats at home.
*** Outfielder Josh Chasse made only his second appearance in April when he came to bat in Friday's (April 18) game at UNLV, pinch hitting in the eighth inning and recording a two-out two-RBI double.
*** SDSU's 4-1 win over TCU on Friday, April 25, was played in a time of 2:01. It was the quickest nine-inning game for the Aztecs since a 6-3 loss to UNLV on May 28, 2004, that was completed in 1:58. Earlier this year March 26), the Aztecs defeated Harvard, 4-0, in 2:09.
*** The two runs that Brandon Pullen gave up against TCU last Sunday (April 27) were the first he has allowed in his last 10 relief appearances.
*** The infield duo of second baseman Garett Green and third baseman Nick Romero are the only Aztecs to have started all 46 game in 2008.
*** Over the past two seasons, sophomore right-hander Stephen Strasburg has not allowed a home run over 103.1 innings.
*** Strasburg has been named to the Dick Howser Trophy watch list. He is one of 50 players nation-wide in contention for the award which honors the year's top player in collegiate baseball.
*** The Aztecs are 8-3 in one-run games. In 2007, SDSU finished with a mark of 4-10 in one-run contests.
*** San Diego State recorded a season-high eight stolen bases in the series finale against Houston on March 30.
ON DECK
*** San Diego State will continue its string of eight straight road games with a trip to Provo to face Brigham Young in its final Mountain West Conference series of the 2008 season.
*** That Aztecs and Cougars will open with a contest on Thursday, May 8, at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) at Larry H. Miller Field.
*** The teams will also meet on Friday (May 9) and Saturday (May 10) at 7:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. respectively.